Andrew Gale of Marquette, right, runs to the sideline as Escanaba's Scout Wunder attempts the tackle in the second quarter of their football game on Friday in Escanaba. (Escanaba Daily Press photo by Avery Bundgaard)

By JOHN VRANCIC

Escanaba Daily Press

ESCANABA — Offensive fireworks were in full display at the Escanaba Athletic Field on Friday night as the Eskymos gained a 45-28 Great Northern Conference football victory over Marquette.

The teams combined for 10 touchdowns, with seven covering at least 30 yards.

Esky rushed for 333 yards in its GNC opener. Senior running back Logan Carroll led the way with 212 yards and four TDs on just nine carries. Scout Wunder finished with 82 yards in 15 attempts, many of those going through the middle of the Redmen defense.

“Logan had a heckuva game, but that didn’t happen without good blocking from our line,” Esky coach Dave Howes said. “Scout had a solid game on both sides of the ball. He’s probably our best all-around player.”

Esky (3-1 overall) led 17-14 after the first quarter. Carroll then scored on runs of 34 and 62 yards around left end in the second quarter to put the Eskymos up 31-14 at halftime.

Carroll then dashed 33 yards around left end, giving Esky a 38-14 advantage with 8:07 left in the third stanza.

Marquette (1-3, 1-1 GNC), however, didn’t just go away.

The Redmen trimmed their deficit to 38-20 on junior quarterback Brendan Kaski’s 11-yard keeper around left end less than three minutes later.

Marquette, capitalizing on a fumble recovery, put up another score early in the fourth on junior running back Andrew Gale’s one-yard run up the middle and suddenly the Redmen were within 38-28.

“I’m proud of the way our guys responded in the third quarter,” Marquette coach Dave L’Huillier said. “That gives us something positive to build on.

“Only we made a couple too many mistakes in the first half, which put us in a tough situation. Against a real good team you have to be consistent in making the plays, and we did a good job tackling at times.”

Esky concluded the scoring with 5:17 left when senior running back Cody Vandermissen broke tackles on a three-yard TD run through the middle.

Carroll opened the scoring on a 66-yard dash around left end on the game’s second play.

Gale tied the contest on a 43-yard jaunt around left end on the ensuing possession.

A 26-yard field goal by junior Christer Carne enabled the Eskymos to regain a 10-7 lead with 4:09 left in the opening period.

Marquette gained its only lead less than two minutes later on Kaski’s 61-yard pass to junior receiver Ethan Martysz with 2:26 left in the first.

Esky went ahead for good with 45 seconds left in the quarter when junior QB Craig Kamin hit senior wide receiver Ryan Robinette on a 30-yard slant pattern.

“We wanted to start fast and play physical,” Howes said. “Dave does a great job with his kids. They ran the ball the way they wanted, then we made some adjustments in our defensive line. We put our kids in better position to make plays.”

Kamin completed 6 of 9 passes for 108 yards, all in the first half. The Eskymos finished with 441 yards total offense.

“They (Esky) have three good runners, and their offensive line blocked for them,” L’Huillier said. “Drew did a nice job running the ball and Martysz had some nice catches.”

Marquette finished with 302 yards total offense, including 135 on the ground.

Gale rushed 20 times for 116 and Kaski was 10 of 18 passing for 167 yards, a TD and an interception. Five of Kaski’s aerials went to Martysz for 117 yards.

On Friday, the Eskymos host Sault Ste. Marie, while the Redmen travel to Petoskey.