Eskymos Overwhelm Braves In Delta County Battle

ESCANABA---Five different players scored touchdowns as the Escanaba Eskymos rolled up 431 yards in offense to beat the Gladstone Braves, 39-14, Friday night at the Escanaba Athletic Field.

Escanaba quarterback Logan Lamb scored two short touchdowns on the ground and the Eskymos used an aggressive defense to hassle Braves quarterback Ben Schwalbach throughout the game. Escanaba broke a four-game losing streak.

The Eskymos dominated at the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball, taking advantage of their size advantage in the trenches

Escanaba routinely forced the Braves to make quick decisions on offense, and guys like 5-11, 265-pound Jack Lynch were in control.


Early, it was the Braves who made the big defensive play, as senior Noah Krycia sacked Lamb on a third down play, forcing a punt on the first series. Gladstone got one first down on offense, but three running plays went nowhere, and so the Braves had to punt.

This time, the Eskymos went on a 59-yard drive, with Lamb scoring the touchdown from four yards out. Terrance Butryn, filling in for the injured Paul Carne, made the PAT.

Gladstone had to punt again on its second possession after getting one first down, and the Eskymos went to work on offense. Dylan Gauthier broke off a 26-yard run on the end-around, and a 15-yard horsecollar penalty was tacked on at the end of the play.

That set the Eskymos up with a first down at the Braves 25 yard-line, but a holding penalty and two incomplete passes has Escanaba facing 4th-and-18 at the Braves 35 yard line.

Eskymo Coach Dave Howes decided to go for the first down, and Lamb threw a laser up the middle of the field to Gauthier for a 30-yard gain.

On the next play, Brayden Papineau scored from five yards out to make it 13-0. Gladstone ran a nice play from Schwalbach to Kyle Pouliot for a 15-yard gain, but the Braves offense sputtered from there and the punting unit was called in.

The Eskymos went on a 56-yard drive, capped off by Lamb's second touchdown run of the game, this time from two yards out. It was a 20-0 Eskymo lead at halftime.

Gladstone's opening possession of the third quarter was a "three-and-out", and so the Eskymos took over at their own 33 yard-line after the punt.

Lamb broke off a 20-yard run, and then Tyler Willette scored his first varsity touchdown on a 14-yard run.

The Braves appeared to be in scoring position when senior Luke Sturdy had a nice kickoff return, and a 15-yard penalty was tacked on against the Eskymos.

Gladstone started at the Escanaba 29 yard-line, but Schwalbach was sacked twice. An incomplete pass on fourth down gave the ball back to the Eskymos at the 30 yard-line.

The Eskymos went deep on the first play, as Lamb found Danny VanEffen open for a 50-yard pass to the Braves 20, with Jake Greenfield making the tackle to save an Eskymo touchdown.

Three plays later, 5-foot-3, 140-pound, junior Corey Anderson scored a touchdown from one yard out. The kick failed, but it was a 33-0 game.

Gladstone broke the shutout in the fourth quarter as senior Ross Miron scored from six yards out with 8:33 left in the game.

James Bruce made the extra point kick.

But Escanaba's reserves did well on the next drive, engineered by quarterback Justin Popelka. He had a 25-yard run, and Gauthier had a 23-yard run into the red zone.

Then, at the goaline, an emotional moment, as Brandon Punzel was given the ball. Just days after his grandmother's death, Punzel scored the touchdown to make it 39-7.

Gladstone closed the scoring on a Schwalbach six yard touchdown pass to Casey Wolf on fourth down with ten seconds left in the game.

Escanaba outgained Gladstone in total yardage, 431-to- 156.

The Eskymos (3-4) host Sault Ste. Marie next Friday night. The Braves (2-5) host Kingsford next Friday in the home finale. That Braves game starts at 7:00, and it will be broadcast live on WGKL-FM (105.5), WCHT-AM (600), and on rrnsports.com.

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