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WAKEFIELD -- The Powers North Central Jets continued their mastery over the Gogebic Miners, rolling to a 36-0 eight-player football victory here in a rare Friday night game at Cardinal Field.
This marked the sixth straight time the Jets have beaten the Miners, this time in a contest which concluded long before darkness descended upon a field which doesn't have lights.
North Central simply played the role of the opportunist, scoring on five straight possessions with each drive starting inside the 50-yard line in the Great Lakes Conference-West match-up.
"Actually, I thought we got off to a slow start," Jets' coach Leo Gorzinski said. "Our game plan was to lean on them and wear them down. They had some kids out which hurt them. Once they get some players back, they'll start winning games."
The Jets gained a 22-0 lead 37.1 seconds before halftime on senior Nathan Pipkorn's 20-yard pass to wide-open senior receiver Riley Cretens.
North Central added a score on its first possession in the third frame, gaining a 28-0 cushion on a 3-yard run by junior Pryar LaBonte.
Senior running back Kaden Malone ended the scoring on a 14-yard run around left end with 1:56 remaining in the third.
"We have injuries, but we didn't communicate or execute as well as we should," Miners' coach Nick Heikkila said. "The Jets have a well-coached team. They're a good ball club. We've got to get our younger guys up to speed. We need to get a few more reps and get the guys fired up."
The Jets scored their first touchdown on a 47-yard aerial from Pipkorn to Malone with 8:37 left in the second stanza.
North Central then made it 16-0 on a one-yard run up the middle by LaBonte at 5:56.
Both teams missed scoring opportunities in the opening frame.
The Miners drove to the Jets' 20 on their first possession before turning the ball over on downs on the 22.
North Central then drove to Gogebic's four prior to losing the ball on a fumble.
The Jets finished with 346 yards in total offense. They rushed for 220 and Pipkorn completed 5-of-8 passes for 126.
LaBonte ran 11 times for 104 and Malone added 73 on 15 carries. Cretens caught three passes for 67 yards.
"I'm proud of our younger guys," Gorzinski said. "This is a tough conference. It's going to be a challenge every week."
The Miners were limited to 138 yards, including 90 on the ground. Lynott was 7-of-9 passing for 148. They finished with just five first downs. The Jets collected 11.
"That's just defense there," North Central junior Myles Nehring said. "We spend a lot of time in practice working on defense. Part of it is your mentality. We play at Ishpeming next week (Thursday). We're excited about playing them."
Senior Cayden Harju rushed for 54 yards on four carries and Lynott added 37 in 13 attempts for the Miners who visit Norway Thursday.