Negaunee running back Nash Hillier, left, stiff arms Gladstone defender Zac Brazeau on Friday in Gladstone during the first round of the MHSAA Division 6 high school football playoffs. (Escanaba Daily Press photo by Justin St. Ours)

GLADSTONE — Negaunee didn’t let two weeks with pretty much no organized practices stop them from opening the MHSAA Division 6 playoffs with a road victory on Friday night as the Miners fended off Gladstone 28-14.

Negaunee (4-3) visits Westwood (5-1) in a district semifinal matchup at 7 p.m. Friday. The Braves finished 2-4.

The Miners all but secured the decision on Gerald Johnson’s 15-yard touchdown pass through the middle to Joe Mallett with 2:25 remaining.

Gladstone wasn’t quite through, though, as senior running back Ryan Polley returned the ensuing kickoff 60 yards to the Negaunee 19-yard line.

Polley then scampered for an apparent touchdown on the next play, but it was nullified by an illegal block, which moved the ball back to the 35.

The final drive eventually stalled there, enabling the Miners to go into victory formation.

“We’ve been able to get some guys together and build some continuity,” Negaunee coach Paul Jacobson said. “We lost one of our starting quarterbacks (in) Will Luke in the first meeting (a 22-20 Miners loss on Sept. 25).

“It made things tough, but the guys are resilient. We’ve had so many ups and downs since March 13 (due to COVID-19). We’re just enjoying the moment because we don’t know what’s going to happen tomorrow.”

Negaunee gained a seemingly comfortable 21-6 advantage on senior running back Lukas Nelson’s nine-yard burst up the middle with 7:59 to go.

The Braves responded quickly, climbing within 21-14 on Polley’s 31-yard dash around the right end not even 45 seconds later.

“Ryan is a heck of a ballplayer,” Braves’ coach Jeff Hansen said. “He just played his heart out, trying to help his team win. We were still playing with confidence at that point, but we were a little (knocked back) on offense.

“Getting that touchdown called back really hurt us. Hats off to Negaunee. At the end of the day, they were the more consistent team.”

Gladstone presented itself with an opportunity midway through the fourth quarter when senior defensive back Zac Brazeau recovered a fumble on the Negaunee 35.

The Braves, however, were unable to take advantage and turned the ball over on downs after gaining three years in four plays.

After a scoreless first quarter, Negaunee took a 7-0 lead on a six-yard run off left tackle by senior running back Nash Hillier with 8:25 left in the second quarter.

The Braves then moved within 7-6 with junior quarterback Cam Kelly’s 38-yard scoring pass to senior split end Cam Ballard with 4:31 in the first half.

Negaunee pushed its lead to 14-6 on Nelson’s nine-yard run up the middle midway through the third period.

The Miners rushed for 181 of their 246 yards. Hillier carried 25 times for 107 yards, while Nelson ran 12 times for 62, including a 46-yard burst through the middle to the Braves’ 15 to set up Mallett’s game-clinching TD reception. Johnson was 6 of 13 passing for 65 yards and an interception.

Gladstone was limited to 46 yards on the ground as Kelly hit 7 of 27 aerials for 121 yards and an interception. One of Kelly’s passes went 45 yards to junior John Hansen, setting up Polley’s TD run. Polley finished with 60 yards on 12 carries.