RIVALRY WARFARE: Esky Slips Past Braves, 19-12

GLADSTONE---Anyone who thought the Escanaba Eskymos would take the short trip to Gladstone and roll to easy victory Friday night was in for quite a surprise.

The Braves played an inspired game, especially on defense, and the game turned into a backyard brawl at the Marble Athletic Field. Escanaba scored two touchdowns in the fourth quarter and slipped past the Braves, 19-12.

Escanaba clinched a state playoff spot with its sixth win of the season.

Scout Wunder's halfback option pass to Brett Stalboerger on 4th and 5 from the Braves 15 yard-line gave the Eskymos a 19-12 lead with 3:58 to play.

The Eskymos tried a two-point conversion run to effectively end the game, but Wunder was stuffed by Jeff Stenson on the play.

That kept the Braves alive, and Darin Johnson tried to engineer a last-minute comeback. He scrambled for 11 yards on the first play, then hit Casey Wolf for a 16-yard pass to the Escanaba 39-yard-line.

But then the problem of bad snaps that had plagued the Braves for most of the season came back, as a snap went over Johnson's head, and 20 yards backward. That left Gladstone with 31 yards to go for a first down, and two incomplete passes later, Escanaba took over and ran out the clock.

Early in the game, the defenses ruled, with the only touchdown coming when Johnson was hit as he threw the ball at his own five yard-line. The ball popped up into the air and Chris LeMire grabbed it and danced into the end zone. Addam Claes kicked the extra point, making it 7-0.

Gladstone had a couple of golden opportunities to score, with the ball twice inside the Escanaba 15 yard-line and one other time at the Eskymo 30. But the Eskymo defense stiffened each time.

The Braves finally got on the board in the third quarter when Johnson received a punt and took it to the house, 67 yards. The two-point conversion run was no good, however, so it was 7-6.

The Eskymos then went into the fourth quarter with an impressive drive that ended with a one-yard touchdown run by Cody Vandermissen. On that drive, Wunder rushed for 51 yards.

Johnson blocked the extra point attempt, so it was 13-6 with 7:56 left in the game.

The Eskymos did not want to kick to Johnson, so the pooch kick gave the Braves the ball near midfield.

And the Braves scored on the first play as Johnson dumped it to Stenson along the sideline. He made one man miss and stiff-armed the other for a 53-yard touchdown.

The Braves went for two, and the lead, but the fade pass from Ben Schwalbach to Johnson in the corner of the end zone failed, keeping the Eskymos in the lead, 13-12.

That set up the wild finish that ended with a razzle-dazzle touchdown for the Eskymos, and an unfortunate bad snap that snuffed out the Braves' final scoring opportunity.

It was a good night for Schwalbach, who had two interceptions, and for Stenson, who delivered several hard hits and recovered a Tyler Willette fumble.

For the Eskymos, Jack Lynch was a beast on the line before suffering an ankle injury in the third quarter. He didn't return.

Gladstone wore pink uniforms and there was a "Pink Party" in the stands, as part of Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

Gladstone teamed with the Superior Health Foundation for an event that raises money to help women who are dealing with the disease.

Escanaba (6-1) heads to Merrill, Wis., next week with the goal of securing a home playoff game. Gladstone fell to 3-4 and will need to beat two good teams to have a shot at a playoff game. The first is a road game next Friday night in Kingsford. The game from Flivver Field will be broadcast live on WGKL-FM (105.5), WCHT-AM (600), and at www.rrnsports.com.

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