SPALDING — Fifth-ranked Lake Linden-Hubbell chewed up plenty of real estate at Powers North Central’s expense here Friday night as it handed the hometown Jets a 52-34 football loss.

The Lakes collected 417 yards in total offense, including 291 on the ground in this Great Lakes Eight Conference, West Division contest.

LL-H, which led 30-18 at halftime, controlled the time of possession through much of the second half.

North Central took an 18-14 lead on a 12-yard pass through the middle by senior quarterback Ben Stage to junior Riley Cretens with 4:03 left in the second quarter.

LL-H went ahead 22-18 on junior Josh Daavettila’s 20-yard pass through the middle to Lukas Axford with 28 seconds left in the second stanza.

Sophomore Ashton Sullivan then intercepted a pass and returned it to the Jets’ 16 with 17 seconds remaining in the second frame.

On the next play, junior Brady Axford tossed a touchdown pass to Lukas Axford, enabling the Lakes to take a 30-18 cushion into the halftime locker room.

“The interception by Ashton was huge,” Lakes’ coach Brett Gervais said. “That changes the way you play the second half. We’re real happy with the way our guys responded.”

LL-H started the third quarter with a time consuming drive, marching 57 yards in 10 plays and gaining a 36-18 advantage on Brady Axford’s five-yard run off right tackle midway through that frame.

The Lakes then put together a similar-type drive with Brady Axford again breaking off tackle on a five-yard TD run for a 44-18 advantage with 35 seconds left in the third.

The Jets answered early in the fourth on Stage’s 10-yard TD run up the middle, shaving their deficit to 44-26.

Daavettila put the Lakes up 52-26 with 3:14 left in the contest when he broke off right tackle on a 29-yard dash.

Jets’ sophomore Pryar LaBonte concluded the scoring on a 30-yard run at 1:52.

“I thought we played a pretty solid first 1½ quarters,” Jets’ coach Leo Gorzinski said. “I’ve got to take the blame for the interception before the half. We got greedy and paid for it. Our defense was struggling and I just wanted to provide a spark. I got out-coached. They were better prepared than we were. We were still in the game, then the kids came out flat in the second half.

Two scores, you can overcome that, but you can’t give up the quick score after halftime.”

North Central needed just three plays to find the end zone on its opening possession as junior running back Kaden Malone broke off right tackle and dashed 43 yards for its first score.

LL-H turned the ball over on downs on its first possession as did North Central on its next possession.

The Lakes then took an 8-6 lead on Daavetilla’s five-yard run with 50 seconds remaining in the opening frame.

Malone gave the Jets a 12-8 lead on an 11-yard run to the right side early in the second.

The Lakes regained the lead on Brady Axford’s quarterback sneak with 4:03 left in the second.

Brady Axford was the Lakes’ catalyst in this contest. He ran 24 times for 153 yards and three touchdowns and hit 7-of-12 passes for 113 yards and two scores with no interceptions.

Daavettila added 108 yards in 15 carries. Junior end Tyler Axford hauled in four passes for 68 yards and Lukas Axford caught four aerials for 65 yards and three TDs.

“Give them credit,” Gorzinski said. “They did what they needed to do. They remind me of what we used to do. We could have laid down a couple times, but our guys kept battling. Our next game will be challenging. Our goals don’t change. Our main goal is to get better.”

North Central finished with 276 yards in total offense. The Jets collected 153 yards on the ground, led by Malone who gained 58 on five carries. LaBonte added 53 in just three attempts and Stage ran nine times for 45.

Stage finished 13-of-24 passing for 117 yards, a TD and an interception.

Malone hauled in five passes for 53 yards. Cretens had five receptions for 44 and junior Brody Mercier a pair of receptions for 26

The Jets host Ontonagon Friday and the Lakes host second-ranked Gogebic Saturday.

“Gogebic is really a good football team,” Gervais said. “We’re really excited to play the big games.”