Daily Mining Gazette/Daver Karnosky L'Anse quarterback Kooper Jahfetson cuts to his right to try to avoid a tackle from Gogebic defensive back Jared Janczak during the first quarter, Friday, at Veterans Field in L'Anse.

L’ANSE — In the hours leading up to kickoff Friday night, all signs pointed to the L’Anse Purple Hornets earning their fifth victory of the young high school football season against a reeling Gogebic Miners football team that had blown a 14-0 lead a week earlier to Northern Pines. It was Homecoming week, the Miners were 1-4 on the season, and the Purple Hornets had defeated Hancock and Hurley in back-to-back weeks.

Forty-eight minutes of game time later, the Purple Hornets left the field shocked and dismayed by a 26-7 West-PAC defeat at the hands of the Miners.

They had no answer throughout the night for Miners running back Jacob Suzik, who gashed the Purple Hornets’ defense for 130 yards on 21 carries, including two touchdowns; and he caught two touchdown passes for a combined total of 83 yards.

“I saw him be patient,” said Mark Mazzon of Suzik. “He would let his blockers block for him and then he would scoot an extra 3-4 yards — just phenomenal.”

For the Miners (2-4, 2-4), Friday was the bounce back they needed after consecutive losses. Their offensive line made life difficult for the Purple Hornets all night long. Running backs Brayden Tomes and Bailey Ribich also took advantage of the room created for them, as Tomes racked up 127 yards on 17 carries and Ribich chipped in 64 yards on 12 carries.

“Last week our film just showed ugliness,” said Mazzon. “[Friday] they put it all together. We knew they were capable of doing this.”

But all eyes at Veterans Field were on Suzik when he broke open a scoreless tie in the second quarter by hauling in a slant pass from quarterback Parker Wilson and exploding for 33 yards to the end zone with 4 minutes, 20 seconds left in the first half.

If that wasn’t enough to make life miserable for the Purple Hornets (4-2, 3-1), Wilson and Suzik hooked up again just over three minutes later for a 50-yard touchdown play that looked eerily similar to the first one.

“He had a very good game for them, running the ball and pass receiving,” said Purple Hornets coach Mark Leaf. “They didn’t throw a whole lot, but they were effective when they did. That ball-control offensive that they had, we had a hard time getting off the field at times.”

The Purple Hornets were playing without quarterback Kooper Jahfetson’s favorite target, Logan Fish, as the wideout missed Friday’s game with a potential season-ending knee injury. Jahfetson struggled without Fish, completing just two throws on the night and surrendering three interceptions. Leaf admitted not having Fish available hurt, but he also felt that his healthy receivers struggled to make plays when they had the opportunity to.

“That is a factor in the game,” said Leaf. “Still, other guys have to step up and make plays. We just didn’t do that. I don’t know if we were just flat.”

Up 14-0 heading into the second half, Suzik made his second interception of the night, picking off Jahfetson at the Miners 39-yard line. From there, the Miners drove confidently down the field before Suzik ran one in from 2 yards out to put his team up 20-0 with 5:54 left in the quarter.

Looking for any kind of a spark, the Purple Hornets finally got one on the next drive as running back Foster Miller ran into the end zone from six yards out with 1:09 left in the quarter. Reese Waara kicked the extra point to trim the deficit to 20-7.

That was as close as they would get.

The Miners dominated the fourth quarter and Suzik capped a 14-play drive with a 4-yard scramble with 1:53 left in the contest.

The Purple Hornets will not get much time to recover from the loss, as they host the Calumet Copper Kings on Friday. The Miners prep this week to face Bark River-Harris with the hopes of minimizing the letdown after their key victory.

Gogebic 0 14 6 6 – 26

L’Anse 0 0 7 0 – 7

First Quarter

No Scoring

Second Quarter

GOG – Parker Wilson pass to Jacob Suzik, 33 yards (Brayden Tomes conversion), 4:20

GOG – Wilson pass to Suzik, 50 yards (run fails), 1:16

Third Quarter

GOG – Suzik, 2-yard run (run fails), 5:54

LHS – Foster Miller, 6-yard run (Reese Waara kick), 1:09

Fourth Quarter

GOG – Suzik, 4-yard run (run fails), 1:53

Stats

Rushing: GOG – Suzik, 21/130, 2TD; Tomes, 12/127, Ribich, 12/64; LHS: Miller, 25/106, 1 TD; Magaraggia, 4/7; Jahfetson, 4/9; Waara, 2/23; Rajala, 2/15; Funke, 3/24; Passing: GOG – Wilson, 3/6/96, 2 TD; LHS – Jahfetson, 2/10/35, 0 TD, 3 INT; Receiving: GOG – Suzik, 2/83, 2 TD; Averitt, 1/13; LHS – Waara 1/30; Miller 1/5