Justin St. Ours | Daily Press Escanaba’s Tyler Lawson runs past Marquette’s Isaac Johnson (20) and Kameron Karp (23) Saturday at Escanaba.

ESCANABA — It was a memorable day for Escanaba graduate Eric Mason here Saturday morning as he coached the Marquette Redmen to a hard-fought 17-14 football triumph over his alma mater.

The victory enabled the Redmen to improve to 2-2 overall following the Great Northern Conference opener for both teams. The homecoming loss dropped the Eskymos to 3-1.

“This is special for me, but it’s more for the kids,” said Mason. “I just want them to do well. They (Esky) have great athletes. When they’re not playing us, I follow and support them and cheer for them.”

Marquette held a 10-7 halftime lead Friday night when the game was suspended due to a power failure.

“We got home at 11 last night,” said Mason. “Our guys wanted to play early. We told them they control the effort and attitude and they kept that up the whole game.”

The Redmen scored the game-winner after they capitalized on an Esky miscue with eight minutes, 15 seconds left in the contest.

The Eskymos appeared ready to take charge when a punt pinned the Redmen near their 10-yard line early in the fourth. Esky’s defense then forced the Redmen to go three-and-out and punt.

The punt, however, was mishandled by senior Josh Bruntjens and the Redmen regained possession on their own 43.

The ensuing drive was climaxed on a 14-yard pass from sophomore quarterback Austin Ridl to senior Isaac Johnson for a 17-14 lead midway through the fourth.

Esky, operating out of the option, then drove to the Marquette 26. The Redmen defense, however, stiffened and forced the Eskymos to turn the ball over on downs.

“The kids played their hearts out,” said Esky coach Dave Howes. “The mishandled punt hurt us, plus we had too many penalties. The game was there for us, then we had another penalty and a missed assignment and that was the game. Both teams played hard. Give Marquette credit. They’re real good team. I thought they took advantage of the things we did wrong.”

Bruntjens had given the Eskymos a 14-10 lead on a 40-yard hook-and-ladder play in the third stanza in front of a smaller crowd than Friday night.

“Bryant (Maki) and Josh executed that play real well,” said Howes. “That definitely gave us some momentum. I’m proud of the kids for the effort. Except for one little miscue last night, our defense played well. It hurts not being able to play the entire homecoming game the same night, but that’s the way it is. We’ll have to regroup and get ready for Kingsford.”

Marquette took an early 7-0 lead on a 63-yard bomb from Ridl to senior wide receiver Drew Wyble Friday night and made it 10-0 on a 27-yard field goal by Wyble midway through the opening frame.

A nine-yard run by Bruntjens then pulled the Eskymos within 10-7 with 2:51 left in the second, setting the stage for Saturday’s second half.

Marquette outgained Esky 260-229 in total offense. Ridl completed 8-of-22 passes for 124 yards, two TDs and a pair of interceptions by Esky junior defensive back Tyler Lawson. Esky senior quarterback Ethan Silverstone was 9-of-17 for 67 yards.

“Austin has the ability to read defenses,” said Mason. “Our guys hold an even keel. They’re able to keep their composure. Our first two games (losses to Traverse City St. Francis and Traverse City Central) prepared us well. We’ve gotten better with each game.”

Among Mason’s assistants are former Esky head coach Dan Flynn and Esky graduate Spike Houle.

The Redmen travel to Petoskey Friday while the Eskymos visit Kingsford.