Escanaba hands Calumet a King-sized upset
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ESCANABA -- Where were you when the lights went out?
The Escanaba Eskymos were celebrating a 21-20 homecoming football victory over the Calumet Copper Kings when darkness fell upon the field here Friday night.
Was it a power outage?
No.
Instead, the lights were turned off so the players, coaches and fans could be treated to a spectacular fireworks display after this non-conference contest.
"I'll never forget this one," Esky senior quarterback Alex Ison said. "They had a big second quarter. Then, our defense came through against a good Calumet offense."
Ison threw a six-yard touchdown pass into the left side of the end zone to sophomore wide receiver Alex Irving, in what turned out to be the game-winner.
"That wasn't intended to be the route," Irving said. "I kind of had to kind of improvise. This was my very first homecoming game and only my third varsity game. Although, I saw improvement from last week."
There were still four minutes, 13 seconds left to play, however, and the Copper Kings showed why the game was far from over.
They drove to Esky's 21-yard line before the contest ended on an incomplete pass.
"We couldn't have asked for anything better," Esky coach Bailey Lamb said. "I'm so proud of the boys for responding. Calumet is a very good team and has some of the best coaches in the U.P. Our defense really tightened things up. Our guys did a really good job."
Calumet took a 20-7 lead on a nine-yard run up the middle by junior Jeremy Barron midway through the second quarter.
Esky answered 49 seconds before halftime on Ison's four-yard touchdown run through the middle, shaving its deficit to 20-14.
The Eskymos scored first on Ison's QB sneak for a 7-0 lead with eight minutes, 18 seconds left in the first quarter.
Calumet tied the score at seven on senior QB Tyler Halonen's six-yard keeper around left end just six seconds into the second stanza.
The Copper Kings went ahead only 50 seconds later on Halonen's 30-yard interception return for a 13-7 lead.
"They (Esky) kept fighting," Calumet coach Josh Frantti said. "They're a good ball club. I thought their defense stepped up. Although our kids didn't give up. They also kept fighting to the end. They (Esky) made the plays when they had to. We played well. Only, we made a couple mistakes that put us behind the sticks."
The Copper Kings controlled the ball for more than nine minutes after the intermission, marching to Esky's 11 before turning it over on downs.
"We have a lot of seniors injured," Lamb said. "Our younger guys had to grow up fast and they stepped up. The guys found a way to pull through."
The Eskymos finished with 167 yards in total offense, including 104 on the ground. Ison completed 8-of-16 passes for 63 yards, a TD and three interceptions and also rushed for 69 yards on 20 carries.
Halonen led Calumet in rushing with 169 yards on 21 carries and was 7-for-11 through the air for 105.
Both teams resume Friday. The Eskymos (3-4) travel to Cadillac and the Copper Kings (4-3) return to Delta County to face Gladstone.
"It's going to be a good game," Ison said. "I think this game gave us the momentum we needed. This was a huge stepping stone. Our defense made a complete 360 turn-around."