Purple Hornets sting Devils late

IRONWOOD - After being knotted at 30-30 after three quarters, two fourth quarter touchdowns lifted L'Anse to a 42-30 Homecoming and West-PAC game win on a wet Friday night.

L'Anse coach Mark Leaf was just happy to get out of town with a win.

"We found a way to win and I was happy to get a win," Leaf said. "It was tough conditions out there and we had to show a lot of character and heart and I'm proud of the kids. There were some wild momentum swings and hats off to the Ironwood kids. They really played hard tonight. We were faced with adversity, but we gutted out the win.

"We're still in the hunt for the playoffs and the conference title (4-2, 3-1), so this was a "must win" for us. We've got three tough teams in Northland Pines, Calumet and Munising in our last three games."

Ironwood coach Dan Niemi said the Red Devils faced adversity earlier in the week that could have left the team going in a good or bad direction.

"We had adversity at the start of the week that could have crippled our season or turned the adversity into something good," Niemi said. "We were able to use it in a good fashion to play as a unified team for the first time since the Washburn game. We played a good, physical game and I was very proud of the kids.

"When it was 30-30 at the end of the third quarter, I was a happy camper. If it went to OT (overtime), I think we would have won, because we were moving the ball on them. We just coughed up the ball at the end. Now we have go to Hancock and we have to leave it all on the field."

Ironwood actually went ahead in the contest at the start of the second half. The Purple Hornets had taken leads of 14-0 and 22-8, before momentum swung dramatically in favor of the Red Devils. With wet, rainy (and sometimes snowy weather conditions), the football was slick and L'Anse quarterback, Brandon Koski, tried tried to hand off to a running back in the second quarter and the fun began.

"I saw Austin (Backlund) going for the ball, but he dropped it and I scooped it up," sophomore Ian Sackett said. "I took off running, but I thought there was someone behind me, so I ran to the left. I thought someone was right on me and I wasn't going to score."

But he did score after a 77-yard recovery and run and it sent up a huge cheer from the crowd. When Zach Combs scored on the conversion, and the game was tied at 22-22 with 1:21 left in the half.

Then L'Anse kicked off to start the second half and Denver Sharrow caught the ball at the 15-yard line, burst up the middle, and then sprinted down the left sideline to the south goal-line. 85-yards and Combs conversion run gave Ironwood a 30-22 lead.

"There was great blocking and it was wide open, so I went for it," Sharrow said. "I put on a little speed and scored. It was a great, awesome feeling. We really came together as a team this week."

But L'Anse has a capable team, especially on offense, and it matriculated downfield on a 14-play, 70-yard drive. Brandon Kemppainen scored the fourth of his six touchdowns and ran in the conversion for good measure. The game was tied at 30-30 after three quarters.

In the fourth quarter, Ironwood was on the move again but fumbled on the option play and the Purple Hornets recovered. After four plays, Kemppainen scored from 11-yards out.

Ironwood had one more drive left, but after an 11-yard completion to Jared Sobolewski, the Devils were penalized for unsportsmanlike conduct and the drive fizzled out. Ironwood had 13 penalties for 100-yards.

Kemppainen added his final touchdown with 1:37 remaining.

Ironwood's Shane Buckley made a nice touchdown run in the first quarter when ran off-tackle and broke back against the grain on a 54-yard TD scamper. He led Ironwood's rushing attack with 87 yards on five carries.

Kemppainen was the game's leading rusher as he rolled for 193 yards on 36 attempts.

The Purple Hornets (4-2, 3-1) travel to Calumet for a West-PAC conference battle on Friday night.

Ironwood (1-5, 0-4) takes to the road for another conference game against Hancock on Friday at 6 p.m. CDT.

L'Anse 14 8 8 12 - 42

Ironwood 8 14 8 0 - 30

First Quarter

L'Anse - Brandon Kemppainen 1 run (run failed), 9:21

L'Anse - Kemppainen 55 run (Kemppainen run), 4:21

Iwd - Shane Buckley 54 run (Zach Combs, 3:21

Second Quarter

L'Anse - Kemppainen 3 run (Mike Anderson pass from Brandon Koski), 9:21

Iwd - Denver Sharrow 3 run (run failed), 4:19

Iwd - Ian Sackett 73 fumble recovery run ( Combs run), 1:21

Third Quarter

Iwd - Denver Sharrow 85 kickoff return (Combs run), 11:46

L'Anse - Kemppainen 3 run (Kemppainen run), 3:48

Fourth Quarter

L'Anse - Kemppainen 11 run (run failed), 4:21

L'Anse - Kemppainen 6 run (run failed), 1:37

L'Anse Iwd

First downs 16 8

Rushes-yards 53-257 26-144

Comp-Att-Int 2-7-0 4-8-0

Passing 26 42

Total yards 283 186

Fumbles-lost 3-1 6-2

Penalties-yards 10-63 13-100

Individual Statistics

Rushing, L'Anse, Brandon Kemppainen 36-193, Zach Hukkonen 10-63, Brandon Koski 2-minus 13. Sharrow 14-30, Shane Buckley 5-87, Jon Clemens 4-16, Jordan Giannunzio 1-2, Zach Combs 2-9.

Passing, L'Anse Brandon Koski 2-6-0-26, Kemppainen 0-1-0-0. Ironwood, Denver Sharrow 4-8-0-44.

Receiving, L'Anse Mike Anderson 2-26, Ironwood, Jared Sobolewski 1-11, Jacob DiGiorgio 2-30, Zach Combs 1-1.