ST. IGNACE – Unable to run the ball with much success, the Ishpeming High School football team turned to its passing game in St. Ignace.

The move worked.

Senior quarterback Ozzy Corp completed 9 of 14 passes for 201 yards as the No. 2 Division 7 state-ranked Hematites downed the Saints 20-14 in a non-conference contest.

Ishpeming’s usual potent running game was limited to 123 yards by the Saints.

“St. Ignace is quick and tough. It was hard to stay on our blocks,” IHS head coach Jeff Olson said. “They put a lot of guys in the (defensive) box, so to be able to throw like we did was a big key.

“Ozzy was poised tonight. He threw on the run and completed some great passes for us.”

Isaac Olson (10 yards out), Nick Comment (9 yards) and Haden Carello (1 yard) scored for Ishpeming (7-0), which led 8-6 at the half and 20-6 after three quarters of play.

Gage Kreski paced St. Ignace (7-1) with TD runs of one yard and six yards. The latter came with 11:14 left in the game.

“Kreski was tough to bring down,” Jeff Olson said, noting the Saints’ star ran 25 times for 100 yards.

“But we played some tough defense in the fourth quarter. We put pressure on him when he tried to throw and forced some errant passes.”

Westwood 54, Manistique 20

At Ishpeming, the Patriots kept their offensive philosophy simple – quarterback Luke Gray and running back Brandon Benda had all the Westwood carries, split exactly down the middle.

It led to the Patriots’ gaining 407 yards on the ground in 50 tries and 468 total. Gray had 262 yards on 25 carries while Benda made 145 yards in the same 25 attempts.

“We wanted to keep things simple and get good at those things,” WHS coach Scott Syrjala said, adding that also applied to the defense. “Luke Gray and Brandon Benda are great leaders for us.”

Manistique’s gained 138 yards through the air, though QB Nolan Armock was 12 of 30 with no interceptions. But the Emeralds managed just 7 yards rushing in 11 attempts.

Gray accounted for all five of his team’s first-half TDs as Westwood (5-3 overall, 2-2 Mid-Peninsula Conference) built a 36-6 halftime lead. Gray had scoring runs of 14, 10, 1 and 49 yards while throwing a 35-yard TD pass to Nick Briones with just over a minute left in the half.

Gray added a 40-yard TD scamper early in the second half before Benda notched scoring runs of 3 and 13 yards in the fourth.

For Manistique (0-8, 0-6), Will Pomeroy scored on a 92-yard kickoff return in the second quarter, Armock on a 1-yard run in the third and Jake Arnold on a 19-yard pass from Armock in the fourth.

Newberry 38, Rudyard 6

At Newberry, the Indians got off to a slow start without junior QB John Paramski, who missed his first start since the beginning of his freshman year.

But NHS coach Fred Bryant was pleased with the response of his team to their JV callup, sophomore George Sevarns.

“The kids were a little out of sorts in the first quarter without John,” Bryant said, “but Jeff Rahilly and George Sevarns play well and showed us some leadership, and some other kids who we don’t normally see stepped up tonight.”

Sevarns ran in a TD from 4 yards out in the first quarter, then added a scoring pass in each of the following three periods – 42 yards to Josh Hood, 10 yards to Reese Zhulke and 12 yards to Rahilly.

Rahilly added a 14-yard TD in the second and Tom Clark a 3-yarder in the fourth.

Sevarns was 7 of 8 through the air for 116 yards and one interception. Rahilly added 132 of Newberry’s 203 yards rushing on 13 attempts.

Forest Park 34, Munising 8

At Crystal Falls, the visiting Mustangs couldn’t get their ground game untracked and took a big hit in their quest to gain a home game in the first round of the MHSAA playoffs.

Munising (6-2 overall, 2-2 Mid-Eastern Football Conference) gained just 91 yards in 22 carries on the ground with Thomas Hyde earning 38.

Munising got its lone score with 4:43 left when Corey Cotey ran it in to the end zone from a yard out. Quintin Tarasan tacked on the two-point conversion.

Gwinn 32, Norway 6

At Norway, the Modeltowners, triggered by the rushing of Devin Dachs, defeated Norway in Mid-Peninsula Conference football Friday.

The Modeltowners, leading 8-0 at halftime, snapped a 15-game losing streak to the Knights.

Dachs rushed for 235 yards on 24 carries, and scored three touchdowns on runs of 26, 50 and 13 yards.

Gwinn rushed for 360 of its 370 yards total offense.

Information compiled by Journal Sports Editor Steve Brownlee, Senior Sports Writer Craig Remsburg and the Iron Mountain Daily News. Email Brownlee and Remsburg at sports@miningjournal.net.