MENOMINEE — Two of the top football teams in the Upper Peninsula square off tonight, as the Menominee Maroons venture north to battle the Negaunee Miners in West-PAC Copper division action.
Both Menominee (5-0 West-PAC Copper, 6-0 overall) and Negaunee (4-1 West-PAC Copper, 5-1 overall) are ranked in the Upper Peninsula Sportswriters and Sportscasters Association 11-player poll, with the Maroons occupying the No. 1 slot, while the Miners reside at No. 4.
Menominee is 1-3 lifetime against Negaunee, with the Maroons’ last win coming back in the 2009 District championship game.
The Miners won last year’s meeting at Walton Blesch Stadium 47-20 and shutout the Maroons 44-0 in the 2022 District title game, the last time Menominee visited Negaunee.
That game was played amid gale-force winds and a torrential downpour, but tonight’s forecast calls for a perfect Friday evening, with temperatures expected to hover around 55 degrees at kickoff.
“I think that the weather in that game was worse than the loss,” Menominee coach Chad Brandt recalled with a chuckle. “That being said, these are completely different teams from the last time we went to Negaunee. It may not be a three-hour trip up to the Keweenaw, but it’s still a long bus ride to Marquette County, so we’ll use that time to focus up, because we know we’ll be getting off the bus and playing a tough opponent in Negaunee.”
Menominee is fresh off a 49-7 thrashing of Gladstone on the road, while the Miners shutdown Westwood 42-6 on Senior Night.
Against the Braves, Menominee relied on its tried-and-true formula of a balanced offensive attack (179 rushing yards, 182 passing) and winning the line of scrimmage on defense to spoil Homecoming for Gladstone.
The Maroons scored touchdowns on seven of their eight possessions, save for the final drive when Dylan Beal kneeled down to run out the few final ticks on the clock.
Normally a team that favors 2-point conversions, Menominee instead turned to Clayton Miller to knock down PAT kicks, which he did with aplomb, going a perfect 7-for-7.
“We executed extremely well on offense,” Brandt said. “That being said, I think we could have sustained our blocks a little bit longer. Defensively, we took a few bad angles and those two things have been our biggest points of emphasis in practice this week.”
On the other sideline, the Miners continue to roll despite losing All-U.P. Dream Team running back Kai Lacar to graduation.
Negaunee averages 33 points per game behind a balanced attack piloted by third-year starting quarterback Ty Jacobson.
“Not having Kai, they’re not as dynamic in the backfield but they still run the ball extremely well,” Brandt said of the Miners. “They have all of their receivers back and they throw the ball better and more effectively than they have in the past. They’re still a run-first team, but they’ll sprinkle in some quick passes to mix things up.”
With both teams appearing evenly matched on paper, Brandt believes that the outcome of tonight’s contest will be determined by a slugfest in the trenches.
“Winning the battle at the line of scrimmage will decide the game,” he said. “We need to play lower at the line of scrimmage. Can we sustain our blocks in order to keep our offense on the field on Negaunee’s on the sideline? Defensively, can we play assignment-sure football, build that wall up front and not get blocked back into the second level? Those things will be key to success.”
Tonight’s game kicks off at 6 p.m. central time.
Local News
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