Austin Hemmingson | Daily Press Gladstone’s Caden Alworden (left) looks to make a move against Menominee’s Johnathan Boucher (43) after making a reception during Friday’s game at Gladstone.

GLADSTONE — The Gladstone Braves were taken to the woodshed here Friday night as they absorbed a 42-6 whipping from the Menominee Maroons in a Great Northern Conference football opener.

Gladstone simply had a hard time moving the ball on the ground in this match-up as the Maroons limited them to 48 yards rushing.

“I thought we owned the line of scrimmage,” said Menominee coach Joe Noha. “Our defense was the key to the game. We played a real good team at Kaukauna, Wis. last week (in a 31-14 loss) and I think that helped prepare us for this. We felt pretty good about what we did tonight. We have a pretty good group of kids and our assistant coaches prepared them well.”

Menominee gained a 22-0 lead on a 10-yard run by senior Brendon Harris with four minutes, 29 seconds left in the second quarter, a score set up on a kickoff return to the Braves’ 15-yard line by junior Joseph Romero-Haire.

Late in the second, a fumble recovery by senior Caden Alworden on the Menominee 29 provided the Braves with a quality scoring chance. The Maroons’ defense, however, stood tall and forced them to turn the ball over on downs at the eight.

Alworden then intercepted a pass and returned it to the Maroons’ five just three seconds before halftime. Senior Drake Forrest’s pass, however, fell incomplete, leaving the halftime score at 22-0.

“Our red zone execution was not good,” said Braves’ coach Jeff Hansen. “You have to be able to cash in on those opportunities. We could have gotten a little momentum going our way. Credit to Menominee. That’s a good football squad. They’re going to do well. We just didn’t play good football. They just flat out beat us.”

Harris gave the Maroons (2-1 overall) a 29-0 cushion on a seven-yard run to the left and his seven-yard toss to senior Drew Dubey made it 35-0 with 16.7 seconds left in the third stanza.

Junior Jon Spegal added a seven-yard touchdown run in the fourth, putting Menominee up 42-0.

Gladstone got on the board in the closing moments on an 11-yard quarterback keeper by junior Owen Trombley.

Menominee took a 7-0 lead on Harris’s 12-yard toss to senior Dante Sartorelli midway through the opening frame and raised the count to 15-0 on Harris’s 34-yard aerial to senior Keagan Monroe with 7:47 remaining in the second.

“Gladstone, they’re good,” said Noha. “They had a game plan to take some things away. We executed real well, although we still have some things we need to tighten up. We have 16 seniors who had a tough road last year (in a 2-7 season) and they’re taking it personal.”

The Maroons rushed for 207 of their 329 yards. Harris completed 10-of-15 passes for 122 and ran 16 times for 90 out of their single wing offense. Senior Brock Barrette rushed for 87 in 20 attempts.

Gladstone passed for 134 of its 192 yards. Senior Cole Hansen led the Braves in rushing with 38 yards on 17 carries. Junior Ryan Polley added 28 on six attempts in a reserve role.

The Braves host Kingsford Friday while the Maroons host Peshtigo, Wis. Thursday.