Maroons host Hancock in West-PAC Conference opener

MENOMINEE — Conference play commences for the Menominee High School football team, as the Maroons welcome Hancock to Walton Blesch Stadium tonight. Both Menominee and Hancock enter tonight’s West-PAC Copper division contest 1-0 after collecting wins in their season-openers last week, albeit in vastly different fashions. Hancock managed to outlast L’Anse 6-0, while the Maroons made an emphatic statement with a 49-6 victory over Marinette in the 118th edition of the M&M Game. “The M&M Game is the biggest and most important game on our schedule, but as soon as it was over, we moved on,” Menominee coach Chad Brandt said. “We enjoyed the victory on Saturday and got right back to work on Sunday. We want to make a statement in our conference and that starts tonight.” Menominee out-gained the Marines in total yardage 293-123, 253 of which came on the ground. Defensively, the Maroons forced three turnovers (two fumbles, one interception) and did not yield a single passing yard to Marinette. Mason Hofherr racked up 84 of the Marines’ 123 yards on a single carry, which also resulted in Marinette’s lone touchdown of the night. Tanner Theuerkauf had 12 carries for 118 yards and four touchdowns against Marinette. While the Maroons did not throw the ball particularly well (3-of-12 for 37 yards), Isaiah Odom (8-27-TD), Clayton Miller (6-53-TD), Blake Paasch (5-23), Kaiden Bell (4-26), Jackson Myzak (3-6-TD) and Dylan Beal (1-2) combined to rush for 11 yards and three scores. “I loved our energy. We won the line of scrimmage and our pursuit to the ball was evident,” Brandt said of his team’s performance in the M&M Game. “Defensively, we had one breakdown which led to a big play, but we emphasized being sound in our assignments and being in the right spot, and our kids responded.” “Offensively, I thought that we could have stayed on our blocks in space a bit longer. We had a few plays that didn’t work because of some missed blocks, and that again comes down to knowing your assignment.” When it comes to Hancock, the Maroons are matched up with a squad that did not enjoy much success in 2023. Menominee obliterated the Bulldogs 46-6 in Hancock last season, dropping 30 points in the first quarter alone. The Bulldogs finished with an overall record of 1-8 and were outscored by a 134-to-333 margin. Nearly half of Hancock’s total points came in one game, a 56-14 beatdown of L’Anse. Hancock is led by a trio of All-Conference performers from a season ago in running back Cody Turner, offensive tackle Saku Canard and linebacker Zack Geberkoff. Turner was responsible for the Bulldogs’ lone touchdown against L’Anse and figures to be the focal point of Hancock’s attack against the Maroons after rushing for 60 yards and a touchdown against Menominee last season. “Their tailback is their best athlete and they like to get him the ball in space,” Brandt said. “We’re going to need to do a better job of communicating than we did last week. We preach that we should be communicating on the field to an obnoxious level. When Hancock puts a man in motion or stacks three on one side, we need to make sure that we’re communicating that loudly and clearly.” Tonight’s game kicks off at 6 p.m.

MENOMINEE — Conference play commences for the Menominee High School football team, as the Maroons welcome Hancock to Walton Blesch Stadium tonight.

Both Menominee and Hancock enter tonight’s West-PAC Copper division contest 1-0 after collecting wins in their season-openers last week, albeit in vastly different fashions.

Hancock managed to outlast L’Anse 6-0, while the Maroons made an emphatic statement with a 49-6 victory over Marinette in the 118th edition of the M&M Game.

“The M&M Game is the biggest and most important game on our schedule, but as soon as it was over, we moved on,” Menominee coach Chad Brandt said. “We enjoyed the victory on Saturday and got right back to work on Sunday. We want to make a statement in our conference and that starts tonight.”

Menominee out-gained the Marines in total yardage 293-123, 253 of which came on the ground.

Defensively, the Maroons forced three turnovers (two fumbles, one interception) and did not yield a single passing yard to Marinette. Mason Hofherr racked up 84 of the Marines’ 123 yards on a single carry, which also resulted in Marinette’s lone touchdown of the night.

Tanner Theuerkauf had 12 carries for 118 yards and four touchdowns against Marinette.

While the Maroons did not throw the ball particularly well (3-of-12 for 37 yards), Isaiah Odom (8-27-TD), Clayton Miller (6-53-TD), Blake Paasch (5-23), Kaiden Bell (4-26), Jackson Myzak (3-6-TD) and Dylan Beal (1-2) combined to rush for 11 yards and three scores.

“I loved our energy. We won the line of scrimmage and our pursuit to the ball was evident,” Brandt said of his team’s performance in the M&M Game. “Defensively, we had one breakdown which led to a big play, but we emphasized being sound in our assignments and being in the right spot, and our kids responded.”

“Offensively, I thought that we could have stayed on our blocks in space a bit longer. We had a few plays that didn’t work because of some missed blocks, and that again comes down to knowing your assignment.”

When it comes to Hancock, the Maroons are matched up with a squad that did not enjoy much success in 2023.

Menominee obliterated the Bulldogs 46-6 in Hancock last season, dropping 30 points in the first quarter alone.

The Bulldogs finished with an overall record of 1-8 and were outscored by a 134-to-333 margin. Nearly half of Hancock’s total points came in one game, a 56-14 beatdown of L’Anse.

Hancock is led by a trio of All-Conference performers from a season ago in running back Cody Turner, offensive tackle Saku Canard and linebacker Zack Geberkoff.

Turner was responsible for the Bulldogs’ lone touchdown against L’Anse and figures to be the focal point of Hancock’s attack against the Maroons after rushing for 60 yards and a touchdown against Menominee last season.

“Their tailback is their best athlete and they like to get him the ball in space,” Brandt said. “We’re going to need to do a better job of communicating than we did last week. We preach that we should be communicating on the field to an obnoxious level. When Hancock puts a man in motion or stacks three on one side, we need to make sure that we’re communicating that loudly and clearly.”

Tonight’s game kicks off at 6 p.m.