WILD, HAPPY HOMECOMING FOR GLADSTONE!

GLADSTONE---So many times Friday night, the Gladstone Braves looked like they were dead.

Two fumbles led directly to 14 Marquette Redmen points. The Braves dropped two easy touchdown catches. They had other assorted mistakes, too, that helped the Redmen build a 31-8 lead just before halftime.

But if anybody left the Marble Field early, they are in for a big surprise this morning.

The Braves put on a huge comeback in the second half to take the lead, then held on as the Redmen tried a game-winning field goal in the closing seconds. Gladstone upset Marquette, 46-45, to win on Braves Homecoming for the first time since 2008.

"This is the reason why you coach kids, and this is why kids work so hard," said a choked up Braves Coach Jeff Hansen. "To watch them dig, and fight, no matter what the circumstance. I just think it comes down to grit. I don't think it's scheme at that point."

"I don't think it's anything more than the grit of the kids, just their absolute wanting to win together, that made that happen."

"It's crazy," said Braves junior linebacker Alex Chouinard. "We just had to stay together as a family. Everyone had to do their one job. If everyone does their one job, and we play together as a team, that's how we can do it."

But the Braves had to hold their collective breaths as the Redmen, without top running back Andrew Gale due to a fourth quarter injury, drove down the field in the final minute.

They lined up for a 35-yard field goal, well within the range of kicker Caleb Byma, who had nailed a 32-yarder early in the game. But this time, with 13.9 seconds left on the clock, Byma hooked it to the left. One kneel-down later, Gladstone had thw victory.

"We knew it had to come down to that," Chouinard said. "We were trying to put as much pressure on him as possible. He's a great kicker, and to make him miss that, it was insane!"

"I told Casey Young, our special teams coordinator, to set up the block," Hansen said. "So, we called the time out, and he took out the notebook, and literally drew up the block, trying to put as much pressure on the kick as we cook. We were just selling the kids on 'effort' to try to get something in the window so that he didn't have a nice, clean kick. That's a pressure situation."

And after the final ticks ran off the clock, and the two teams shook hands, several hundred Gladstone students swarmed the field in celebration.

Early in the game, things were not too pretty for the Braves. They did hold the Redmen to a field goal on the first possession, but on the ensuing kickoff, the Braves fumbled it away. Seconds later, Gale scored the first of what would be four touchdown runs, and it was 10-0.

The Braves faced fourth and 14 from the Marquette 41 when Darin Johnson threw a long bomb to Owen Carlson. Carlson couldn't come up with the catch, so the Redmen took over on downs. And one play later, Jackson Ostrowsky hooked up with Wyatt Goodwin for a short swing pass that turned into a 63-yard Marquette touchdown. The PAT kick made it 17-0.

Gladstone got some life when Johnson fould Olsen for a 38-yard touchdown pass, and Casey Wolf scored the two-pointer to close the gap to 17-8.

But Marquette marched down the field on a drive that included a 4th-and-11 conversion, capped off by a Gale two-yard score. That made it 24-8, and then after Wolf fumbled, Marquette took advantage with a 58-yard drive.

Gale scored again, from 19 yards out, and after the kick, Marquette led, 31-8. Gladstone still had 4:16 to work with, but they got into trouble when a blocking penalty was called against midfield.

That set up a 1st-and-27 from the Braves 29, and the snap went over Johnsons head back to the Gladstone goal line. Johnson raced back, scooped up the ball, ran around a bit, and then heaved a bomb toward midfield. Rudy Peterson, one of only two sophomores on the Braves team, caught the ball for 26 yards at the Marquette 45.

"It goes over my head, and I'm looking for a wide receiver to come back for the ball," Johnson said. "Rudy Peterson did that, and I just let it fly, and he was there to make the play."

Trailing 31-8, if that ball is recovered by Marquette, or Johnson has to take a sack or safety, it could have ended the game. But the Braves seemed to get momentum after that, and they used Wolf's hard running to get a touchdown with 22 seconds left in the half. Johnson's two-point run brought the Braves to within 31-16 at halftime...one that included an inspirational address from former Gladstone lineman Kent King, who is now on the Braves coaching staff.

Owen Hanson brought the Braves a bit closer when he burst up the field for a 75-yard touchdown on the second half kickoff. Gladstone missed the two-point conversion, though, so it stayed 31-22.

From there, it was back-and-forth. Gale scored his fourth touchdown, from one yard out, and the kick made it 38-22. But then Johnson showed his athelticism with an electricflying 45-yard touchdown run on 4th and 15 from the Marquette 45.

The two-point pass from Johnson to Jared Demeuse made it 38-30.

Then Marquette suffered a key injury as Gale, a sophomore who had 195 yards on 34 carries and four touchdowns, was injured while being tackled. The Redmen responded all right at first, as Ostrowsky hooked up with Alex DuVall for a 23-yard screen pass for a touchdown on 3rd and 11. The extra point kick made it 45-30 with less than nine minutes to play.

But Gladstone came right back again as Johnson threw the bomb to Olsen, this time for a 50-yard touchdown. Johnson ran in the all-important two-point conversion, bringing the Braves to within 45-38, and the crowd was in a fever pitch.

Without Gale in the backfield, the Braves got a key stop on defense, forcing Marquette to punt for just the second time in the game. Gladstone took over on the 33 yard-line, and it was the Casey Wolf show. He gained all 67 yards on the drive, including a 21-yard pass out of the backfield, and scored a touchdown from 16 yards out with 4:57 left in the game.

Then it was Wolf who scored the two-point conversion, giving the Braves the lead, and setting up a wild finish that ended with Marquette's missed field goal and a Homecoming win.

"When we lined up, it was going to be an audible, toss right or toss left," Wolf said of the two-point play. "Whatever side had less guys, we were going to go that way. So Darin audibled that way (left), and it was there, and we got it in."

And then after that field goal went to the left of the goalposts, a football program that has been down for so long finally got their night to celebrate.

"The atmosphere here, I mean, its been eight years since we won a Homecoming game," Wolf said. "So to come out here, to win like this, against a great team like Marquette...all the credit to them...it was something special."

Wolf had 156 yards rushing on 23 carries, while Johnson ran for 90 yards on ten carries. Johnson completed 6 of 13 passes for 161 yuards and two touchdowns.

Gladstone (2-3) travels to Sault Ste. Marie to face the Blue Devils next Friday night. Kick-off is set for 7:00. The game will be broadcast live on WGKL-FM (105.5) and WCHT-AM (600).

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