Eskymos Beat Braves For First JV Football Victory

ESCANABA----Things started off good for the Gladstone High School junior varisty football team Thursday as the boys faced the arch-rival Escanaba Eskymos in Escanaba.

The Braves took an early lead when quarterback Tyler Wells hooked up on a 29-yard touchdown pass to Jake "Rizzo" Peterson on a fourth down play less than three minutes in to the game. Brad Gagnon's extra point gave Gladstone a 7-0 advantage.

Gladstone Braves' Axel Madden (44) gets the toss from Tyler Wells (14).

And when Wells intercepted a pass thrown by Eskymo quarterback Kaleb Rahoi on Escanaba's first offensive series, things looked even better for the Braves.

But that was about it for Gladstone highlights on this mild, windy night. Escanaba scored on its next eight possessions and rolled tp a 47-7 win over the Braves.

It was the first win of the season for the Eskymos, and led to an emotional ending that included a Gatorade bucket bath for Escanaba Assistant Coach Gary Salo as time ran down late in the game.

Sean Bissell scored three touchdowns for the Eskymos, on runs of f0ur, six, and eight yards. Bissell also scored on a two-point conversion run, and he ended up with a game-high 128 yards on 19 carries. Quarterback Kaleb Rahoi ran in a one-yard touchdown and hooked up with freshman Dan VanEffen on a 15-yard touchdown pass.

Nick Becotte and Jim Zelenak added touchdown runs of five and two yards, respectively, in the fouth quarter. And Esky's #74 Corey Dahn provided the icing on the cake with a line-drive extra point kick from the 15-yard line late in the game.

Escanaba led, 8-7, after the first quarter, and 22-7 at halftime.

Eskymo quarterback Kaleb Rahoi (5).

Besides Bissell's 128 yards, Becotte had 69 yards on eight carries in the fourth quarter. Rahoi rushed for 34 yards on nine carries from the quarterback position. The Eskymos had 330 yards in total offense, while Gladstone had just 105 yards, 90 in the first half.

Wells had 46 yards on 14 carries and Axel Madden added 25 yards on ten touches for the junior varsity Braves, who's record fell to 3-4 on the season. Escanaba is 1-4-1.

Click the thumbnails in the "ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS" box to see photos and videos from the game. Thanks to EHS sophomore Ryan Schoff!

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