GLADSTONE — The Gladstone Braves fell victim to Negaunee’s grind-it-out style here Friday night, dropping a 25-2 football decision to the Miners.

It was rough going for the Braves, in particular, against Negaunee’s defense as they were limited to 68 yards in this hard-hitting WestPAC Conference, Copper Division match-up.

Despite all that, Gladstone was very much in this game with 7:50 left in the second quarter when the Miners went into punt formation.

The snap then sailed over the head of punter Owen Cardinal and bounced out of the end zone for a safety and the Braves were within 6-2.

It stayed that way until Evan Dellangelo took a punt on a bounce and raced 71 yards for a touchdown, giving the Miners a 12-2 cushion with 4:52 remaining in the second stanza.

In the closing moments of the first half, Gladstone quarterback Cooper Sanville heaved a Hail Mary pass to Mason Sierpien, who caught it for what appeared to be a TD. He was ruled out of bounds, however, and the Braves headed into the halftime locker room with a 10-point deficit.

“We can’t argue with the scoreboard,” Braves’ coach Craig Ness said. “We did what we wanted on defense in the first half. Other than not scoring, we moved the ball. We made a mistake on a couple executions and had a couple guys out of position on their long punt return.”

After forcing a punt early in the third quarter, the Miners started on their 34-yard line.

Negaunee, which then maintained possession for nearly five minutes, extended its lead to 18-2 on Dellangelo’s 11-yard reception on a slant pattern from Kyle Waterman 4:26 left in the third.

The Miners, who marched 66 yards on that drive, ended the scoring on Waterman’s QB sneak with 54 seconds left in the contest.

Negaunee, aided by roughing the passer and offside penalties, covered 73 yards in its opening possession. Marshall Peters finished the nine-play drive on a four-yard run up the middle for a 6-0 lead.

“We haven’t changed much,” first-year Negaunee coach Jeff Niemi said. “It was good for us to go down the field and score. That was a good way for us to start the game. We felt we had a little momentum, then we had a little bit of a lull. At the end, we’ve got to remember they’re all good kids.”

Gladstone moved into the red zone four times during the contest, including once early in the fourth frame when they started on Negaunee’s 20.

The Miners, however, locked down on defense and ended that threat with three consecutive sacks.

“We’ve got to give Gladstone a lot of credit,” Niemi said. “They put up a good fight from start to finish. They’re going to win some games this year.”

Senior running back Owen Gereau led the Braves’ ground offense with 51 yards on 19 carries. Senior wide receiver Mason Serpien had four receptions for 40 yards.

The Braves, however, were whistled for five personal foul penalties and allowed five sacks.

Negaunee finished with 196 yards, including 173 on the ground. Junior Mason Swenor ran 20 times for 84 yards and Waterman completed 2-of-3 passes, both to Dellangelo, for 23 yards.

“Negaunee did what they do best,” Ness said. “They were making plays. I’m happy with the way our guys responded. We’re just a step off. We had some nice passes. We just couldn’t put it all together.”

Both teams resume Friday. The Miners, now 2-0 after their league opener, host Calumet (2-0). The Braves (0-2) host Kingsford (1-1).