NEGAUNEE – On a rainy night at its home stadium, Miner Stadium, the Negaunee High School football team pulled out a victory with a dominant ground game and some key defensive stops Friday night.
The Miners extended their lead in the second half, beating Gladstone 28-7 to take a 2-0 lead, while the Braves fell to 0-2.
Negaunee head coach Paul Jacobson praised his team’s tenacity.
“I thought we handled the adversity well. Gladstone played a great game.” The veteran Miners coach said. “They were physical and really matched us. When we got into tight spots, I thought we handled it well.”
Gladstone head coach Craig Ness praised the defense but expressed disappointment with the offense’s struggles.
“Our defense played very well.” The Braves coach said. “We just didn’t have anything to help them offensively. If we could have given them a little bit of a rest, I think the score would have been a little different. But they played their hearts out and I’m very proud of them.”
Early in the game, both teams struggled to find their footing in the wet conditions, as Negaunee, led by senior quarterback Ty Jacobson, started to have the ball but had to punt early after the Gladstone defense forced an early fumble.
Rain stifled both teams’ offensive efforts and neither team was able to gain any momentum.
Negaunee got its first offensive momentum going late in the first quarter and was banging on the door of the end zone by the time the first quarter ended with the score tied at 0-0.
Miners running back Brock Bonovets scored a touchdown just seven seconds into the second quarter to give the Miners a 6-0 lead after a failed two-point conversion attempt.
But Gladstone answered right back on the ensuing kickoff, when senior Casey Alwarden broke through for a touchdown and kicker Luke Ingraham added another point to give the Braves a 7-6 lead with 11:39 left before halftime.
After that it was all Negaunee offensive. Bonovets quickly reached the end zone for the second time, capping off a furious drive with a short run. This time, Negaunee converted a two-point attempt, with Ian Engstrom catching a pass from Jacobson to give the Miners a 14-7 lead.
The rain stopped and with it, the Negaunee offense found a new gear, moving the ball up and down the field, but Gladstone’s defense prevented Negaunee from scoring any more points and they ended the interval with a seven-point lead.
The second half began with more struggles on offense for Gladstone. Despite the defense forcing an early punt, the Braves offense, led by quarterback Mason Sierpien, couldn’t find a rhythm and was forced to punt again.
Negaunee relied on its running backs for most of the play, but Jacobson’s long pass led to another score. Running back Weston Yesney then raced into the end zone late in the third quarter and converted another two-point conversion to put the Miners up 22-7.
Gladstone couldn’t stop the offense in the final quarter, and Negaunee’s stout defense ended any hopes of a comeback.
Then Yesny sealed the win with his second touchdown of the game with 5:42 left in the half. Though the extra point attempt failed, Negaunee took a three-touchdown lead with just under halftime to play.
The Miners forced a final punt and made sure of it by allowing the offense to run out the clock.
Negaunee will return to its normal all-Friday schedule through the final week of the regular season with a trip to Calumet on Friday at 7 p.m., the same time Gladstone returns home to face Kingsford.
Get the latest news from the day and more delivered to your inbox