Escanaba’s Keagan Braun (21) eludes a diving tackle attempt from Kingsford’s Caleb Kleist on Aug. 29, 2024 at Flivver Field. (Courtesy photo/Terry Raiche)

KINGSFORD – Prep football coaches know they likely will be forced to deal with first-game issues relating to mistakes like penalties and missed assignments. The preseason isn’t terribly long and there really aren’t any opportunities for inter-squad scrimmages, so the opening game is usually sloppy, at least to some degree.

The first half of Thursday’s opener between Kingsford and Escanaba was untidy to say the least. The teams combined for 14 accepted penalties, with the Flivvers being whistled for nine, and for every well-run offensive play there was another which went off kilter.

But in the end, Kingsford fought through all that and posted a 21-0 victory over the visiting Eskymos at Flivver Field.

Senior Gavin Grondin recorded both a rushing and receiving touchdown and junior Jack Kriegl added a score on the ground to lift the Flivvers to the victory.

Grondin’s first touchdown, a 29-yard scoring strike from senior Nic Novara, came on Kingsford’s opening drive of the contest. But from there, the Flivvers put on a herky-jerky performance the rest of the first half, which included three empty trips inside the red zone.

“It was the first game and you get that,” Flivver coach Mark Novara said. “But we’ve got a long way to go. Winning’s great and all, but when it comes to crunch time, we’ve got to be better and we’ve got to be way more disciplined and that’s the bottom line.”

Nevertheless, the Flivvers had a safety net of sorts while they coughed out the junk offensively in the form of a swarming defensive unit that had Esky’s athletic quarterback Nolan Bink running around most of the night trying to escape blitzing Flivvers.

While Bink made some impressive plays with his feet and arm, he was sacked eight times and finished with a negative 61 yards in the rushing column.

Senior defensive ends Mason Tappy and Andres Finley combined for five sacks to spark the ferocious Flivver defensive attack put together by current assistant coach and former long-time Flivver head coach Chris Hofer.

“Coach Hofer is Coach Hofer,” Novara said. “He’s a Hall of Famer for a reason. Man, he dials up some things. I know that as an offensive guy trying to play against a defense where he’s coming in every which direction is difficult.

“Just a blessing to have him on our staff.”

The Eskymos did move the ball into Kingsford territory three times but came away with nothing. One drive ended with a mishandled snap on a field goal attempt, another finished with a sack on fourth down and another was stopped by an interception by Kingsford senior Thomas Maynard.

Despite the onslaught, Bink managed to complete 13 of 21 for 184 yards. Graham Johnson caught four passes for 85 yards and Javon Stephenson also hauled in four passes for 54 yards.

Brody Ison paced the Eskymos in rushing with 21 yards on seven carries as he struggled with an injury during much of the game.

Meanwhile, the Flivvers moved the ball well throughout much of the game and were well balanced. Nic Novara completed 9 of 13 passes for 158 yards and a score, while the Flivver running game produced 201 yards on 33 carries (6.1 yards per carry).

“I think in the first half, we just weren’t being ourselves,” the senior QB said. “We had a touchdown on the first drive. But then we had big penalties, and when we get in the red zone, we’ve got to capitalize.”

In the second half, Coach Novara turned to his running game and it eventually wore the Eskymos down. Grondin’s second touchdown, a 10-yard run, came with 1:52 left in the third quarter and Kriegl’s burst up the middle came at the 8:59 mark of the fourth quarter to basically end Escanaba’s chances.

Junior Ian Spencer led the Flivvers on the ground with 51 yards on five late-game carries, while senior fullback Caleb Kleist added 45 yards on five carries earlier in the game.

Grondin caught four passes for 57 yards to lead the Kingsford receivers. Grondin did produce a scare among the Flivver faithful when he pulled up lame after his third-quarter touchdown and had to be carried from the field, but turned out he was just cramping as other players did during the contest.

Next up for the Flivvers is a home contest against West Pac Conference Foe Houghton on Sept. 6 at Flivver Field. The Gremlins dropped a 26-16 decision to Iron Mountain on Thursday night.

“I think we settled in in the second half tonight and I think we’ll preform better next week,” Coach Novara said.