Click the thumbnails to see photos and video highlights from the game, Also click on radio interveiws with Braves seniors Trevor Thorbahn and Marcus Racine, and to hear post-game comments from both teams' coaches.
GLADSTONE---The Negaunee High School football team used its strength in the trenches to overwhelm the Gladstone Braves, 25-2, in a high school football game Friday night at the Marble Athletic Field. It was a hard-hitting game all night by both teams, a typical Gladstone-Negaunee physical battle like so many others in this rivalry.
“It was frustrating because we were moving the ball so well, but we just couldn’t get it in the end zone,” Gladstone Coach Craig Ness said. “We were wearing them down and we’d get the ball to the goal line, but we’d keep making a mistake or get a penalty. That was a little bit of undisciplineness on ourselves. This was a hard-hitting game. That’s Negaunee and Gladstone. We hit the hell out of each other.”
Negaunee Coach Jeff Niemi agreed.
“It was a very hard-hitting game,” he said. “Credit to both Gladstone and to my kids. I can’t ask for any more out of our kids. Gladstone battled to the end. I thought we gave a little too much the 20’s, but the kids buckled down and executed (in the red zone). It’s kind of our mentality: keep grinding, keep grinding, keep grinding.”
In the end, the Braves could not capitalize on great field position, including four times in the Negaunee red zone. The only Gladstone points came on a safety scored when the snap on a Miners punt went over the head of punter Owen Cardinal and out of the end zone.
The Miners controlled the first quarter after taking the opening kickoff and driving 65 yards for a touchdown, on a four-yard run by Marshall Peters.
After the Braves got that safety, they had a great chance to score when Negaunee quarterback Kyle Waterman was strip-sacked by Chase Ketchum. Jack Savard recovered the fumble and the Braves were in business. But they could not punch the ball into the end zone, and ended up turning it over on downs.
Before halftime, the Braves had to punt, and unfortunately for the home team, the kick went on a bounce to Evan Dellangelo. He had a kick-off return for a touchdown last week against Marquette, and this time, despite running away from his blockers, took this one to the house for a 71-yard touchdown. Negaunee led, 12-2, with another missed PAT kick.
“He’s a dynamic athlete,” Niemi said of Dellangelo, who is only a junior. “He can do a little bit of everything. He can definitely run, but he can receive the ball, he can run in the backfield. I think he is somebody you (opponents) have to account for all the time, maybe with two people, so it kind of opens up things for other people, too.”
On the last play of the half, Braves quarterback Cooper Sanville launched a Hail Mary pass to the goal line. Mason Sierpien caught it for an apparent touchdown, but was ruled to have caught the ball out of bounds. So, it stayed 12-2 Negaunee at the half.
The Miners continued to control the trenches, with the Braves unable to get Owen Gereau any running room, and they couldn’t get Sanville’s passing game going. Part of the Negaunee success was the work of junior linebacker David Jucemich, who had two quarterback sacks and a tackle-for-loss on Gereau.
The Braves were whistled for five personal foul penalties, two of them on consecutive plays in the second half as the Miners put the game away with a 10-yard touchdown pass from Waterman and a short touchdown run by Waterman in the game’s final minute.
Negaunee improved to 2-0 on the season and will battle the 2-0 Calumet Copper Kings next week. The Braves fell to 0-2 and will play the Kingsford Flivvers next Friday night.
