Escanaba sophomore Bryce Bichler carries the ball against Freeland on Nov. 1, 2025 at Escanaba Athletic Field. Curtosey Photo

ESCANABA — Defense was the name of the game for nearly three quarters until offense took over in a Division 4 playoff football game here Saturday afternoon.

The second-ranked Escanaba Eskymos found the end zone twice in the last 13:06 en route to a 17-13 triumph over the Freeland Falcons in a district opener.

Esky (9-1) hosts Big Rapids (9-1) in a district final this weekend. Freeland finished 7-3.

“The offense started to figure things out late in the second half,” Esky coach Bailey Lamb said. “That’s everything you want as a coach. This is what they work for. This is such a high intensity situation. Freeland has big, tough players. The guys were flying around on defense and made plays on offense when we needed them.”

The Eskymos sealed the verdict with less than 50 seconds left in the contest when junior running back Brody Ison ran nine yards for a first down to the Freeland 41-yard line.

With the Falcons out of time-outs, the Eskymos were able to go into victory formation.

“I’m just proud of our team,” Ison said. “Nolan (Bink) led us downfield and our defense was lights out.”

Quarterback Max Heyn scored on a seven-yard keeper to the right side to bring the Falcons within four points with 66 seconds left to play.

The Falcons tied an onside kick which was recovered by senior Gavin Wagner, putting the Eskymos in position to secure the decision.

“Our defense played extremely well, but penalties killed us on offense,” Freeland coach Kevin Townsend said. “Getting into third-and-long situations hurt us. No offense is built to overcome that. We got the ball first in the third quarter and had a decent drive. Then, we got a couple penalties.”

The Falcons reached the Esky 27 during that drive, then got moved back on holding and false start infractions.

After the Eskymos took over on downs on their 41, they started a drive which concluded with Bink’s 19-yard TD pass to senior tight end Alex Stahlboerger for a 10-0 lead with 1:06 left in the third frame.

“That was a big touchdown,” Ison said. “That gave us more breathing room. We were in a prevent defense during their last drive. They moved down the field and scored, but used up a lot of time. They were doing everything they could.”

Freeland, however, wasted little time responding, shaving its deficit to 10-7 on Heyn’s five-yard keeper with 10:08 remaining in the fourth.

With slightly more than four minutes left to play, Ison had an apparent 50-yard TD run nullified by a holding penalty.

Esky had the ball on its own 48 when Freeland used a time-out at 2:50.

On the next play, Bink threw a 52-yard aerial to senior wide receiver Graham Johnson near the right sideline. Bink then dashed for another score and a 17-7 advantage, setting the stage for Freeland’s last-ditch drive.

“This was a grinder,” Bink said. “Our defense is playing really good which helps our offense. At halftime, Coach was telling us ‘we’re on the doorstep’ and we came through. We talked all week about the team that makes more mistakes is going to lose.”

Esky took a 3-0 lead midway through the opening frame when Graham matched a school record by hitting a 42-yard field goal.

“That was heck of a kick,” Townsend said. “That was the difference in the game. Also, their quarterback is tough. We have a small community. You just go with the kids you have. I taught these kids in physical education classes since seventh grade and watched them play. When you’re down at the end of the game, that’s when you know you’ve given everything you had.”

After the teams combined for 193 yards in the first half, the Eskymos finished with 282 alone. They gained 165 on the ground and Bink completed 9-of-18 passes for 117 yards and two TDs.

Bink rushed for 80 yards on 15 carries and Ison added 71 in 14 attempts. Graham had three receptions for 73.

“In their jayvee season we had five of them on varsity,” Lamb said. “They trusted in each other and the process. They were a team. They deserve to be proud of this.”

Freeland collected 258 yards in total offense, including 140 on the ground. Kellen East finished with 75 on 26 carries and Heyn had 65 in 13 attempts.

Wilson Huckeby was the Falcons’ leading receiver with five catches for 60 yards.