FANTASTIC FINISH! Eskymos Rally Past Flivvers

ESCANABA---The Escanaba Eskymos scored 42 points in the second half and pulled out a wild 49-42 win over the Kingsford Flivvers Friday night at the Escanaba Athletic Field.

Logan Carroll's 28-yard touchdown run with 52 seconds left in the game won it.

The game went back-and-forth all night long before Carroll's scamper decided it. The Flivvers scored first on a four-yard touchdown pass from Sawyer Perpich to Owen Petcher, but the Eskymos went on a long drive and tied the game on a four-yard run by Cody Vandermissen.

In the second quarter, the Flivvers scored on a blocked punt in the end zone, and after an Eskymo fumble, Trevor Roberts scored on a ten-yard touchdown run to make it 21-7 Flivvers.

But the Eskymos rallied in the third quarter with back-to-back touchdown passes from quarterback Justin Popelka. The first covered 20 yards to Scout Wunder; the second was a seven-yarder to Brett Stalboerger. Paul Carne made his third straight kick; it was a 21-21 tie.

Kingsford came back with a 60-yard return by Roberts on the ensuing kickoff, setting up a 20-yard touchdown pass from Perpich to Chase Kreski. But that was just the start of the fireworks.

Wunder scored on a three-yard run late in the third quarter, but the kick was blocked. That kept Kingsford in front, 28-27, but the Eskymos again found the end zone as Popelka threw his third touchdown pass of the half. This one was a 70-yard bomb to Willette. The two seniors also hooked up on the two-point conversion pass, giving Escanaba a 35-28 lead.

But it was again Kingsford's turn to rally, as Perpich found Kreski for a five-yard touchdown, and Aden Miller scored on a 43-yard touchdown run. That put Kingsford ahead, 42-35.

It was back on offense for the Eskymos, and again, it was Popelka and Willette turning the trick, this time on a 40-yard touchdown pass and catch. That brought the Eskymos to within 42-41 with 3:52 left in the game, and they went for two points and the lead. They missed.

The Flivvers had a chance to put the game away when they faced third and short with less than two minutes on the clock. The Eskymo defense denied the first down, giving them one more chance on offense. They cashed in on the Carroll run, and a two-point pass to Willette.

Kingsford was able to move the ball inside the Escanaba 40 yard-line in a last-gasp attempt to retie the game, but Breyden Papineau recovered a fumble and the Eskymos ran out the clock.

Escanaba finishes its season 7-2 and will open the state playoffs next week at home. The Flivvers finish 6-3 and will likely open the playoffs on the road. We will know for sure Sunday night when the 256-team playoff field is released by the Michigan High School Athletic Association on the "Selection Sunday" show. We will post the pairings at rrnsports.com.