George Leionen photo Hancock’s Colton Salani runs for a 63-yard touchdown after Gogebic’s rush didn’t allow him to get off a punt Friday at McAfee Field. Hancock’s Alex Nordstrom looks for someone to block as Gogebic’s Brayden Tomes (46) gives chase.

HANCOCK — If someone wanted to see the effects of the Hancock Bulldogs’ platoon system at the high school level, Friday’s matchup with the Gogebic Miners was Exhibit A.

Hancock’s dynamic skill players took advantage of a worn-out Gogebic defense to score on highlight-reel worthy plays of 32, 42, 46 and 63 yards, while the stifling defense held the Miners’ offense to just 24 yards rushing in the second half.

The Bulldogs’ rotation of fresh bodies erased an 18-0 deficit and scored 40 unanswered points to record a 40-18 West-PAC victory at McAfee Field in Hancock.

“We play 22 guys and slowly as surely, (Gogebic) got tireder and tireder,” Hancock head coach Ted Holmstrom said. “The plays started to hit for us, and once we started hitting the plays, that was it.”

Before Hancock’s offense could settle in, Gogebic (0-2) pounded the ball down the field on the ground by utilizing their Wing-T formation; the Miners would finish with 183 yards rushing in the first half (5.21 yards per carry), and it was junior quarterback Parker Wilson connecting with junior Cody Schwartz for a 15-yard touchdown over the middle to put the Miners ahead 18-0 with 5 minutes, 11 seconds left in the first quarter.

While Gogebic scored touchdowns on three consecutive drives, Hancock (2-0) turned it over on downs and suffered two three-and-outs.

“We did the things we were supposed to do and executed very well,” Gogebic head coach Mark Mazzon said of his team’s start. “To keep your momentum is one thing, but when the momentum changed with them, they have 11 guys fresh and it’s tough. They have a great system going, and a great coaching staff that made adjustments.”

Then, as Holmstrom said, the plays began to “hit,” and Hancock would score touchdowns on six of its next seven possessions before finishing with 496 yards of offense.

Senior back Aaron Barnes jumpstarted the Bulldogs’ offense on a 32-yard touchdown on a dive up the middle to trim the deficit to 18-7 as the Gogebic defense started to show some holes.

Barnes finished with a game-high 144 yards rushing and three touchdowns on 15 carries. He also scored on runs of 4 and 42 yards on dives up the middle.

“Once we started to get in the groove of it, the line really started to hit their blocks,” Barnes said. “At first, the holes were small, but when the line started kicking it in, it felt like you could fit a semi through those things.”

Sophomore quarterback Colton Salani had another explosive day for the Bulldogs, completing 15 of 29 passes for 208 yards and one touchdown; he also ran for 78 yards and a touchdown on six carries. But those in attendance will remember his performance for two game-changing plays.

Trailing 18-7 and facing a fourth-and-6 with 12 seconds left in the first half, Gogebic called timeout to organize its defense. During the timeout, Holmstrom told Salani that if the defense shifted to the pre-snap motion, look for senior end Grant Hokenson in a one-on-one matchup on a fly. The defense shifted, and Salani dropped in a dime to Hokenson for a 46-yard touchdown to trim the deficit to 18-13.

“We worked on that play in the summer five days a week,” Salani said. “We like to hit (Hokenson) when he’s man-on-man.”

Two months before the season began, a former coach and player advised Holmstrom to put Salani back as the punter “because when things go wrong, he’ll be able to tuck it and run it.” And thanks to Gogebic’s aggressive rush on punts — the Miners got a piece of the ball on a block on a prior punt — Salani was forced to improvise.

On fourth-and-10, Salani saw the rush and decided to take off to the right sideline instead of risking a blocked punt; one cutback to his left, and he was gone for a 63-yard touchdown to put Hancock ahead 20-18.

“I was feeling the pressure, and right when I took the first step, I knew (the defender) was going to catch me,” Salani said about deciding not to punt. “When I tucked it, I thought there would be more people out there.”

Hancock’s diverse offense continued to march down the field against Gogebic’s defense; junior Alex Nordstrom capped a 58-yard drive on a 3-yard toss to the left for a 26-18 advantage in the third. The Bulldogs would also cap drives of 75 and 77 yards for 40 unanswered points.

“We had a few bad things happen, and it’s tough to keep the heads up when things start going negative — especially when you consider the past years,” Mazzon said. “We have to put four quarters together, and we haven’t figured it out, yet.”

Next, Hancock hosts Northland Pines on Friday, while Gogebic welcomes Houghton on the same day.

Gogebic 6 12 0 0 — 18

Hancock 0 13 13 14 — 40

First quarter

G — Jacob Suzik 7-yard run (2-pt no good), 6-0, 4:40

Second quarter

G — Parker Wilson 1-yard run (2-pt no good), 12-0, 11:56

G — Wilson to Cody Schwartz for 15-yard pass (2-pt no good), 18-0, 5:11

H — Aaron Barnes 32-yard run (LeClaire XP good),18-7, 4:08

H — Colton Salani 46-yard pass to Grant Hokenson (LeClaire XP no good), 18-13, 0:04

Third quarter

H — Salani 63-yard run, (LeClaire XP good), 20-18, 11:22

H — Alex Nordstrom 3-yard run (LeClaire XP no good), 26-18, 7:26

Fourth quarter

H — Barnes 4-yard run (LeClaire XP good), 33-18, 11:46

H — Barnes 42-yard run (LeClaire XP good), 40-18, 7:41

Total offense

Gogebic 276 (207 rushing, 69 passing); Hancock 496 (218 passing, 278 rushing)

Rushing (attempts-yards-touchdowns)

Gogebic — Ribich 21-81-0, Suzik 16-68-1, Tomes 5-62-0, Schwartz 3-13-0, Wilson 6- -17-1; Hancock — Barnes 15-144-3, C. Salani 8-78-1, Nordstrom 13-60-1, Rajala 2-7-0, LeClaire 2-3-0, A. Salani 1- -14-0.

Passing (completions-attempts-yards-touchdowns-interceptions)

Gogebic — Wilson 4-12-69-1-1; Hancock — Salani 15-29-208-1-0; Larson 3-3-10-0-0.

Receiving (catches-yards-touchdowns)

Gogebic — Averitt 1-29-0, Tomes 1-15-0, Schwartz 1-15-0, Janczak 1-10-0; Hancock — Hokenson 6-99-1, Barnes 2-41-0, Nordstrom 4-36-0, A. Salani 2-22-0, Kero 1-10-0, Watson 1-7-0, Stuber 1-3-0, Turner 1-0-0.