Manistique Emeralds defeat Gwinn for second time this season, 36-6 | News, Sports, Employment

Gwinn’s Zahir Topping reacts to his touchdown in the fourth quarter during a high school football game played Saturday against Manistique at Gwinn’s McCormick Field. (Photo from Caden Sierra’s diary)

GWINN – Despite all the excitement of homecoming activities at McCormick Field on Saturday afternoon, the Gwinn High School football team couldn’t get its offense going and lost to Manistique 36-6.

That was a slight improvement, however, from a 35-0 loss at Manistique on Sept. 6 as Gwinn dropped to 2-5 overall, while the Emeralds, seeking an MHSAA playoff bid, they improved to 4-3.

“We preached execution on both sides of the ball,” Gwinn head coach Derek Nyquist said. “He was there defensively in the first quarter, but offensively I don’t feel like he was there much.”

The first quarter was a defensive battle, with both teams forcing turnovers and keeping each other off the scoreboard.

Gwinn started with the ball, but struggled to gain momentum after a penalty forced him into a third-down-and-long situation. The Emeralds got their first big chance when a fumbled punt led to a fumble recovery by Mason Dimmer, giving them great field position in Modeltowner territory. However, Gwinn’s defense came up big, forcing a turnover to keep the game scoreless.

Manistique found the end zone early in the second quarter when running back Aiden Osterhout broke free for a touchdown, putting the Emeralds ahead 6-0 after a missed extra point.

Gwinn responded with a promising drive, as quarterback Carter Stansky connected with wide receiver Dane Wixtrom to move the ball deep into Emeralds territory. But Manistique’s defense stifled Gwinn’s drive, forcing a fumble that was recovered to kill that drive.

Osterhout continued to be a thorn in Gwinn’s side, adding another touchdown midway through the second quarter to make it 12-0. Manistique quarterback Mack Pugh then added a touchdown of his own just before halftime, followed by a successful 2-point conversion, extending the lead to 20-0 as the teams faced off at halftime.

“We’ve just got to … find that killer instinct to punch them, especially early when we’re down 6-0,” Nyquist said. “We could go in to tie it or take the lead. So we have to capitalize on … those kinds of situations.”

Gwinn struggled to mount a consistent offensive threat in the second half as Manistique’s defense continued to impose its will.

Early in the third, Pugh led a methodical drive that ended with a Jayce Reque-Goudreau touchdown, which pushed the Emeralds’ lead to 28-0 after Pugh’s 2-point conversion.

The Modeltowners’ offense showed signs of promise late in the third when Stansky found Wixtrom for another big gain, putting Gwinn in scoring position at the Emerald 9-yard line as time expired on the fourth

Gwinn finally broke through when, on fourth down, Stansky lofted a Zahir Topping pass into the end zone for a 21-yard TD catch in the first minute of the final period. Although the 2-point conversion failed, the Modeltowners’ offense had broken through to make it 28-6.

But MHS responded quickly. On their next possession, Pugh sprinted down the sideline for a 41-yard TD run, extending their lead to 36-6. Gwinn made one last offensive push, but turnovers and penalties continued to hurt their progress, and Manistique ran out the clock.

Nyquist remains optimistic about his team’s effort heading into the final two games: a rematch at L’Anse, which the Modeltowners defeated 33-6 at home on Sept. 13, and another home rematch against West Iron County, which the Wykons beat 24-16 in double overtime at Iron River on Sept. 28.

“Be positive and work hard” Gwinn’s coach said. “We all still have a job to do, and that includes the coaches, to give the same effort in Week 8 of the season as Week 1, preseason, Week 2. You just have to stay focused and hopefully come out on last couple. weeks with a couple of wins.”

The game at L’Anse is scheduled for 7 pm on Friday, while the final game against WIC is at McCormick Field at 7 pm the following Friday.

Manistique also has a rematch at 7 p.m. this Friday, hosting Upper Peninsula No. 5 Iron Mountain before making a long road trip across the state to play Saginaw Nouvel at 7 p.m. the following Friday.

The Mountaineers won their first meeting with Manistique 62-25 on Sept. 13 at IM.

Caden Sierra can be reached at 906-228-2500, ext. 551. Her email address is [email protected].