Click the thumbnails to see photos and videos from the game.

 

ESCANABA---The Escanaba High School junior varsity football team won its first game of the season Thursday night, using strong defense and three second half touchdowns to beat an understaffed Menominee Maroons team, 18-0.

 

The Eskymos pursued well on defense, routinely tackling the Maroons runners behind the line of scrimmage. Menominee had just 15 players for the game, while Escanaba had both its JV and freshman players on the sideline.

 

Two turnovers in the red zone hurt the Eskymos in the first half, and it remained 0-0 at halftime.

 

In the third quarter, the Eskymos finally got on the board after a runs by Bon LaChance, Nick Chiu, and Chase Cloutier set up a five-yard touchdown run by Brett Labre.

 

The Eskymo dominance continued on defense, in particular, by Tom Neumann and Ty Miron, both of whom the Maroons could not keep out of the backield. The single wing offense run by two freshmen, Kaiden Bell and Isiah Odom, could not sustain much of a push up-field.

 

Escanaba put the game away in the fourth quarter when LaChance tossed a touchown pass to a wide-open Chiu in the end zone on 3rd and 15.

 

The final Eskymo touchdown came after a bad snap and two tackles for loss turned the ball over at the one-yard line. LaChance shoved his way into the end zone to make it a 18-0 final score.

 

The Eskymos had a wild celebration after the final defensive play (with their freshmen mostly on the field). Escanaba had been shut out by both Kingsford and Gladstone and had lost all five of their games to start the season.