Homecoming Loss: Marquette Powers Past Braves

GLADSTONE----The Gladstone Braves played a solid half of football against the Marquette Redmen on Homecoming Friday night. But unfortunately for the Braves, it takes two halves of solid football to earn a victory on most nights.

Marquette scored three touchdowns in the second half to beat Gladstone, 35-14, handing the Braves their third straight loss after a 2-0 start.

"Coming in, I figured it would be an evenly-played game, and it was," Gladstone Coach Josh Mileski said. "They just showed that they were a little better than us. They are a little better football team. They wore us down as the second half went on."

Much of that can be attributed to the 6-foot, 200-pound running back Alex Sherbinow.

He ran for 165 yards on 29 carries, and scored three touchdowns. His dominance was especially evident in the second half, as the Redmen broke off three long scoring drives.

And Sherbinow's play opened up things for sophomore quarterback Brett Place, who ran in one touchdown and threw for another while compiling 70 rushing and 81 passing yards.

"I thought our kids played hard, and fought as well as they could," Mileski said.

Things got off to a tough start for the Braves when quarterback Sam Pouliot threw an interception on the third play of the game. Marquette took quick advantage, with Sherbinow getting the carry on four straight plays, scoring on a five-yard touchdown.

Gladstone got to within 7-6 later in the quarter after Justin Jurek recovered a fumble at midfield, Pouliot hooked up with Justin Pederson on a pass into the Red Zone, and then Pouliot scored on a fake to Jared Vuksan from three yards out on third down.

The Braves defense stepped up with a three-and-out, and then the offense put on an impressive 68-yard drive. They converted a 4th-and-11 play at the Redman 31-yard line when Pederson made a diving catch of a low throw from Pouliot.

Later, it was 4th-and-11 again, this time from the 20. Pouliot found Riley Ballard at the goal line for a hard-nosed touchdown. Vuksan's two-point run made it 14-7.

Sam Pouliot TD pass to Riley Ballard

Marquette responded with a 64-yard drive, as Sherbinow broke several tackle attempts on a 25-yard touchdown run on 1st-and-21. The PAT kick tied the game at 14-14.

The Redmen took control in the second half. They took the opening possession 59 yards in six plays, with Place scoring on a 29-yard run on the quarterback sweep.

"He (Place) did an excellent job," Mileski said. "It was pretty apparent that they saw a weakness in our defense, and they exploited it. Hats off to them."

Gladstone put together a nice drive of its own, starting at the 13 yard line and completing a 27-yard Pouliot-to-Pederson pass on 3rd and 13. Jurek and Vuksan both broke off a couple of nice runs, and the Braves moved into Marquette territory.

But the Redmen defense stiffened, stopping four running plays near the Marquette 20 yard line.

And after Marquette took over on downs, the Redmen went 81 yards in seven plays, with Place finding Brett Beauchamp for a 44-yard touchdown pass.

That made it 28-14, and it pretty much ended the game for the Braves. Sherbinow scored a cosmetic touchdown with 1:59 left in the game to add to the Marquette score.

Marquette (4-1 overall, 1-1 Great Northern Conference) had 328 yards of total offense while Gladstone had 313. Besides Sherbinow's 165 yards, Place had 151 yards combined passing and running from the quarterback position.

Sam Pouliot fakes to Vuksan and scores

Gladstone (2-3, 0-2) had 149 yards passing from Pouliot, who completed eight of 20 passes for one touchdown and two interceptions. Jurek had 122 yards rushing on 25 carries, while Vuksan had just six carries (for 31 yards).

"Gus (Jurek) has been sick of us referring to him as a sophomore," Mileski said. "He stepped it up. He had a nice game. He ran the ball realy well."

Gladstone travels to Sault Ste. Marie next Friday night. Game time is 7:00. It will be broadcast live on WGKL-FM (105.5), WCHT-AM (600), and rrnsports.com.

Click the thumbnails in the "ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS" box to see pictures and videos from the game.

Date	Time	Opponent	Score	Record

8/24	7:00 PM	Gwinn Model Towners	49 - 12 (W)	1-0

8/31	7:00 PM	at Bark River-Harris Broncos	34 - 6 (W)	2-0

9/7	7:30 PM	at Negaunee Miners	34 - 36 (L)	2-1

9/14	8:00 PM	at Menominee Maroons	6 - 47 (L)	2-2

9/21	7:00 PM	Marquette Redmen	14 - 35 (L)	2-3

9/28	7:00 PM	at Sault Ste. Marie Blue Devils	19 - 49 (L)	2-4

10/5	7:00 PM	Escanaba Eskymos	25 - 37 (L)	2-5

10/12	7:30 PM	at Kingsford Flivvers	28 - 49 (L)	2-6

10/18	7:00 PM	Calumet Copper Kings	12 - 36 (L)	2-7