Negaunee, MI – October 11, 2019 – The Negaunee Miners Football team took a quick lead against the Gogebic Miners and didn’t look back. In a dominant performance, Negaunee put up 35 first half points en route to a 42-16 win over Gogebic to get to 5-2 on the season. Mark Evans and Gregg Nelson announced the game from Miners Stadium in Negaunee on Sunny 101.9.
1st Half:
The Negaunee defense came out and did its job on the opening drive of the game, forcing a three and out. The Miners started off with great field position on offense at the Gogebic 40-yard line. The running game of Lukas Nelson and Nash Hillier led the way and Negaunee was then already inside of the 10-yard line. Facing third down and goal at the six-yard line, quarterback Jason Waterman ran it in for the touchdown to give Negaunee an early lead. Erik Salminen knocked the extra point through, and Negaunee led Gogebic 7-0 thanks to as good of a start as you can get. Gogebic got the ball back but couldn’t move the ball once again. Six plays of offense on its first two possessions led the Gogebic Miners to its second straight punt, that was not the way they wanted to start this ball game. Negaunee’s offensive artillery came back out with another short field, this time at the 50-yard line. Nelson and Hillier continued to handle the large work load for the Miners, they were running hard against the aggressive Gogebic defensive line. After a couple of big runs to set them up once again inside of the Gogebic 10-yard line, Hillier found the end-zone for an eight-yard Negaunee touchdown. Salminen’s kick was no good, however the Miners still led 13-0 as the first quarter winded down. After the opening quarter, the Negaunee Miners led the Gogebic Miners 13-0 in the battle for the Dick Koski Trophy.
End of 1st: Negaunee Miners 13, Gogebic Miners 0
The first quarter trend continued for Gogebic, as quarterback Connor Fingeroos and his team couldn’t get any offense going. After a third consecutive punt, the Gogebic Miners were in a hole in a hurry. Negaunee stayed on the ground, as Waterman kept it himself for a big run down the sideline. Hillier continued to make strides as well, rushing the Miners back inside of the Gogebic five-yard line. Two plays later Nelson cashed it in from four yards out for a Negaunee touchdown rush. The two-point attempt was converted after Waterman’s run was successful, and Negaunee now led 21-0 with over nine minutes remaining in the half. Running back Tommy Lundin led the rushing attack for Gogebic, but the Negaunee defense wasn’t going to be stifled. Once again, a punt by Gogebic set up Negaunee at midfield. Gogebic began the defensive drive well with two stops, forcing a third down for Negaunee. That would be the only success for Gogebic defensively, as the very next play Negaunee hit on a big play from Waterman to wide receiver Alex Munson. Munson caught the ball for the first down, broke a tackle, and took it 58 yards to the house for the touchdown. Salminen made the score 28-0, and this game was getting out of hand. Gogebic proceeded to take the kickoff inside of Negaunee territory, and was by far the best play for Gogebic to that point. It appeared Gogebic picked up the first down on a third down pass play, but Fingeroos’ pass to running back Sethe Cole was dropped. The Miners went for it on fourth down, but an overthrow caused a turnover on downs. Negaunee got the ball back and didn’t waste any time with another scoring drive. This time it was Nelson from six yards out for his second touchdown of the night, and after the extra point the score was now 35-0 Negaunee. Gogebic got the ball back with under a minute remaining in the first half, and that is when they picked up its first first down of the game after a nice completion. However, that would be the final play of the half, and the Negaunee Miners led 35-0 going into the locker room.
Halftime: Negaunee Miners 35, Gogebic Miners 0
2nd Half:
Negaunee received the ball to start the second half with a running clock in full effect. Hillier was the story on the opening drive, where he paced the Miners across midfield on two big runs. Negaunee stayed with the running game for the most of the ball game, and that once again carried them into the red-zone. On first and goal, Waterman ran it in for his second touchdown, and Negaunee took a 42-0 lead. This thrusted the Negaunee second string players into the game, and they played hard against this Gogebic team. Gogebic started getting a good drive going behind the legs of Lundin, Cole and Zach Baross. Griffen McLaughlin contributed in the passing game for Gogebic as well, they had a nice balance going on the drive. The Miners got the ball inside of the Negaunee 15-yard line, and that’s where the third quarter would end.
End of 3rd: Negaunee Miners 42, Gogebic Miners 0
Gogebic continued to march inside of the five-yard line with a run by Lundin. It was on the next play when Barrows punched it in for the touchdown, Gogebic was on the board. McLaughlin would make the catch on the two-point conversion try, and Gogebic now trailed 42-8 with under eight minutes remaining in the game. Will Luke came in at quarterback for Negaunee to lead the offense, however they went three and out and punted it back to Gogebic. Fingeroos looked to lead his team back down the field to dent into the score but his pass was intercepted by Nick Jacobetti. Negaunee couldn’t move the ball again, however running back Steve Gooseberry commanded the backfield and ran hard. Gogebic got the ball back with under two minutes left and would capitalize on it with another touchdown. Cole ran it in from three yards out, and the two-point conversion by Barrows made it 42-16. Negaunee would get the ball back and take a knee, signalizing the final plays of the game. The Dick Koski Trophy stays in Negaunee for another year, the Negaunee Miners defeated the Gogebic Miners 42-16 to extend its winning streak to five straight games on the season.
Final Score: Negaunee Miners 42, Gogebic Miners 16
NEXT GAME: The Negaunee Miners Football has a simple mission next week: win and they’re in. Sitting at 5-2, a win would clinch a playoff spot for Negaunee. The opponent trying to prevent that is the Houghton Gremlins, when Negaunee hosts them next Friday, Oct. 18 in a huge game! Mark Evans and Gregg Nelson will have all of the action for you on Sunny 101.9, beginning with the Elder Agency Pregame Show at 6:30 p.m. Kick off is slated for 7 p.m.
LISTEN – FULL GAME – GOGEBIC MINERS VS NEGAUNEE MINERS ON SUNNY 101.9