Mike Mattson/Escanaba Daily Press Lake Linden-Hubbell quarterback Carter Crouch looks for running room around right end as Bark-River Harris defenders close in on the play. Crouch and the Lakes defeated the host Broncos 24-12 Saturday afternoon.

HARRIS — It looked early like a for-sure homecoming victory Saturday for the Bark River-Harris football team.

The Broncos busted out to a quick 12-0 lead and dominated the statistics all afternoon. But the game soured quickly and Lake Linden-Hubbell pulled off its sweetest Mid-Eastern Conference win of the season, 24-12.

“We ran (nine) offensive plays in the first half and somehow we were winning,” Lakes’ coach Andy Crouch said. “How we pulled this off, I don’t know. I guess it’s a credit to our kids and the way they want to play.”

It was a frustrating day for the Broncos who dominated most of the way. They took a 6-0 lead on Ben Schultz’s 1-yard run on their first possession and mounted a 19-play drive on their second possession, capped by Schultz’s 32-yard TD pass to Ryan Arndt for the 12-0 lead.

The Lakes (2-3, 2-1) had two first downs in the first half, but earned a 16-12 halftime lead on two big second-quarter plays — a 50-yard TD run by James Tuovila and a 50-yard interception return by Kellen Klein.

“I had nightmares of them running the score up on us,” Crouch said about the early going. “I thought we were going to get the running clock put on us today. Boy did our kids step up big when they had to and made some big plays.

“That interception return was as big of a play as we’ve had all season. We got some good pressure. They had a couple of turnovers we capitalized on. We made a couple of big plays at the end of the game, too.”

BR-H (3-3, 0-3) dominated the statistics in total yards (396-177), rushing yards (272-123), offensive plays (79-27), first downs (26-7) and time of possession (28:38-19:22).

The Broncos reached the red zone five times (scoring twice) and drove deep into Lakes’ territory two other possessions. But penalties, two turnovers and the inability to finish drives cost the Broncos.

“That one was tough,” BR-H coach Al Stenberg said. “We played pretty well the whole game. Offensively, we felt we moved the ball well. We just stalled. Fumbles and penalties have been the story of our season. We can’t make mistakes to beat a good team like this.”

BR-H failed to get the momentum back after driving to the Lakes’ 7-yard line just before halftime, but a fourth-down pass into the end zone was incomplete with 19 seconds left.

The Lakes sealed the win in the fourth quarter when receiver Dominic Wagner slipped behind the Broncos’ defense and caught a 26-yard TD pass from Carter Crouch at the 3:34 mark.

Schultz completed 9 of 27 passes for 124 yards and one score. Logan Heim, who was crowned homecoming king, carried 15 times for 125 yards, Colton Brunette added 62 yards on 14 attempts and Kadin Mustafa had four receptions for 58 yards.

Tuovila finished with 68 yards on seven carries and Carter Crouch added 28 yards on six attempts. Crouch completed 3 of 5 passes for 54 yards and a score and Wagner recovered a fumble.

“Defensively, I thought we played better than I expected,” Stenberg said. “Up front, we were solid the whole game.”

The Lakes recorded their second straight big win after upsetting Newberry the previous week.

“I’m just overwhelmed with how our kids played with their backs against the wall,” Andy Crouch said. “Our kids have a little bit of pride in them. It might not be the most talented crew we’ve ever had. But the last two weeks – we have some guts and they are finding a way.”

The Broncos, meanwhile, hope to regroup and make a late-season charge toward six wins and an automatic playoff berth.

“We have to win out in order to make the playoffs,” Stenberg said. “We have to have three good weeks of practice with zero distractions and shore up our ball handling and penalties.

“My hat’s off to Andy Crouch and his program. He runs a heck of a program with class all the way around. They are Lake Linden for a reason.”

BR-H returns to action Saturday at Gogebic. LL-H hosts Houghton on the same day.

The summary:

LL-Hubbell 0 16 0 8 – 24

BR-Harris 6 6 6 6 – 12

First quarter

BR-H – Schultz 1 run, PAT pass failed, 9:37

Second quarter

BR-H – Schultz 32 pass to Arndt, PAT run failed, 11:31

LL-H – Tuovila 50 run, Crouch pass to Gregoire, 7:56

LL-H – Kellen 50 interception return, Hainault run, 5:17

Fourth quarter

LL-H – Crouch 26 pass to Wagner, Crouch pass to Klein, 3:34