ESCANABA---The Escanaba High School football team rallied from eleven points down in the final quarter to beat the Kingsford Flivvers, 21-18, Thursday night, at the Escanaba Athletic Field.
Brody Ison’s “jump-pass” to Alex Stolboerger for a touchdown put the Eskymos in the lead with three minutes left, and Ison’s two-point run made it 21-18.
Kingsford had one more stand in the final seconds as quarterback Jack Kriegl tried to cap off a 90-yard drive with a touchdown pass from the 27 yard-line. But Keagan Braun raced in front of that pass in the corner of the end zone, and the Eskymos celebrated a huge win against a former Great Northern Conference foe.
Escanaba took an early 7-0 lead on a five-yard touchdown run by Ison, and Graham Johnson’s extra point kick added the seventh point. The Flivvers responded on a short quarterback sneak by Kriejl, but the extra point was missed thanks to a high snap, keeping Esky in front, 7-6.
Kingsford dominated the second quarter on both sides of the football. The Flivvers shut down the Eskymo offense, and scored a pair of touchdowns: one on a 13-yard run by Kriegl, and the other on a touchdown pass from Kriegl to Owen Olkkonen, who outjumped the Eskymo defender in the corner of the end zone.
Kingsford missed both conversions, but led, 18-7, going into halftime, and the Flivvers got the ball first to start the second half.
The Eskymo defense got the stop it needed to stay in the game, and the teams played to a stalemate. But in the fourth quarter, Eskymo quarterback Nolan Bink found Stalboerger for a short touchdown pass to cut the lead to 18-13. The two-point play failed, but then, the turning point.
Owen Fields, the team’s senior center, was pressed into kicking duty when Johnson, the team’s special team leader, cramped up. Fields delivered with a baseball pop fly (he also plays baseball) at the 50-yard-line, and the Eskymos recovered the ball.
Moments later, the Eskymos worked the ball down field, and with less than three minutes left, Ison took the direct snap and delivered the soft touchdown pass to Stalboerger. Ison’s two-point run made it 21-18, and then Fields hit another pop fly that the Flivvers fumbled, and the Eskymos had the ball again with a chance to end the game.
Kingsford was able to get a three-and-out as the Eskymos kept the ball on the ground, with the Flivvers down to one time out. Johnson returned to the field to put on a perfect no-return punt, nailing the Flivvers at their own ten yard-line with just over two minutes to work with.
Kriegl did his best to give his team a chance, with several short passes to move the sticks, and personal foul late-hit penalty assessed to Braun. But in the end, Braun redeemed himself with an interception that sealed the deal for the Eskymos. A win on Veterans Night, where, for the 23rd straight season, veterans were honored on the field before the game.
