Justin St. Ours | Daily Press Gladstone’s John Hansen (10) celebrates after scoring a touchdown after out running Escanaba’s Trent Lawson (7) Friday in Escanaba.

ESCANABA — It was a historic night for Gladstone’s football program in more ways than one here Friday.

Not only did the Braves defeat Escanaba for the first time since 2010.

Their 30-15 triumph over the Eskymos marked the first time a Gladstone team won at the Escanaba Athletic Field since 1985.

“This is a special night for our program,” said Braves coach John Hansen. “Our JVs also beat Escanaba (24-0) last night. This is the first time in a long time that we’ve swept Escanaba. We had an amazing week of practice, and the kids were hungry. They were ready to play.”

Gladstone sophomore Eli Berthaume recovered a fumble at the Escanaba 42-yard line on the third play from scrimmage in this Great Northern Conference match-up.

Six plays later, senior starting quarterback Cam Kelly tossed a 32-yard touchdown pass through the middle to senior John Hansen, giving the Braves an 8-0 lead.

Gladstone (2-2 overall, 1-1 GNC) extended its lead to 16-0 with two minutes, 32 seconds left in the opening frame when junior Cole Potier scampered around left end on a two-yard TD run.

The Braves scored their third TD midway through the second stanza on Kelly’s 36-yard aerial through the middle to sophomore Nate Young for a 22-0 cushion.

Kelly, however, broke his collarbone on the play and will miss the remainder of the season.

Young, who took over signal-calling duties, tossed a cross-grain pass to Berthaume, who, in turn, fired a 26-yard TD aerial to Hansen for a 30-0 advantage just four seconds before halftime.

“The double pass right before halftime was huge,” said Hansen. “I think we may have caught them off guard. We got to give all the credit to the kids. They were really tuned in. It gives a coach a lot of confidence when they’re that focused.”

The Eskymos (1-3 overall, 0-2 GNC) took advantage of a Braves’ miscue on the first play of the third quarter, with junior linebacker Jacob Polishak recovering a fumble on their seven.

Three plays later, junior Casey Bray scored on a QB sneak, trimming Esky’s deficit to 30-7.

Esky threatened on its next possession, reaching the Braves’ 18. Potier, however, ended that threat by recovering a fumble at the Gladstone 26.

The Eskymos found the end zone one more time on a five-yard run off left tackle by senior running back Karson Krutina with 2:36 left in the contest.

“Defensively, our kids played their hearts out in the second half, and we’re going to build off that,” said Esky coach Dave Wilson. “Hats off to Gladstone. They’re a good, physical football team, and they earned it. It’s unfortunate they lost their starting quarterback. I don’t really know Cam, but I heard he’s a great young man. I thought Nate Young played very well. I’m very impressed with his play.”

John Hansen was also forced out of the contest with a low ankle sprain in the third quarter.

“This is a high character team,” said coach Hansen. “Our guys had to overcome some adversity tonight. When you lose your quarterback and best receiver, it shrinks your playbook. Cam played a whale of a game until he got hurt. I thought Nate did a fantastic job which says a lot about him. In the second half, we decided to run the ball and run down the clock.”

The Braves finished with 295 yards in total offense. Kelly completed 6-of-8 passes for 113 yards, and Young ran 19 times for 66.

“I feel bad for Cam,” said Young. “He’s the leader of our team. We’re going to dedicate the rest of this season to him. You always have to be prepared because you never know what’s going to happen. I just tried to take care of the plays and do my job. This game was very important to us. To win here for the first time in that many years is pretty crazy.”

Esky was limited to 113 yards in offense and lost four fumbles.

Esky hosts Kingsford Friday. Gladstone hosts Marquette for homecoming Friday.