POWERS — The Carney-Nadeau Wolves got caught up in a numbers game here Saturday in a 50-22 eight-player football loss to the Gogebic Miners.

Gogebic (1-5), which brought 26 players to Powers, snapped a 29-game losing streak.

The Wolves, with just 12 on their roster, fell to 0-6 with the non-conference loss.

“They had numbers, and we didn’t,” said C-N coach Jim Belec. “They played some tough competition. I think they wore us down a little.”

The victory was Gogebic’s first since Oct. 7, 2017, when it defeated Bark River-Harris 14-0 at Wakefield.

“This is indescribable right now,” said Gogebic coach Nick Heikkila. “I’m excited for and proud of the kids. Our seniors were hungry. They needed this. We play each week at a time. We had one streak end and another begin. For the program, this gets the monkey off our back.”

C-N marched 75 yards on nine plays in their opening possession, gaining an 8-0 lead on senior Peyton Imhoff’s 15-yard pass to senior Warren Gustafson.

The Miners were driving late in the first quarter before losing a fumble on the Wolves’ 11-yard line.

C-N then went three and out, and Miners’ senior Jack Matrella returned a punt to the Wolves’ 19.

Matrella then brought the Miners within 8-6 on a 15-yard run around left end.

C-N’s next possession was cut short when Gogebic senior Max Suri recovered a fumble on its 33.

The Miners capitalized, taking a 12-8 lead when 6-foot-0, 240-pound senior Thomas Udd plowed through the middle on a one-yard TD run to open the second stanza.

Gogebic made it a two-score game on freshman Gabe Harju’s 29-yard run through the right side, and a 38-yard interception return by freshman Jack Nyquist made it 28-8 midway through the second.

A nine-yard pass from Matrella to freshman Ben Kaurala provided the Miners with a 36-8 cushion eight seconds before halftime, helping them overcome a third-and-45 situation at their 30 just 47 seconds earlier.

“That score right before the half really hurt us,” said Belec. “We could see the kids’ heads drop at that point. We drove the ball a couple times and self-destructed. We tried a lot of different things. They just didn’t materialize.”

In the fourth frame, C-N junior Isiah Tilmon tossed a 36-yard TD pass through the middle to Gustafson, and Imhoff completed a nine-yard scoring pass to sophomore Kienen Kuntze on the final play of the game.

Nyquist concluded Gogebic’s scoring on a 55-yard kickoff return with 5:33 remaining.

The ground-oriented Miners rushed for 292 yards. Udd ran for 127 on 14 carries. Matrella ran 16 times for 104 and hit 5-of-7 passes for 85 yards, one TD and an interception.

“We knew they threw the ball,” said Heikkila. “We watched film and worked hard in practice. We kept our nose to the grindstone, and it worked out. Our goal was to keep kids fresh. Hats off to Carney-Nadeau. Coming in with 12 kids is not easy, but they played hard.”

The Wolves finished with 300 yards in total offense. Imhoff and Tilmon combined for 174 yards passing.

Imhoff hit 10-of-19 aerials for two scores and an interception and rushed a dozen times for 103 yards. Tilmon converted 3-of-5 passes and a TD.

“Our kids always play hard to the end,” said Belec. “They fought all the way to the end as well. No. 61 (Udd) is as good as advertised. Also, their quarterback threw well, and their receivers were catching passes you don’t see on film.”

Kuntze led the Wolves in receiving with six receptions for 86 yards, and Gustafson caught five passes for 79. Gogebic’s Kaurala snagged two passes for 45.

The Wolves return to Powers to host Lake Linden-Hubbell Saturday. The Miners visit second-ranked Forest Park Friday.