BELIEVE! Braves Make Statement With Road Win

NEGAUNEE---Respect is something that is not a given.

It is something that is earned. Remember your parents telling you that as you grew up?

Well, for the Gladstone High School football team, respect was definitely earned Friday night as the boys rallied from a 13-0 deficit to stun the Negaunee Miners, 24-19, in Negaunee.

The Miners entered the game as the fourth-ranked team in the state in the Associated Press poll. But it was the Braves who improved to 3-0.

And this happens after Gladstone went 0-9 last season, and was 2-25 over the last three seasons.

The win was nice, but the respect that will come with it is even nicer.

"If they didn't believe in us before, they should belive in us now," said Braves senior Justin Jurek, who scored all 24 of his team's points Friday night. "It all came down to how much we wanted it, and we proved that we wanted it a lot."

"I didn't think that the rest of the U.P. respected us as a 2-0 team," said Gladstone Coach Cody Kangas. "And the kids understood that, too. They didn't feel that they were respected. So, they kind of got a chip on their shoulders this week. We practied well."

Gladstone battled poor field position throughout the enitre game, as the kicking game was not very strong on a cold, rainy night along the shores of Teal Lake.

Keenan Barron halftime interview

But the Gladstone defense made several key stops in the Red Zone, including two stops in the final two minutes. And the defense forced three fumbles that stopped Miner scoring drives.

At the beginning, it looked like Gladstone might score first as the Braves marched deep into Negaunee territory on the opening posession. But a poor snap on a fourth down play led to quarterback Tyler Wells being sacked at the 12 yard-line to end the threat.

After the teams exchanged punts, the Miners moved deep into Braves territory and faced a 4th-and-2 at the 17 yard-line.

Quarterback Ryan Syrjala ran the option perfectly, pitching to Ryan Bischof just in time for a 17-yard touchdown run.

Moments later, after a Gladstone punt, Syrjala found Jason Bell behind the Braves defense for a 42-yard touchdown pass. The extra point was no good, but Negaunee had a 13-0 lead and seemed to be well on its way to a win.

"I honestly thought we were gonna lose it," said Gladstone senior linebacker Nate Keefer. "But we just believed that we could win, and we came back and won. We just went back to our (defensive) technique and what we were taught. We believed we could stop them, and we then. It feels amazing."

And while Negaunee would score just one more time the rest of the night, the Braves needed to get on the scoreboard. And Jurek did just that.

He got the kickoff at his own 15 yard-line. He bobbled the ball at first, but then took off, reversing field at one point. He got two nice blocks along the way and raced into the end zone for an 85-yard kickoff return that gave the Braves some momentum.

"I'm one of the leaders on my team, and they needed that play to happen," Jurek said. "We needed that, big time, and that kind of sparked us."

Justin Jurek 85-yard kickoff return for TD

On the next possession, the Miners gambled on 4th-and-4 at their own 39. Remember that "respect" thing?

Well, Negaunee missed on a pass play, giving Gladstone the ball in Miner territory. Now on offense, Wells ran hard to convert a 4th-and-1 play, and then again moments later on 3rd-and-3 at the Negaunee 14.

Jurek then ran it in from seven yards out and Gladstone was within 13-12 at the half.

Negaunee had the ball to start the third quarter, but on the first play, Austin Johnson fumbled, with Jake Peterson recovering a the 46 yard-line.

After Wells got a first down on an 11-yard sweep, the Braves faced 3rd-and-10 at the Negaunee 35.

No problem, just give it to Gus! And Jurek burst through the line and outran everyone to the end zone for a 35-yard score, putting Gladstone in front, 18-13.

Negaunee, however, dug deep and came right back with a touchdown drive of its own.

Starting at the Gladstone 48 yard-line, the Miners converted a 4th-and-5 play on a ten-yard run by Bischof. Then, on 4th-and-10 at the Gladstone 20, Syrjala found Logan Streeter open for a 17-yard pass play. Johnson scored on the next play, giving Negaunee a 19-18 lead with 3:01 left in the third quarter.

Nate Keefer, Justin Jurek combine on QB sack

The Braves could do nothing on their next two possessions, mostly because they started on their own 17 and 3 yard-lines.

In the fourth quarter, the Miners appeared to be ready to expand their lead as Johnson ran for five yards on 4th-and-2 from the Gladstone 20. But Jurek stripped the ball, forcing a fumble on the play.

Taking over on their own 15, the Braves got a 41-yard run from Jurek on the first play. Then on 3rd-and-4 from the Miners 38, Jurek got loose for another 11 yard run. Then Wells kept it and rolled for an 18-yard run to the Negaunee nine. And then it was Jurek running through a huge hole for his fourth touchdown of the game, making it 24-19.

"Every time that I got a good run, there was a big hole there for me," Jurek said. "I have to give all the credit to that offensive line. They worked hard the emtire game. All four quarters. It wasn't just one play or one quarter. They worked their butts off."

That came with 4:56 left in the game, but there was a lot of drama to follow.

The Miners started their drive at the Gladstone 34-yard-line after a nice Miner kickoff return.

Negaunee moved it to the Braves 15, but two running plays were stuffed by the Braves defense on 3rd-and-2 and 4th-and-2, with 1:31 left in the game.

Gladstone got the ball at the 15, and kept it on the ground to force Negaunee to use its time outs.

With 36 seconds left, the Braves punted, and again, the Miners had good field position at the Gladstone 37.

The Miners completed a short pass that did not get out of bounds, forcing them to hurry to the line and spike the ball. With five seconds left, Syrjala rolled on the option, had no receivers open, got to the sidelines, and was ripped out of bounds at the 20.

Radio Replay of Game's Final Play!

Game over. Gladstone wins? The Braves are 3-0?

Yes, sir! Jurek led the Braves with 141 yards on 14 carries, and three rushing touchdowns.

Wells had 54 yards on 17 carries, and he completed three-of-11 passes for 33 yards (two passes that would have been long plays were dropped on the same drive).

"I can't even express how happy I am for those kids," Kangas said. "It's a 'program win'. It's been a long time coming."

For Negaunee (2-1), Johnson had 81 yards on 14 carries, two touchdowns, and two fumbles. Fullback Zac Harsilla had 45 yards on 12 carries. Syrjala completed five of ten passes for 74 yards and a touchdown, plus, he ran for 44 yards on ten carries.

Tyler Wells big third down conversion.

So Gladstone can enjoy a rare winning streak, heading into perhaps their toughest challenge of the year next week: a trip to Menominee to face that vaunted Single Wing offense.

But Kangas insists his team will not be afraid and will put together a plan.

"We have to get back to work on Monday for a very tough team," Kangas said.

Next Friday's game starts at 8:00 ET from Blesch Stadium. It will be broadcast live on WGKL-FM (105.5), WCHT-AM (600), and on-line at www.rrnsports.com.

Click the thumbnails in the ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS box to see photos taken by Ron Jurek, videos courtesy of Nate Bellville, audio clips.

The Gladstone Braves are cold and wet, but happy after pulling an upset win on Friday. (Ron Jurek photo)

Date	Time	Opponent	Score	Record

8/28	7:00 PM	Gwinn Model Towners	34 - 8 (W)	1-0

9/6	6:00 PM	Roscommon Bucks	41 - 12 (W)	2-0

9/12	7:00 PM	at Negaunee Miners	24 - 19 (W)	3-0

9/19	8:00 PM	at Menominee Maroons	6 - 49 (L)	3-1

9/26	7:00 PM	Marquette Redmen	13 - 21 (L)	3-2

10/3	7:00 PM	at Sault Ste. Marie Blue Devils	22 - 28 (L)	3-3

10/10	7:00 PM	Escanaba Eskymos	14 - 41 (L)	3-4

10/17	7:30 PM	at Kingsford Flivvers	20 - 41 (L)	3-5

10/24	7:00 PM	Calumet Copper Kings	38 - 47 (L)	3-6