Lakes football sails past Jets in playoff opener
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LAKE LINDEN -- There is a reason that the Lake Linden-Hubbell Lakes football team is 10-0 on the season. Just ask their coach, Brett Gervais, whose team remained unbeaten after a 44-25 win over the North Central Jets Saturday in a regional semifinal game at home.
"I credit this win to senior leadership," he said. "We came out and played well in the first half, except for that late score in the second quarter by the Jets. That gave the Jets momentum going into the third quarter. We spent that whole quarter trying to get out of that hole.
"We finally found a way out, and that was because of our senior leadership. We have a group that rallies around each other."
Up until that end of the first half, it was smooth sailing for the Lakes. They scored on all four of their first possessions moving the score from 24-13 after one to 38-19 at half.
The Lakes' Brady Axford and Blake Lebo both had explosive days carrying the football. Axford had an impressive 194 yards for two touchdowns and three 2-point conversions. Lebo followed with 108 yards on the ground and two touchdowns.
At the 6:57 mark, Brady Axford posted a 20-yard touchdown run and it was 8-0 for the Lakes. Two minutes later the Jets, posted seven with a 10-yard pass play to Riley Cretens for six and an extra point through the uprights.
While the Lakes scored two more touchdowns, the Jets countered with one.
The Lakes' second touchdown came again the heels of Brady Axford. He found daylight and took the ball 54 yards for six and then two to make the score 16-7. Teammate Lebo kept the running game alive with an impressive 77-yard dash for the end zone with around a minute to go in the first.
The Jets countered with six of their own on the second play off the kickoff. Kaden Malone scored on a 47-yard run to make the score 24-13 in favor of the Lakes after eight minutes.
The Lakes' Josh Daavettila led the team in receiving with three receptions and 87 yards. Two of them came in the second half.
Then came the closing seconds of the half where the Jest scored and shifted momentum. The North Central touchdown by Pryar LaBomte capped a six-play, 57-yard drive and moved the score to 38-19 in favor of the Lakes at half.
While the first half saw lots of scoring, the last two quarters of the second half had both teams scoring only once. Plagued by miscommunication, and penalties, the Lakes lost the third quarter, 6-0, but won the fourth, 6-0.
Their fourth-quarter score was a 22-yard scamper by Lebo at the 4:04 mark to make it a 44-25 finale for Lake Linden-Hubbell.
"This was definitely a team win, and I couldn’t be prouder of all the guys," said Gervais. "As for the game ball, it goes to our offensive line. They got the job done in the trenches when push came to shove. We owned the line of scrimmage against a tough North Central team, and that is saying something about our guys."
The Jets' season ended at 7-3. Two of those losses came at the hands of the Lakes. The third loss was in a game against Ishpeming. North Central coach Leo Gorzinski had only the utmost respect for his squad’s toughest opponent.
"Hats off to that whole (Lakes) organization," he stated. "I have a lot of mutual respect for them. They are a very good football team."
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The Lakes will face off against another undefeated team on the 8-player gridiron, Gaylord St. Mary (10-0). Kickoff is slated for 1:30 p.m. at Ron Werner Field in Lake Linden.
"We love being at home," said Gervais. "We think we have the best fans and they showed it today.
Up for grabs is an MHSAA Region 1 title and a spot in the state semifinals against the winner of Portland St. Patrick and Grand Rapids Sacred Heart.