Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
By JASON JUNO
Bessemer — The Gogebic Miners put a stop to their two-game losing streak with an 84-6 victory over Carney-Nadeau Friday night.
“It’s good to see have the kids have success,” Gogebic coach Nick Heikkila said.
The Miners jumped ahead quickly with six first-quarter touchdowns by five different players. Jayden Verrett scored twice, on a fumble recovery and an 18-yard run, and Aiden Partanen, Mark Switzer, Cory Aspinwall and Jace Symons also ran in scores.
Verrett added his third touchdown in the second quarter and Symons his second for a 55-6 halftime lead. Verrett made it a four-touchdown day with a 75-yard run in the third quarter (his second-quarter TD run went 64 yards).
Henry Jenkins rushed for two more Miners touchdowns and they wrapped up in the fourth quarter on a touchdown pass from Brycen Lynott to Partanen.
Verrett led the Miners with 158 yards rushing on three carries, all of which went for touchdowns. He also intercepted a pass and had the fumble recovery for a touchdown.
“Jayden Verrett offensively and defensively did very, very well,” Heikkila said.
Heikkila gave credit to the offensive line for making it all work.
“Both varsity and the JV line played phenomenal,” Heikkila said.
Gogebic didn’t record a single first down nor did they ever get to third down.
“So we either scored on first down or second down every drive,” he said. “And that’s including the JV players, a full JV squad playing offense. The guys who were downfield blocking, they performed, that’s for sure.”
The young Wolves have had a tough season, but they had a bright spot in the second quarter when they scored their first touchdown of the season.
“Being there at one point in time, I feel for Carney,” Heikkila said. “I was happy that they were able to score.”
Injuries continue to affect the Miners. Owen Miljevich was going to try to play, but he reaggravated his ankle injury. Gabe Harju’s status (foot) the rest of the way is still unknown.
“He could potentially be back when we play against Powers (North Central, Oct. 17), but we’re in a waiting pattern right now. We’re just making sure he’s healthy enough that he’s not going to put himself at risk of reinjuring or potentially hurting himself for the rest of his senior year,” Heikkila said. “He definitely can’t catch a break between last year and this year for sure.”
The new-look backfield played well last week.
“Our starting running backs now are Verrett and Aspinwall, they both do pretty well,” Heikkila said. “Aspinwall runs hard, Verrett’s quick and he can be a big play at anytime he has the ball in his hands.”
After finally getting a second home game, the Miners are back on the road for the third time in their last four games. They play at Ewen against an Ontonagon team that suffered its first loss, 50-20 at Rudyard last week.
“I feel like it’s a pretty good matchup for us,” Heikkila said. “I think that our defensive backs have buttoned up a little better over practice and games as well our offense is really clicking going forward, pushing guys. I think it’ll be a good matchup, it’ll be a good challenge and the kids are up for it.”
The Gladiators were playing without standout quarterback Austin Gordon, who Heikkila expects will be back this week. They make a lot of big plays with him in the game.
“Big plays are definitely their go-to,” Heikkila said. “They want to get that ball in the air deep to their running receivers, (Caden) Besonen especially being as fast as he is, they try to get him in open space as much as possible. Like I said, we’re looking forward to the challenge and we’re ready.”
Gordon is a tough dual-threat quarterback that’s hard to pressure.
“Gordon scrambles real well. He doesn’t just run the ball, he’ll still look downfield for a scrambling receiver,” Heikkila said. “They must do a scramble drill or something because those kids, obviously they’re moving into areas where Gordon can see them and he’s got the arm and he’s athletic enough he can get that ball to pretty much anywhere on that field.”
The game is at 6 p.m. CDT Friday night.
C-N 0 6 0 0 — 6
Gogebic 41 14 15 14 — 84
First Quarter
Gog — Jayden Verrett 29 fumble return (Leland Hollenbeck kick), 11:05
Gog — Cory Aspinwall 12 run (Hollenbeck kick), 10:00
Gog — Verrett 19 run (Hollenbeck kick), 8:10
Gog — Mark Switzer 37 run (Hollenbeck kick), 6:37
Gog — Aiden Partanen 56 run (Hollenbeck kick), 4:38
Gog — Jace Symons 12 run (two-point failed), 2:00
Second Quarter
Gog — Verrett 64 run, 10:28
C-N — 60-yard pass, 8:02
Gog — Symons 34 run (two good), 4:28
Third Quarter
Gog — Verrett 75 run (two good), 8:30
Gog — Henry Jenkins 38 run (kick good)
Fourth Quarter
Gog — Jenkins 42 run, 10:30
Gog — Partanen 46 pass from Brycen Lynott (two good)
C-N Gog
First downs 2 0
Rushes-yards 23-21 15-325
Comp-Att-Int 2-18-4 1-1-0
Passing 63 46
Total yards 84 371
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING — Gogebic, Jayden Verrett 3-158, Mark Switzer 1-37, Jace Symons 3-49, Cory Aspinwall 2-15, Henry Jenkins 2-80.
PASSING — Gogebic, Brycen Lynott 1-1-46-0.
RECEIVING — Gogebic, Aiden Partanen 1-46.
