Ishpeming, MI – Ishpeming ran all over the Westwood Patriots last Friday night en route to a 41-6 dominating win for the Hematites. Ishpeming out-gained Westwood 266-58 on the ground, while also adding 138 yards through the air. Ishpeming was led by their senior studs, Alex Briones and Bobby Zhulkie; the two combining for five touchdowns in the first half. Briones kicked the scoring off with a 10-yard run halfway through the first quarter. Once the second quarter rolled on, all Ishpeming had to do was give the ball to Zhulkie who scored three consecutive touchdowns of 5-, 1-, and 6-yards respectively. Ishpeming finished off the first half with a 35-yard touchdown reception by Tyrus Millimaki with 13 seconds left in the quarter, taking a 34-0 lead into halftime.
Ishpeming started the third quarter with a defensive stop, followed by a 55-yard touchdown run by Adam Prisk. The second half went fairly quickly due to mercy rule employed by Ishpeming’s large lead, and continued until Westwood managed to score with three seconds left on a Brandon Benda six-yard touchdown run.
Once again the Ishpeming defense was stifling in the contest, holding Westwood to a combined 71 yards of offense. The only scores that Ishpeming has given up have taken place when the games were well out of reach, and the starters were on the sidelines. The Hematites have allowed an MPC-low If you ask any coach at any level, they’ll tell you: “Offense wins games, but Defense wins championships.” If Ishpeming can continue this dominance on the defensive side of the ball (outscoring opponents 171-18) they may be in line to win consecutive football championships for the first time in school history.
Ishpeming hits the road this Saturday for a date with the Knights in Norway. The Knights have scored a combined 56 points in their past two games, so this could possibly be the toughest test for the Hematites as they get out of their weekly routine, playing on Saturday afternoon. On the other side of the coin, this gives the Ishpeming defense an extra day to watch film and prepare for a Norway offense that can be susceptible to turnovers. Either way, it looks to be an interesting game this Saturday at 2pm EST.
Be sure to join Mike Plourde & Bob Nadeau this Saturday afternoon as the Hematites go to Norway to take on the Knights. You can catch it all on 98.3 WRUP or streaming live at WRUP.com. Kick-off is at 2pm EST; Pre-game is at 1:30.
-Carl L. Johnson