Superior Central’s Wade Krysiak, left, hauls in a 35-yard touchdown reception in the second quarter against Rapid River defender Nate Olsen on Saturday in Eben. (Escanaba Daily Press photo by Mike Mattson)

EBEN — Superior Central football coach Sam Eggleston was all smiles after the Cougars’ shocking 46-22 nonconference high school football victory on Saturday afternoon against Rapid River.

The Cougars (4-5) played loose, made big plays and treated a homecoming crowd to its best game against a league champion.

“We don’t have a playoff game next week,” said Eggleston, whose team lost a 48-40 double-overtime decision to the Rockets in an earlier Western Eight Conference meeting. “We had to treat it as our last game and homecoming on our field and we did. We fired off the ball and hit them and that won it for us.”

While Superior Central ends its season, Rapid River (7-2) advances to the eight-player state playoffs this weekend. Coach Steve Ostrenga and the Rockets must regroup after Saturday’s defeat.

“We have to get back to work on the basics and fundamentals,” Ostrenga said. “It’s up to our young men. Do they have the heart and character? Hopefully, we will be excited about the playoffs.”

Rapid River turned the ball over three times, leading to 18 points by the Cougars.

SC won the battle in total yards, 467-212, keyed by an overwhelming advantage in rushing, 318-108.

The Cougars received strong showings from junior quarterback Beau Rondeau and junior running back Rubens Fink. Rondeau accounted for six of SC’s seven touchdowns, throwing four TD passes and rushing for two. Fink added a 72-yard TD run on the last play of the first half.

Rondeau’s scoring tosses were 45 yards to Wade Krysiak, 7 yards to Josh Kulik, 35 yards to Krysiak and 5 yards to Kulik.

The Rockets answered SC’s first TD with a 10-yard scoring pass from quarterback Brent Lundquist to Jerrett LaCasse for an 8-8 tie.

But the Cougars took control in the second period, scoring three unanswered TDs for a 32-8 halftime advantage.

Eggleston called timeout before Fink’s TD run. He opted for a play for Fink to run the ball down the left sideline and Krysiak provided the key down-field block.

“I think heading into halftime we got that score and it convinced (the Cougars) 100 percent this is their game,” Eggleston said.

———————-

Lake Linden-Hubbell 53, Manistique 12

At Lake Linden, the Lakes completed a comeback from an 0-3 start to finish 4-4 and earn a berth in the MHSAA Division 8 playoffs.

The visiting Emeralds were left shellshocked after the Lakes received touchdown runs from senior tailbacks Aaron Hainault and James Tuovila in the first four minutes, building their advantage to 24-0 after one quarter and 40-0 partway through the second.

Manistique, which managed under 100 yards of total offense, received an 80-yard kickoff return from Logan Savage at that point as the Lakes took a 46-6 halftime lead.

The Emeralds tacked on another score in the fourth quarter when Savage caught a 37-yard strike from Alex Oas.

The Lakes piled up 313 yards rushing, doing it by committee as no less than seven players carried the football.