With both the Mustangs and Modeltowners sitting at 0-8 going into the final week of the regular season, the contest was solely about playing for pride.

While one of those teams was going to get its first and only win of the season, the unfortunate reality for the other was completing a winless season.

That latter reality went was placed on the Mustangs after Gwinn posted a 34-7 victory at the Modeltowners’ McCormick Field.

GHS racked up 366 yards total offense, led by senior quarterback Caleb Anderson, who rushed for two touchdowns and 156 yards.

Munising quarterback Josh Huotari drops back to pass during their high school football game played at Gwinn on Friday night. (Journal photo by Ryan Spitza)

Junior running back ToQuan Starnes added two rushing TDs with 110 yards on the ground and two receptions for 30 yards.

It certainly was a great way to end an otherwise rough season for the Modeltowners, who despite going into the regular-season finale winless, were never out of games. Of Gwinn’s nine games this season, four were lost by eight points or less.

“And two of those were overtime losses,” Modeltowners head coach Dion Brown said. “It happens. Sometimes the ball just doesn’t bounce your way. At times we had seven sophomores and freshmen playing out there this year. I’m excited for these guys, these guys have been playing hard all year for me and the ball just didn’t bounce our way.

“The great thing about this year is that we learned. We’ve got nine out of 11 starters coming back on offense and defense next year. We have a lot to look forward to next year.”

It was an emotional night for Anderson and his three senior counterparts, Blaine Bridges, Nick Lightford and Kaden Watt, who suited up in the black and gold for one final time.

“It hasn’t been the season we wanted, but we came out this last game and put everything we got into it,” Anderson said. “We came out and got a ‘W’ and that’s all that matters. We came out on a good note, got the young guys a win and hopefully they can carry it over to next year.

“Dion has put in a lot of work for all of us. It’s sad to be gone now, but I’m happy with what I’ve done here. It just sucks to be done now.”

Brown credited his senior group for leading the way with a young roster.

“I think I put too much pressure on (Anderson) this year,” he said. “He’s meant everything. Blaine has been a three-year starter, Kaden just started for us this year. I’m going to miss those guys. Especially Caleb, he’s one of the best players up here, he just played with a young team.

“It feels good to win and get some momentum going into next year.”

The opposing postgame huddle was an emotional one, a Mustangs team that capped off a disappointing 0-9 season.

Munising accumulated 146 yards of total offense, with its lone touchdown being a late pass from senior quarterback Josh Huotari to senior receiver Bryce Bowerman for a nine-yard TD with 1:09 remaining to make the score 34-7.

Mustangs head coach Matt Mattson said Friday’s game kind of summed up his entire team’s season.

“This is a little bit of a microcosm of our whole season,” he said. “We would have some good things, we had some nice drives, and then we drop a couple of passes on critical plays, and add maybe a penalty or sack on some of those plays.

“Gwinn played very well (tonight) and they’ve been in every game this year. We lack some playmakers, and we lacked at times just making that big play and getting over the hump. I take all the blame, we need to get better in the offseason.”

Mattson also thanked his 11 seniors for their time and positive attitudes throughout a disappointing campaign.

“My seniors played hard,” he said. “I told them that the attitude was good the whole year, and that’s hard to say when you’re not winning football games. I appreciate their efforts and attitudes for this season.

“I told our players after the game, that the wins and losses will fade away, but your character never will. I don’t coach for wins and losses. I’ve been doing a lot of different sports and have had a lot of different seasons.

“I’m worried about the kids’ characters and extracurricular activities. You don’t learn some of these things in the classroom. This is a tough day for our team, but they’ll have tougher days in their lives and hopefully this has helped prepare them.”

Gwinn scored on its opening possession of the game, with Anderson completing a 74-yard drive with an 11-yard TD run. His conversion was good to put the Modeltowners up 8-0 with 4:38 left in the first.

Gwinn went up 14-0 with 8:56 remaining in the second, this time a 16-yard rush from Anderson. That scoreline stood at the halftime break.

Starnes added his two TDs in the second half, one in the third and the other in the fourth. His first came with one second left in the third, an 11-yard rush to make it 22-0.

Gwinn added a defensive touchdown in the fourth, when it sacked Huotari in the end zone and forced a fumble, recovered by the Modeltowners which tacked on six more points to make it 28-0.

Starnes’ second of the night was a 50-yard sprint to the end zone with 4:01 remaining, making it 34-0 before Bowerman’s score for Munising.

Anderson finished 3 of 5 passing with 53 yards through the air. Sophomore receiver Max Jayne added one reception for 23 yards.

Huotari was 8 of 21 for Munising with 84 yards through the air and one TD pass. Junior Ethan Lakosky led the Mustangs air attack with three catches for 36 yards.

Huotari led Munising on the ground with 53 yards on 15 carries. Junior Chad Trapczyk added 26 yards rushing while senior Jason Linseman had 25.

Bridges also contributed to the Modeltowners’ ground game with 43 yards.

Email Ryan Spitza at sports@miningjournal.net.