Miners clinch 3rd straight playoff berth

BESSEMER - The Gogebic Miners gave their fans an early Halloween treat on Friday night by downing Ironwood 51-6, which propelled them into the 2014 MHSAA Division 8 football playoffs for the third straight year.

"It's always an accomplishment," Gogebic coach Mark Mazzon said. "Now we're still in the same boat as last year. This year we want to go further. Last year, we almost won a playoff game. We haven't had the accomplishment of really beating a good team since 2012. This year we want to prove we can do some more damage."

Assistant coach Mark Movrich chimed in.

"We're happy to make the playoffs and it's an accomplishment, but it's only a start," he said.

The Miners started the year at 3-0 and appeared to be to have a lock on the playoffs and possibly a great season, but Lake Linden, Hurley and Forest Park threw up roadblocks in their path and Gogebic found themselves with a 4-3 record and in a "must-win" situation against Ironwood if they wanted to see any post-season action this year.

Mazzon said during the week there was a lot at stake with playoffs, the ancient rivalry and Homecoming all putting added pressure on the team.

But the Miners came through when it counted the most and a 5-3 record gets you in the playoffs when you play eight games.

As Friday night's scores rolled in, it began to look more and more like Gogebic would have a playoff rematch with Crystal Falls Forest Park, but this time in Crystal Falls. The Trojans dominated Gogebic 53-14 last week, but Mazzon didn't sound afraid to step in the ring one more time with CFFP.

"I'm still confident in our team and a probable match-up with Crystal Falls," Mazzon said. "When Crystal wants to play, they're very tough, but our coaches know we can play much better."

All high school games must be completed by Saturday and the football playoff field will be announced at 6 p.m. CDT on Sunday on the Sunday Selection Show on Fox Sports Detroit (Channel 36 locally).

Mazzon said the Ironwood game was won with team execution, turnovers and playing well together.

"Kevin Lane had four TD's and had a very nice game," Mazzon said. "Ben Bogaczyk had a couple of TDs on an interception and fumble return and Hunter Reed did a great job on offense and defense,"

In the first quarter, Gogebic scored three times. Caleb Greenough got the Miners rolling when he hit the middle, bounced outside and went 38-yards for a score. At the 6:09 mark, Lane rifled a 68-yard TD to Shane Cole and followed it up with a 34-yard frozen rope toss to Cole.

In the second quarter, Lane lined up at tight end and Tim Buerger rainbowed a 50-yard touchdown pass down the sideline to Lane with 3:28 left in the half.

Sophomore Ben Bogaczyk created some excitement of his own by intercepting a pass and heading for the north end zone from 43 yards out. Seconds later, Bogaczyk scooped up a fumble, broke two tackles and scored from the 20-yard line with 5.3 seconds remaining in the half.

The Miners led 44-0 at half-time.

Running clock kicked in during the second half, but Lane ran in a score from four yards out. It was his fourth touchdown of the game.

"We go with whatever works," Lane said. "We usually run first and then pass. We had good pass blocking and the receivers were open. They were pretty easy throws."

Ironwood's Brody Stefonich made reservations for six when he took a swing pass from Denver Sharrow and ran in a 37-yard TD for Ironwood's lone score.

Ironwood finishes its season at 1-8.

Ironwood 0 0 0 6 - 6

Gogebic 22 22 7 0 - 51

First Quarter

Gog - Caleb Greenough 38 run (Kevin Lane run), 9:41

Gog - Shane Cole 69 pass from Lane (Greenough run), 6:09

Gog - Cole 34 pass from Lane (kick failed), 0:32

Second Quarter

Gog - Lane 50 pass from Tim Buerger (Greenough run), 3:28

Gog - Ben Bogaczyk 49 INT return (Dan Barber Frances kick), 1:26

Gog - Bogaczyk 12 fumble return (Barber Frances kick), 0:05.

Third Quarter

Gog - Lane 4 run (Barber Frances kick), :08

Fourth Quarter

Iwd - Brody Stefonich 37 pass from Denver Sharrow (run failed), :54

Iwd Gog

First downs 4 9

Rushes-yards 19-minus 3 34-182

Comp-Att-Int 8-16-1 5-9-0

Passing yards 109 171

Total yards 106 353

Penalties-yards 3-15 4-25

Fumbles-lost 4-1 1-1

Individual Statistics

Rushing - Ironwood, Denver Sharrow 8-minus 4, Brody Stefonich 6-14, Shane Buckley 3-minus 9, Zach Combs 1-minus 1, Jordan Giannunzio 1-minus 2, Jon Clemens 1-minus 1. Gogebic, Paul Buerger 12-60, Caleb Greenough 8-64, Shane Cole 6-42, Kevin Lane 6-15, Lance Berwald 1-0, Tim Buerger 1-minus 3.

Passing - Ironwood, Denver Sharrow 8-16-1-109. Gogebic, Kevin Lane 4-7-0-121, Tim Buerger 1-2-0-50.

Receiving - Ironwood, Stefonich 3-57, Buckley 2-25, Jake DiGiorgio 2-25, Zach Combs 1-3. Gogebic - Shane Cole 2-103, Lane 1-50, Wyatt Barto 1-11, Tim Buerger 1-7.