Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
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By JASON JUNO [email protected] MARQUETTE — Ontonagon’s dynamic duo of Austin Gordon and Caden Besonen was selected to the All-U.P. Dream Team at Monday’s 75th meeting of the Upper Peninsula Sportswriters and Sportscasters Association. Gogebic’s Wyatt Aspinwall and Leland Hollenbeck were All-U.P. First Team selections while several area athletes were either special or honorable mention. Gordon, selected at one of two hybrid spots, finished his senior season with 2,394 passing yards and 27 touchdowns. He also ran for 387 yards and nine s...
By JASON JUNO [email protected] MERCER, Wis. — Mercer seniors Eiley Schoeneman and Jenny Klopatek shared Player of the Year honors in the Northern Lights Conference in voting by coaches. Schoeneman and Klopatek were also honorable mention on the Wisconsin Volleyball Coaches Association Division 5 All-State team. Their teams were league and WIAA regional champions in all of their four years. “Eiley and Jenny are often paired together when talking about our success, but each of them brought their own contributions,” Mercer coach Robyn Sch...
By JASON JUNO [email protected] EWEN — The Ewen-Trout Creek girls keep adding hardware to the trophy case. And it’s not even basketball season yet. After winning their first U.P. cross country title last month, the Panthers won the MHSAA Division 4 District 97 volleyball title with a four-set win over Wakefield-Marenisco Thursday night. It was E-TC’s first district volleyball title since the MHSAA combined the U.P. and L.P. tournaments into one state tournament in 2000. While the Panthers were favored going into the U.P. cross count...
By JASON JUNO [email protected] HOUGHTON — Ewen-Trout Creek couldn’t pull off two upsets in a row as the No. 2-ranked team in the Upper Peninsula, Hancock, ended their historic season with a 3-0 sweep of the Panthers in Tuesday night’s MHSAA Division 4 regional semifinal. The Bulldogs made the short drive over the Portage Lake Lift Bridge to Houghton High School and jumped on the Panthers for a 25-8, 25-10, 25-20 victory. Hancock’s schedule is as tough as anyone’s in the U.P. They are one of only two U.P. teams to take a set from big sc...
By JASON JUNO [email protected] CALUMET — Ironwood’s season has ended at the hands of some of the best volleyball teams in the Upper Peninsula recently. Last year, Forest Park made it to the Division 4 state semifinal while only losing two postseason sets along the way, with one of them coming against the Red Devils. This year, Calumet, which was ranked No. 1 in the U.P. poll all year, beat Ironwood 25-12, 25-15, 25-18 in Friday night’s MHSAA Division 3 District 65 final. The Copper Kings have won 18 district championships since the t... Full story
By JASON JUNO [email protected] PAINESDALE — Ironwood had only won a single set in its two regular-season meetings with Jeffers. But in the Jets’ home gym, with a berth in the district final on the line, the Red Devils came up with their biggest victory of the season. The Red Devils won 25-23, 23-25, 24-26, 25-21, 15-11 in an exciting MHSAA Division 3 District 65 semifinal last week. “We were the underdog tonight,” Ironwood coach Lisa Fechter said. “They beat us twice. They were at least in the (U.P.) rankings sometimes in that Division...
By JASON JUNO [email protected] HURLEY — Hurley seniors Gavin Moore and Devin Soltis were named to the Wisconsin Football Coaches Association All-Region team. The WFCA announced its all-region teams on Tuesday with 8-player honorees organized into two regions. The all-state teams will be announced Tuesday, Nov. 19. Hurley finished its first 8-player season at 7-2 and with two All-Region players. Soltis made it on both offense and defense — at running back and inside linebacker, “He had a great year for us, made a lot of plays defen...
By JASON JUNO [email protected] IRONWOOD — Ironwood’s Aubrey Smith added another honor to her special senior season. The Division 2 U.P. champion was named to the All-U.P. Dream Team by the U.P. Cross Country Coaches Association after the season. Smith was the only D-2 runner on the seven-member Dream Team. She was joined on the team by U.P. Runner of the Year, Pickford’s Talya Schreiber, who won the D-3 title; two-time D-1 champion Tessa Rautiola of Houghton, who competed against Smith at many regular-season meets; Marquette’s Ella Fu...
By JASON JUNO [email protected] MERCER, Wis. — Thursday night’s Mercer-Prentice sectional semifinal matchup lived up to the hype. Like the last two postseason meetings, it went all five sets. Unlike those two thrillers, though, Prentice came out on top, handing Mercer a heartbreaking 25-22, 21-25, 23-25, 25-20, 16-14 loss Thursday night. The top two players in the Northern Lights Conference, Jenny Klopatek and Eiley Schoeneman, played their final game. And their coach, Robyn Schoeneman, ended her varsity coaching career with 400 win... Full story
By JASON JUNO [email protected] IRONWOOD — GCC hopes a grueling schedule to start the season will make them better the rest of the way. The Samsons start with a string of long-distance road trips — they played at downstate Petoskey over the weekend, head to Iowa Falls this weekend with trips to Milwaukee, Kansas and Escanaba before their home opener against Bay College on Nov. 26. One of those games is against defending national champion Hutchinson CC in Kansas, which was ranked No. 1 in the Division I preseason poll. They play Roc...
By JASON JUNO [email protected] Three players from Gogebic, two from Ontonagon and one from Ironwood were named to the Great Lakes Eight West all-conference First Team in voting by coaches after the regular season. Gogebic’s Bode Lynott earned the offensive hybrid spot with Wyatt Aspinwall at linebacker and Jayden Verrett in the defensive hybrid slot. Ontonagon’s Austin Gordon was selected at quarterback with teammate Caden Besonen chosen at wide receiver and defensive back (he was also a Second Team running back). Ironwood’s Evan Oja w...
By JASON JUNO [email protected] HURLEY — Hurley’s Devin Soltis earned Offensive Player of the Year honors in the Northwoods East Conference in voting by coaches. Soltis led the Northstars with 1,379 yards on 172 carries and 18 touchdowns. He also caught 11 passes for 176 yards and three scores. He even threw for 298 yards with four touchdowns and four interceptions. Soltis also made the all-conference First Team on both offense and defense. Hurley lineman Gavin Moore also was named to the First Team on both sides of the ball. He finishe...
By JASON JUNO [email protected] MERCER, Wis. - It took Mercer a little bit of time to get going Saturday night. But once they kicked it in gear, they were celebrating their ninth straight WIAA regional championship in a hurry. The No. 1 seeded Tigers rallied past No. 4 Mellen in the first set for a 25-18 win, won the next easily 25-8 and led the third 18-1 before closing it out for a 25-9 win. "This is our ninth one in a row, it feels amazing," Mercer senior Jenny Klopatek said. "We had...
By JASON JUNO [email protected] BESSEMER — Gogebic scored five straight touchdowns in the middle of the game to run away from Ironwood for a 50-12 win Friday night. The Miners beat their archrivals for the first time since they both became 8-player programs in 2021. Ironwood won the first three meetings, including a come-from-behind 34-30 win a year ago. “The kids had this marked on their calendar since last year,” Gogebic coach Nick Heikkila said. The Miners finished above .500 for the first time as an 8-player team and just misse... Full story
By JASON JUNO [email protected] MINONG, Wis. — Jared Schultz did it all for Northwood-Solon Springs Friday night. What he did right before half might have been the most impactful thing he did against Hurley on a night he had a hand all seven of their touchdowns. The Northstars fought back from a brutal first quarter where NSS took a 24-8 lead in the WIAA playoff opener. After a 34-yard touchdown pass from Jack Rowe to Devin Soltis with 13 seconds left, Hurley looked to enter halftime down by just one touchdown, 30-22, while getting the...
By JASON JUNO [email protected] IRONWOOD — Turnover in junior college sports happens pretty fast all the time. It still seems pretty sudden for the GCC Samsons this season as they enter a new year without two-year standout Jaden Borseth and last year’s star Eli Talsma. “I’m not sure what to expect from the 2024-25 version of Samson men’s basketball,” Gogebic coach Dennis Mackey said. “We return four guys and have 11 new players, so the learning curve is severe right now. Thus far, I like our athleticism and the attitudes our guys put...
By JASON JUNO [email protected] HURLEY — The home crowd roared as loud as it has all season as Hurley looked to get a stop and secure a win Friday night. When they got it, the two Northstars in on the sack jumped off the ground and led the enthusiastic celebration amongst the players. After the clock went to zero not too long after that, no player was more emotional than Brodie Erickson, because who else would know better than him how important a win that really was. The Northstars extended their remarkable run of playoff appearances t...
By MATT “SWEETS” MCCARTHY For The Globe POWERS — Despite an early touchdown that brought the game within a point, and four quarters of physical play, the third-ranked North Central Jets prevailed, as the Gogebic Miners dropped a Great Lakes Conference matchup 40-13 Friday night at North Central High School. After a Miners three-and-out on their opening possession of the contest, the Jets, who are two years removed from their third of three consecutive MHSAA 8-player Division 2 state championships, got into the end zone on their fourth play... Full story
By JASON JUNO [email protected] MUNISING — Ironwood’s Aubrey Smith and the Ewen-Trout Creek girls lived up to expectations on Saturday as they became U.P. champions at the Upper Peninsula cross country finals at Pictured Rocks Golf Course. — — — Division 2 Smith had recorded the fastest time among the Division 2 runners during the regular season and she led the entire race Saturday, finishing in under 20 minutes with a time of 19:57, more than 25 seconds ahead of runner-up Ella Keranen of Hancock. There’s some pressure to being the f...
By JASON JUNO [email protected] IRONWOOD —A couple of key fourth-quarter plays went Lake Linden-Hubbell’s way as the Lakes beat Ironwood 16-14 in a heartbreaker for the Red Devils Friday night. Ironwood led 14-8 until the Lakes scored the go-ahead touchdown midway through the fourth quarter. The Lakes converted on fourth-and-long to the Ironwood 1 to keep that drive alive. The Devils nearly responded with a score of their own, but a holding call stalled the promising drive, giving Lake Linden-Hubbell the win. “I was happy how they... Full story
By JASON JUNO [email protected] BESSEMER — The Gogebic Miners dispatched Lake Linden-Hubbell for the first time as an 8-player team, 29-12 Friday night. Gogebic last beat the Lakes in 2012, in a 39-12 win when both teams were 11-player teams. “It’s been a minute since Bessemer, Wakefield has beat Lake Linden, so definitely a big win for us,” Gogebic coach Nick Heikkila said. Miners’ quarterback Bode Lynott accounted for four touchdowns. He threw two long passes to Patrick Perron, a 67-yard pass to start the scoring midway through t... Full story
By JASON JUNO [email protected] PHILLIPS, Wis. — The playoffs are starting a week early in Hurley. The Northstars likely need to win their regular-season finale against Rib Lake at Veterans Memorial Field Friday night to ensure a spot in the WIAA 8-player postseason field. Hurley won their first six games and then fell 48-32 at Phillips Friday night in a battle for first place in the Northwoods East Conference. It seems a bit cruel to be fighting for your playoff life with a 6-1 record, but that’s the reality. “That’s the way it is w...
By JASON JUNO [email protected] IRONWOOD — Ironwood lost to the top-ranked team in the Upper Peninsula, Crystal Falls Forest Park, 58-8, Friday night. They’re back home this week with Lake Linden-Hubbell coming to town for a 6 p.m. game Friday night. The Red Devils are hoping to have Nick Miskovich back from injury that has kept him out for much of the season. Forest Park proved to be as formidable foe as they’ve faced this year, worthy of their top ranking. “Very tough, quick team off the ball and then getting into space makes it very...
By JASON JUNO [email protected] IRONWOOD — Four Ewen-Trout Creek girls placed in the top 10 at the final Copper Mountain Conference meet of the season Thursday at Gogebic Country Club in Ironwood, giving them their sixth straight meet victory of the season. Their success throughout the season earned them the league’s Team of the Year award. Ironwood’s Aubrey Smith has been the best individual runner throughout the season; she won her home meet Thursday and earned the league’s Most Valuable Runner award. The Panthers are hoping to wrap... Full story
By JASON JUNO [email protected] MERCER, Wis. — Mercer will enter the WIAA postseason as a No. 1 seed once again. Coaches voted the Tigers the top seed at Sunday’s seeding meeting ahead of the Oct. 22 start to the playoffs. The powerhouse program has been the No. 1 seed for six straight years and in eight of the last nine. They’ve won the regional championship the past eight seasons, including as a 2 seed in 2018, the only time since their regional title streak started in 2016 that they weren’t the 1 seed. All of those seasons were pl...
