Traverse City's Talent Overwhelms Eskymos, 50-14

ESCANABA---They hung in there for a while there, but in the end, the Escanaba Eskymos were overwhelmed by a talented Traverse City Central team, 50-14, Friday night at the Escanaba Athletic Field. It was the home opener for the Eskymos.

The Eskymos had a chance on their first drive as Jim McNeil and Logan Lamb broke off first down runs into Trojan territory. But a pass attempt to Dan VanEffen on fourth down turned the ball over to the visitors on the Traverse City 25 yard-line.

Moments later, Ethan Campbell got the handoff and raced 75 yards up the left sideline for a touchdowm. The extra point kick was good, and the Trojans led, 7-0.

Escanaba came back with a nice drive of its own. Lamb managed to escape a sack attempt by scrambling to the left, and then back across the field to the right side.

He dumped off a five-yard pass to Sean Bissell to keep the drive alive at the Trojan 25 yard-line.

On the next play, McNeil again ran to the left, this time to the one yard-line.

That set up Lamb's one-yard plunge, putting Escanaba on the board. The extra point kick was blocked, however, so the Eskymos still trailed, 7-6.

Traverse City struck quickly after that score. Quarterback Sean Williams gave it to Campbell, who then threw a long, precise pass to Anthony Kratovil.

Logan Lamb scores touchdown for Eskymos

The touchdown made it 13-6, and then Williams scored the two-point conversion on a fake extra point attempt.

The Eskymos could not score on their next posession, so the Trojans got the ball again and immediately went to work.

A long pass up the middle of the field from Williams to Rhys Adle put the Trojans in the red zone, and Campbell scored again, from eleven yards out. The extra point kick gave Traverse City a 22-6 lead in the second quarter.

Corey McInerney 75-yard TD Reception

Escanaba again had an answer. Lamb set up in the pocket and fired a pass to the very wide-open Corey McInerney right in front of the Eskymo bench. McInerney sprinted 75 yards for the touchdown.

A pass to Van Effen scored two points, and it was 22-14.

The Eskymo defense got a "stop", but when the offense got back on the field, it could not get that tying touchdown. After a punt, the Trojans again went to the air, as Williams found Bronson Wood up field for a 40-yard touchdown. It was 29-14 at halftime.

The second half was controlled by the Trojans, who scored on their first possession of the third quarter. A "pick-6" interception gave Traverse City another touchdown, and the rest of the game was played by both teams' reserve players.

The game was the annual "Salute to the Veterans" event, where Upper Peninsula veterans were invited to come to the game for free.

The Vets came on to the field before the playing of the national anthem, and players from both teams shook their hands.

Traverse City won the Junior Varsity contest on Friday, 18-7.

Escanaba (1-1) hosts Cheboygan next Friday night. TCC is 2-0 on the season.

Click the thumbnails in the ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS box to see photos and videos from the game.

Date	Time	Opponent	Score	Record

8/28	8:00 PM	at Alpena Wildcats	24 - 18 (W)	1-0

9/5	7:00 PM	Traverse City Central Trojans	14 - 50 (L)	1-1

9/12	7:00 PM	Cheboygan Chiefs	12 - 13 (L)	1-2

9/19	7:00 PM	at Marquette Redmen	22 - 24 (L)	1-3

9/27	1:00 PM	at Detroit Country Day	12 - 28 (L)	1-4

10/3	7:00 PM	Menominee Maroons	13 - 49 (L)	1-5

10/10	7:00 PM	at Gladstone Braves	41 - 14 (W)	2-5

10/17	7:00 PM	at Sault Ste. Marie Blue Devils	12 - 13 (L)	2-6

10/24	7:00 PM	Kingsford Flivvers	26 - 7 (W)	3-6