Purple Hornets football puts late sting to Bulldogs
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L’ANSE -- It was the battle of the "three-and-fours" in Friday night football in L’Anse. Either the L’Anse Purple Hornets or the Hancock Bulldogs were going to break even at the .500 mark (4-4) at the end of Week Eight of high school football. While the Bulldogs carried the lead for more than three quarters of the game, the Purple Hornets came from behind and outscored the Bulldogs 12-0 for the win at 34-26.
Both coaches of L’Anse, Jon Boever and Michael Griffin, couldn’t have been prouder in the post-game huddle as it snapped a four-game losing streak for their team.
"You guys played a heck of a game tonight," they said to a group of worn out Purple Hornets. "You didn’t give up and fought till the end."
It was a classic battle from the start. Both teams scored on their opening drives. L’Anse’s Vinny Seratti capped a four-play drive with a touchdown to open the game.
Hancock then countered with six of their own with a 55-yard TD pass from Benny Keranen to Max Nordstrom to tie the game.
L’Anse, however, earned a two-point safety before the first was over and led 8-6 after one.
It was a brief lead, as the Hancock defense shutout the Purple Hornets and added a touchdown as they jumped on a fumble in the L’Anse end zone for another six. The Bulldogs led 12-8 at the half.
In the third, they added 14 to that lead as they were consistent in moving the ball forward. Keranen put the Bulldogs up 20-8 with a 24-yard run to start the third. Teammate Drew Larson went on to close the third with a four-yard push with 2:45 left for six. Add a two-point conversion by Tyler Jaehnig, and the Bulldogs had their biggest lead of the night at 26-8.
L’Anse countered with less than a minute left in the third with a second-and-goal push by Seratti and a two-point conversion by Mikey Delich. The score was now just a 10-point Hancock lead at 26-16 with 12 minutes to go.
"The boys played really hard. We had a very good first half, and I told them that. We were playing well and came out of the third quarter on top and feeling good," said Bulldogs coach Brendan LeClaire. "L’Anse had a good surge in the third quarter and outplayed us in the fourth. We just could not contain them."
While the Bulldogs opened the fourth on their own 42, the Purple Hornets took over on downs and posted a 64-yard drive to make this battle a one-possession game at 22-26 and a little more than eight minutes to go. The game then came down to the final minutes.
While the Bulldogs had another chance to score, the Purple Hornets' defense mounted an impressive stop and a score to take the lead at 28-26. Hancock had time to mount a score, but L’Anse put the proverbial nail in the coffin with an interception with under a minute to go in the game. On third and seven, and the clock at 34 seconds, Hancock’s Keranen stepped back to pass and threw it a little short, right into the hands of L’Anse’s Seratti, who took it more than 60 yards for six and a 34-26 win.
Up next
The Bulldogs (3-5) will battle the Houghton Gremlin at home for the Copper Bowl Friday.
The Purple Hornets will close out the season in Calumet Friday.