Gladstone Hangs Tough But Falls To Gaylord, 42-34

GAYLORD---Jared Crow threw four touchdown passes but the Gladstone Braves fell on the road Thursday night, 42-34, to the Gaylord Blue Devils. Brody Sanville added a touchdown run for Gladstone, which trailed the whole game but kept coming back.

Gaylord started the game on a 77-yard drive that ended on a one-yard touchdown run by James Miller. Then after the Braves fumbled away their first possession, the Blue Devils punched it in again, this time on a passing play. All of a sudden, it was 14-0.

Gladstone closed to within 14-6 when Crow found Vince Hughes for a 31-yard touchdown pass on fourth and long. Then after the Blue Devils scored on a Cade Foster touchdown run, the Braves went into the hurry-up and punched one home on a two-yard TD pass to Brody Sanville with 14 seconds left in the half.

The two-point conversion failed, however, so it was 21-12 at halftime.

The third quarter was not a good one for the Braves as Gaylord scored a pair of touchdowns, one of them after a Gladstone interception, to take a 35-12 lead.

But the fourth quarter was a wild one as Crow through his third touchdown pass of the game, this one to Rudy Peterson, to cut it to 35-18. Then after the Blue Devils botched the snap on a punt deep in their own territory, Sanville ran in the touchdown from 11 yards out. The Braves also made the two-point run to cut the gap to 35-26.

There was still more than half of the fourth quarter to go, but the Blue Devils got a huge run on 3rd and 10 from quarterback Ryan Stefanski. Then as time was winding down, Stefanski broke free for a 42-yard touchdown to put the game away at 42-26.

Gladstone did not give up, as Crow led his team on a 93-yard drive against the Blue Devils' zone defense. Crow's final touchdown pass, and two-point conversion, came with 2.8 seconds left in the game. The Blue Devils recovered the on-side kick.

Stefanski led the way for Gaylord (2-0) with 215 yards while Foster had 133.

Crow, with his four touchdown passes, now has seven TD passes for the Braves (1-1) in the first two games of the season. Sanville has the other two TD runs.

It doesn't get any easier for Gladstone next Friday as the Braves return to the Great Northern Conference with a road game at Blesch Stadium in Menominee against the Maroons. The game will be broadcast on Kool 105.5 FM and NewsTalk 600.