Eskymos Think Positive As Football Season Begins

ESCANABA---The Escanaba High School football team had its first day of practice with hitting on Friday, and the boys held an intrsquad game to show off their talents.

The team broke down into Orange and Black practice squads, and it as a 22-22 draw at the Escanaba Athletic Field.

"We're going in the right direction," Escanaba Head Coach Jim Hansen said. "That's how we feel. So far, each day, we've been going in the right direction and making tne right steps.

"The first full day of pads and hitting (in pratice) was good today."

"Practice has been going great," said Eskymo senior cornerback Jim McNeil. "We've definitely gotten better every day, and we're just moving forward."

"I think it's been going really well," added Eskymo senior linebacker Nick Chenier. "We've had great, high intensity at our practices."

Escanaba has a difficult schedule this fall. Besides its Great Northern Conference opponents (Menominee, Kingsford, Marquette, Gladstone), the Eskymos will have non-conference games that include some of the state's best teams.

Dylan Gauthier touchdown run

Escanaba travels to Alpena to open the season on Aug. 28, then hosts Traverse City Central on Sept. 5.

The schedule also includes a home game against Cheboygan on Sept. 12, and away games at Detroit Country Day (Sept. 27) and Sault Ste. Marie (Oct. 17).

"We play a very, very tough schedule," Chenier said. "But we should do very well."

"I think it's gonna be a lot better season than we had last year," McNeil said, as the team went 4-5 in 2013. "We're a lot farther ahead than we were last season. I think we're due for a successful season."

Logan Lamb two-point conversion

"The expectations are high, just like they always are," Hansen said. "The kids have put a lot of time in during the off-season and have worked their butts off so far this week."

Escanaba hosts Negaunee in a pre-season scrimmage next Friday afternoon at 5:00.

Click the thumbnails in the ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS box to see photos and videos from the intrasquad game.

Date	Time	Opponent	Score	Record

8/28	8:00 PM	at Alpena Wildcats	24 - 18 (W)	1-0

9/5	7:00 PM	Traverse City Central Trojans	14 - 50 (L)	1-1

9/12	7:00 PM	Cheboygan Chiefs	12 - 13 (L)	1-2

9/19	7:00 PM	at Marquette Redmen	22 - 24 (L)	1-3

9/27	1:00 PM	at Detroit Country Day	12 - 28 (L)	1-4

10/3	7:00 PM	Menominee Maroons	13 - 49 (L)	1-5

10/10	7:00 PM	at Gladstone Braves	41 - 14 (W)	2-5

10/17	7:00 PM	at Sault Ste. Marie Blue Devils	12 - 13 (L)	2-6

10/24	7:00 PM	Kingsford Flivvers	26 - 7 (W)	3-6