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Ishpeming breaks through in opener

By Journal Sports Staff

ISHPEMING — With a little cooperation from Iron Mountain, Ishpeming broke open a close game midway through the second half to take a 34-7 victory over the Mountaineers in both teams’ opening game of the high school football season on Friday night.

Leading just 12-7, Ishpeming’s Gavin Sundberg scored on a 1-yard run with 2:21 to go in the third quarter. Sundberg’s 2-point conversion pass to Drake Sundberg made it 20-7.

Then the Hematites scored twice more, each spaced about four minutes apart to take control down the stretch.

But the Mountaineers helped out in this Mid-Peninsula Conference game by fumbling the ball away on three straight possessions around this time.

“I do think we may have worn them down and we were fortunate to get some turnovers,” IHS coach Jeff Olson said, mentioning that IM only had about 16 players dressed for the game.

Ishpeming rolled up 387 yards rushing on 54 carries, led by a trio of backs — senior Donald Denofre had 112 yards on 13 runs, while junior Hunter Smith had 106 on 14 tries and junior Matt Trawick 86 on 11 attempts.

“I liked the way we ran the ball, we just have to shore up some blocking assignments,” Olson said. “We didn’t make it on some fourth-down conversion attempts, so that’s a concern.

“But we’re young and inexperienced on the line. We start three sophomores and a junior on the offensive line, and we’ve got some small, fast, quick running backs.”

The Hematites’ defense was also stout, limiting the Mountaineers to just 133 yards, including just 49 on the ground.

“Our defense was solid at times, but then we’d give up the big play, so there’s work to do,” Olson said.

Jacob Tucker, who led IM with 38 yards on the ground in five tries, gave his team the lead with about three minutes to go in the first quarter when he ran for a TD from 11 yards out.

Ishpeming answered less than five minutes later, with 1:17 gone in the second quarter, on a Smith 8-yard TD run. But the PAT run failed, leaving the Hematites still trailing 7-6.

About seven minutes after that, Ishpeming took the lead for good when Denofre scored on a 39-yard run. But the lead was tenuous at five points after another missed two-point conversion going into halftime.

Gavin Sundberg made an important defensive play, intercepting Tucker, who was 3 for 7 for 84 yards through the air.

Boyne City 51, Negaunee 13

At Boyne City, six lost fumbles by the offense killed any momentum the Miners gained after Negaunee junior linebacker Theo Kumpula returned a Boyne City fumble 39 yards for a TD just seven seconds before halftime.

“I thought (BC’s) execution was good and we just didn’t execute well at times,” Negaunee coach Paul Jacobson said. “You just can’t turn the ball over six times and expect to be able to win at this level.

“When you start six sophomores, you know it will be a work in progress at this point. I saw some good things tonight, especially from our young kids, though.”

The Kumpula score pulled the Miners within 26-13 at the break, but the Ramblers’ Joe Baugh dashed Negaunee’s hopes with TD runs 25 seconds and 4:20 into the second half.

Two later fumbles returned 22 and 32 yards for TDs sealed the result.

Negaunee pulled within 7-6 with 5:18 left in the opening quarter on Jason Waterman’s 59-yard scoring strike to Jacob Ennett, but BC scored twice more in the next 5 1/2 minutes to start pulling away, adding another TD about midway through the second to make it 26-6.

The Miners managed just 165 yards total offense, split almost evenly on the ground and through the air. Jake Hill gained 32 of Negaunee’s 85 rushing yards, while Waterman completed 6 of 12 passes for 80 yards and no pickoffs.

BC managed 279 yards, 213 on the ground with Baugh leading the way with 118 yards on 12 tries.

Gladstone 42, Gwinn 0

At Gwinn, the Modeltowners couldn’t produce any points despite gaining 182 yards, 158 on the ground.

Gwinn’s Seth Aho rushed 10 times for 60 yards while Blaine Bridges had 59 on 24 tries. QB Austin Forbes completed 5 of 6 passes for 24 yards and no interceptions.

Gladstone opened the scoring less than three minutes in when Christian Creten returned a blocked punt 26 yards for a score.

TD passes of 53, 61, 37 and 38 yards by QB Darin Johnson to four different receivers made it 35-0 halfway through the third.

The Braves, playing their inaugural game in the M-PC, totaled 336 yards on just 23 offensive plays.

Information compiled by Journal Sports Editor Steve Brownlee. His email address is sbrownlee@miningjournal.net.

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