ST. NICHOLAS — Mid Peninsula’s defense bent but didn’t completely break here Friday night in a 32-18 homecoming football victory over the Carney-Nadeau Wolves.

A goalline stand moments before halftime enabled the Wolverines to take an 18-12 lead into the locker room in their first homecoming contest in a decade.

The Wolverines stopped C-N on its two-yard line moments before the intermission.

C-N then quickly moved the ball downfield to start the third quarter, going 49 yards in six plays before turning the ball over on downs, again at the two.

“That was one of the game-changers,” said Mid Pen coach Sam Eggleston. “That worked out well for us. We gave up more yards than we would have liked, although they have a good team. This is one of the more competitive Carney-Nadeau teams I’ve coached against.”

The victory enabled the Wolverines to gain a split in the season series. The Wolves won the first meeting 24-14 on a wet field at Powers Sept. 10.

“We had a couple kids we didn’t have the first time we played them,” said Eggleston. “Field conditions favored us tonight, but our game plan had to stay intact.”

The Wolverines gained a 24-12 cushion with eight minutes, 43 seconds left in the contest when junior quarterback Brad VanDamme plowed through the middle for a four-yard touchdown.

C-N answered less than 1 1/2 minutes later as senior Ashton Wandahsega scored on an eight-yard run, trimming its deficit to 24-18.

VanDamme ended the scoring at 5:23 on a two-yard run up the middle.

The Wolves had one more possession which resulted in an interception by senior and homecoming king Michael Englund on the Wolverines’ 41-yard line.

“We made too many mistakes,” said Wolves’ coach Jim Belec. “We had too many penalties. Hats off to them. It looked like they had a good week of practice. They came out with a little more energy than the first time we played them.”

Mid Pen (2-3) marched 64 yards in seven plays on its opening drive, taking a 6-0 lead on junior Caleb Lofquist’s three-yard run up the middle.

The Wolverines extended their lead to 12-0 on VanDamme’s 25-yard pass to Englund with 3:10 remaining in the first quarter.

C-N threatened early in the second before Englund swiped a pass on the Wolverines’ 10.

A short punt then gave the Wolves possession at the Mid Pen 27.

On the next play, senior quarterback Isiah Tilmon found freshman Cameron Strauss wide open on the right side of the end zone for a 27-yard TD pass, bringing the Wolves within 12-6.

The Wolves then tied the score on Tilmon’s 17-yard aerial to junior Kienen Kuntze with 4:57 left in the second stanza, set up 70 seconds earlier on Kuntze’s 50-yard dash around left end to the Mid Pen 10.

VanDamme helped Mid Pen regain the lead when he scrambled away from coverage and heaved a 25-yard pass to Lofquist for an 18-12 lead at 2:28.

Lofquist caught 10 aerials for 120 yards and Englund, receiving heavy defensive attention, had four catches for 40.

“Caleb has great hands and we ran him on a lot of out patterns,” said Eggleston. “It has been a long time since we had a homecoming game. The guys really responded and it felt great to win to win this one.”

The Wolves outgained Mid Pen 370-320 in total offense. They rushed for 237 yards with Tilmon leading the way with 81 on 16 carries. Kuntze added 79 in 10 attempts and Wandahsega ran 11 times for 58. Deshawn Metzger hauled in five passes for 124.

“We have only three seniors,” said Belec. “We definitely have something to build on. We’ll just go back to work on Monday (against the North Central jayvees at Powers).”

VanDamme gained 81 yards on 16 carries and completed 18-of-30 passes for 174 yards for the Wolverines, who travel to Posen Friday.