After flying high against Lake Linden-Hubbell last Saturday, Gogebic [Johnston/Wakefield] came back down to earth. The Miners fell 38-34 to the North Central Jets on Friday. The defensive woes were uncharacteristic for the Miners, who until this matchup were averaging 11.5 points allowed.
Despite the loss, Gogebic [Johnston/Wakefield] still got an impressive performance from Leland Hollenbeck, who rushed for 173 yards and three scores while picking up 10.2 yards per carry. Hollenbeck really tore up the turf during one magnificent 76-yard run. Speaking of playmakers, who could forget Jayden Verrett, who went all the way with a kickoff return for a touchdown.
Gogebic [Johnston/Wakefield] didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off two passes before the game was over. In fact, those interceptions all came courtesy of defensive juggernaut Cayden Harju. Another thorn in North Central's side was Aiden Partanen, who made 14 total tackles and defended two passes.
Ben Stage continued his habit of posting crazy stat lines for North Central, throwing for 253 yards and three TDs while completing 80.6% of his passes, and also rushing for 83 yards and a pair of touchdowns. The dominant performance also gave Stage a new career-high in rushing touchdowns (two). Pryar LaBonte was another key player, picking up 100 receiving yards and a pair of scores.
Having lost for the first time this season, Gogebic [Johnston/Wakefield] fell to 7-1. As for North Central, they pushed their record up to 6-2 with the victory, which was their eighth straight on the road dating back to last season.
Gogebic [Johnston/Wakefield] didn't take long to hit the field again: they've already played their next contest, a 38-8 win against Wright on the 24th. As for North Central, they also wasted no time getting back out on the field and have already played their next game, a 50-30 victory against Forest Park on the 24th.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
