|
Gladstone Battles Hard But Falls To Calumet, 27-7
 CALUMET---For 18 Gladstone Braves seniors, Friday night's high school football game against the Calumet Copper Kings was like the Super Bowl. The boys, with a 2-6 record, had no chance for a championship of any kind. And they were playing on the road against a Calumet team that had already clinched a playoff spot.  But the Braves turned in an emotional performance for 48 minutes of football, an outing that is not told in the 27-7 loss to the Copper Kings on the Agazzi Field scoreboard. Gladstone had the lead in the second quarter and were a few plays away down the stretch, but the Kings put together three long touchdown drives to earn the victory. When it was over, first-year Gladstone Coach Jeff Hansen was appreciative of the effort put in by his players in a game that meant nothing but pride for the Braves. "I'm so proud of the effort that these guys put in tonight," Hansen said. "Our defense really hung tough, hung tough, and they gave us a shot. It was wet conditions and we had to adjust on the fly. But I can't say enough about how significant it is that they played their best football now, when what's on the line for them is simply pride and playing for each other. It was amazing to watch."  "I can't say enough about how they approached this final stretch, this week, this game," Hansen said. "They gave everything they had. We didn't get the winning result that we wanted, but we played really, really good football tonight." Calumet (7-2) took the opening kickoff 60 yards in ten plays, with Robert Erkkila scoring from four yards out. The Braves responded with a 56-yard drive, capped off with a 28-yard touchdown pass from Ben Schwalbach to Jake Greenfield. Schwalbach was 4-for-4 on that drive, also completing passes to Matt Chenier and Kyle Pouliot. James Bruce made the extra point to give Gladstone a 7-6 lead. The Braves were in business after the defense forced a three-and-out, and Schwalbach found Owen Carlson for a 21-yard pass into Calumet territory. But from the Kings 29 yard-line, a sack and two penalties ended the drive, and Bruce punted deep.  The key play was a pass from quarterback Russ Bjorn to Cooper Twardzik on 4th-and-5 from the Braves' 14. The 6-foot-3, 240-pund Twardzik barely caught the pass on his fingertips for 11 yards, and then Erkkila scored on a short run to make it a 12-7 game. Gladstone had its chances. After a roughing-the-punter penalty, the Braves had the ball at the Calumet 33 yard-line. Gladstone tried a trick play...a Chenier half-back option pass, but it was intercepted to end the first half. Then, on the first possession of the third quarter, Gladstone converted two third-down plays to move into Calumet territory. But on 3rd-and4 from the Calumet 25, Schwalbach threw an incomplete pass. Then, he got no yards on a fourth down scramble. The Copper Kings drove 75 yards in 12 plays, with Bjorn scoring from nine yards out with1 2 seconds left in the third quarter. The two-point conversion run made it 20-7. David Kaipio's eleven-yard touchdown run with 1:42 left closed the scoring.  For Gladstone, Schwalbach c0mpleted 7-of-13 passes for 104 yards and a touchdown. Greenfield had three of the catches, for 59 yards. Kyle Pouliot had two catches for 18 yards, while Chenier and Carlson each had one catch. On the ground, Schwalbach scrambled for 47 yards on eight carries...minus three quarterback sacks for 15 yards of losses. Gladstone finishes its season with a 2-7 record, but the seniors go out with a lot of pride because, as Hansen said, the boys started a foundation for future success. "Kyle Pouliot gave everything he had. Hutch (Matt Chenier) gave everything he had. Garling, out there with one leg (due to an ankle injury on the other), giving everything he has," Hansen said. "Benny (Schwalbach) as a junior, running around and making plays. I'm so happy that those kids came out and played that way, as a lasting statement for their legacy as a team." The Braves seniors: #3 Matt Chenier, #5 Jake Greenfield, #7 James Bruce, #14 Ross Miron, #22 Luke Sturdy, #23 Trevor Tomac, #29 Alex Leonoff, #33 Kyle Pouliot, #42 Hunter Garling, #44 Derek Vanderlinden, #52 Tyler Krause, #61 Kotsya Torvinen, #63 Troy Chenier, #64 Jake Bilkey, #77 Noah Krycia, #80 Alex King, #82 Dallas Potvin, and #85 Phil Griffith. We thank all of these guys for their dedication to Braves football. Click the thumbnails in the ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS box to see photos and videos, and to hear radio interviews and replays.  |
