Gladstone Pulls Out 'Sloppy' Victory Over Gwinn

GWINN---It wasn't pretty, but the Gladstone Braves found a way to win their football season opener on the road Friday night. Gladstone overcame numerous mistakes and missed opportunities, but rallied for a 21-14 victory over the Gwinn Model Towners.

The Braves fell behind early as the Model Towners drove 60 yards in six plays on their opening possession.

Hunter Bachman scored on a 15-yard touchdown run on 3rd and 7, and Devin Dachs easily scored the two-point conversion to give Gwinn an 8-0 lead. Gwinn's unorthadox coach Dion Brown (he uses all six of his time outs, many times on dead-ball situations) tried to catch the Braves napping with an on-side kick.

It didn't work because the kick wasn't a good one, so Gladstone got the ball at mid-field.

But after getting a first down at the Gwinn 16, the Braves sputtered, turning the ball over on downs. The Model Towners got one first down, but turned it over on the 35 yard-line when Brown went for it on a 4th-and-3 play and Chris Bosworth was stuffed.

Gladstone had good field position, and even though quarterback Ben Schwalbach found Jake Greenfield open on a 4th-and-10 play for 18 yards, the possession ended at the Gwinn nine yard line when Schwalbach was stopped well short of a first down.

In the second quarter, Gwinn looked to expand its lead but Hunter Garling sacked quarterback Kevin Roberts on fourth-and-nine at the Braves 20.

That gave Gladstone the ball, and the Braves went on a 74-yard, ten-play drive, that ended on a one-yard touchdown run by Ross Miron with 1:35 left until halftime.

James Bruce's extra point attempt hit the upright, so Gwinn still had an 8-6 lead.

A key play happened right before halftime when Dachs broke off a 30-yard run against a Braves defense that constantly gave up large chunks of yards. But Dachs got twisted around on that play and suffered an ankle injury.

He had 163 yards on nine carries, but that injury left Dachs on the sidelines for the rest of the game. The first half ended when Jake Greenfield intercepted a Roberts pass on third down.

Gladstone got the ball to start the third quarter, but on the third play of the second half, Schwalbach threw an interception to Jalen Skinner. The Model Towners took advantage, driving 66 yards in seven plays. Bosworth scored the touchdown on a 22-yard run that was embarrassing for the Braves, as several defenders collided and missed tackles.

Gladstone did recover defensively to stop the two-point play, keeping it a 14-6 game.

The Braves looked to be in business when Schwalbach hooked up with Greenfield for a 40-yard pass to the Gwinn 25 yard-line.

But what happened next was embarrassing for the Braves as they committed three consecutive false start penalties. Moments later, Schwalbach was hit and fumbled, ending a great scoring chance.

Fortunately for the Braves, Gwinn did not take advantage of this situation.

On 4th-and-2 from the Braves 43 yard-line, a high snap went over Roberts' head. He fell on the loose ball, but th Braves took over at the Gwinn 27 yard-line.

This time, Gladstone took advantage, as Schwalbach found Greenfield for a nine-yard touchdown pass on a slant pattern. Miron ran in the two-point conversion, tying the game at 14-14, with 57 seconds left in the third quarter.

Gwinn, already without Dachs, also lost Bachman to an injury in the second half.

With two top running backs on the shelf, Brown tried to go to a passing game, and it did not work.

On a third-and-two play at the 41 yard-line, another bad snap went backwards, and the Braves fell on it at the Gwinn 31 yard-line early in the fourth quarter.

Gladstone took advantage, with a bit of offensive strategy change that involved Schwalbach running the ball from the quarterback position.

On 3rd-and-7 from the Gwinn 28, Schwalbach rushed for an 18-yard gain to the ten yard-line.

Then, after two plays that got nowhere, Schwalbach scored on a ten-yard run on third down. James Bruce's extra point gave Gladstone a 21-14 lead with 8:42 left.

Gwinn, without its top two running backs, relied on Roberts to move the chains. He managed to get one first down, but then was hit and fumbled at the 46 yard-line, as Kyle Egner recovered with 5:44 left in the game. Gwinn had used all of its time outs.

Gladstone got one first down, but while trying to run down the clock, the Braves fumbled again. So, after all that had happened, Gwinn still had a chance to win the game, taking over at its own 33 yard-line with 3:03 left in the game (but no time-outs).

And this is when Braves lineman Daniel Berg stepped up. The junior lineman wasn't even going to be a starter until he earned his spot during this week's practices.

And the Model Towners likely grew tired of seeing #55, as he made several key tackled throughout the game, and sacked Roberts on the final two plays as Gwinn tried to move downfield.

After his final quarterback sack, the 5-10, 250-pound Berg jumped high into the air and danced across the middle of the field, celebrating a big defensive effort with his teammates.

The Braves offense ran out the final 72 seconds, and the game was over.

Unofficially, Gwinn outgained Gladstone in total yardage, 322-243.

Gladstone will be on the road again next week, although the game will be at a neutral site. The Braves will face Benzie Central from Lower Michigan, and the game will be played at Northern Michigan University's Superior Dome.

Game time next Friday afternoon is 1:00. The contest will be broadcast on the radio on WGKL-FM (105.5) and WCHT-AM (600). And on-line at www.rrnsports.com.

Click the thumbnails in the ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS box to see photos and videos taken by Nate Belleville, and to hear radio replays and interviews.