GLADSTONE---Ray'nell Anderson and Justin DeLisle each scored two touchdowns and rushed for more than 100 yards Friday as the Sault Ste. Marie Blue Devils beat the Gladstone Braves, 45-22, on Braves Homecoming.
The Blue Devils kept their faint playoff hopes alive while Braves remained winless.
The Braves were pumped up by the Homecoming crowd, but they were unable to move the football, going three-and-out on their first two series...and throwing an interception on the third offensive series.
DeLisle and Anderson ran almost at will against the Braves defense, with both scoring touchdowns on short runs during the first seven minutes of the game. It was 14-0.
Gladstone got a boost late in the first quarter when Sam Pouliot scrambled and found David Dykowski down the sidelines for a 49-yard pass. On the first play of the second quarter, Tyler Wells went in untouched, and it was a 14-6 game.
But the Braves could not keep the momentum very long.
Just two plays later, Anderson broke a tackle at midfield and sprinted 66 yards for a touchdown to make it a 21-6 game.
And after the Braves went three-and-out again, the Blue Devils took advantage of a good punt return and drove 40 yards for another touchdown...DeLisle went in from four yards out, and after another Gladstone interception, it was 28-6 at halftime.
The Blue Devils returned the second half kickoff out to the 48 yard-line and seven plays later, Kolbe Peller was in the end zone. After freshman Istvan Willhelms blasted through his fifth straight extra point kick, the Soo had a 35-6 lead.
And after the Braves turned the ball over on downs at midfield, the Blue Devils moved the ball into the red zone and then let Willhelms try a 37-yard field goal. He made the kick, with room to spare, on a night where there was very little wind in Gladstone.
Gladstone got a big play from one of their biggest men: 6-foot-4, 245-pounder Cody Malanowski.
He got the ball out of the I-formation, and rumbled 44 yards as several Soo players were either bumped away or held on as Malanowski kept running.
They finally pulled him down at the two yard-line, and Pouliot scored on a quarterback keeper on the next play. Then Malanowski ran in the two-point conversion.
But the Blue Devils, with mainly reserves on the field, got that touchdown back moments later as Hunter Stoltz went in from two yards out.
Justin Jurek scored a ten-yard touchdown for Gladstone with 29.3 seconds left in the game, and Riley Ballard scored the two-point conversion, but it was too little, too late.
Sault Ste. Marie (3-3) ran up 463 yards of offense, 442 of it on the ground. Anderson had 189 yards on 14 carries while DeLisle had 115 yards on twelve touches. The Blue Devils did not turn the ball over, although the Braves did recover an on-side kick in the second half that bounced off a Blue Devil player's facemask.
Gladstone (0-6) had 216 yards of total offense, much of it in the second half. Jurek had 46 yards on 12 carries, Wells had 18 yards on six carries, and Ballard ran seven times for 20 yards. Malanowski had 47 yards.
The Braves travel to Escanaba for the Battle of Delta County next Friday against the 1-5 Eskymos. Game time is 7:00. It will be broadcast live on WGKL-FM (105.5), WCHT-AM (600), and on-line at www.rrnsports.com, starting at 6:45.
Click the thumbnails in the ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS box to see videos taken by Nate Bellville and photos taken by Ron Jurek.
The Blue Devils kept their faint playoff hopes alive while Braves remained winless.
Tyler Wells punts Friday for the Braves.
DeLisle and Anderson ran almost at will against the Braves defense, with both scoring touchdowns on short runs during the first seven minutes of the game. It was 14-0.
Gladstone got a boost late in the first quarter when Sam Pouliot scrambled and found David Dykowski down the sidelines for a 49-yard pass. On the first play of the second quarter, Tyler Wells went in untouched, and it was a 14-6 game.
But the Braves could not keep the momentum very long.
Just two plays later, Anderson broke a tackle at midfield and sprinted 66 yards for a touchdown to make it a 21-6 game.
Sam Pouliot 49 yards to Dave Dykowski
The Blue Devils returned the second half kickoff out to the 48 yard-line and seven plays later, Kolbe Peller was in the end zone. After freshman Istvan Willhelms blasted through his fifth straight extra point kick, the Soo had a 35-6 lead.
Sam Pouliot passes during the first quarter
Gladstone got a big play from one of their biggest men: 6-foot-4, 245-pounder Cody Malanowski.
He got the ball out of the I-formation, and rumbled 44 yards as several Soo players were either bumped away or held on as Malanowski kept running.
They finally pulled him down at the two yard-line, and Pouliot scored on a quarterback keeper on the next play. Then Malanowski ran in the two-point conversion.
But the Blue Devils, with mainly reserves on the field, got that touchdown back moments later as Hunter Stoltz went in from two yards out.
Soo's Ray'nell Anderson 66-yard touchdown run
Sault Ste. Marie (3-3) ran up 463 yards of offense, 442 of it on the ground. Anderson had 189 yards on 14 carries while DeLisle had 115 yards on twelve touches. The Blue Devils did not turn the ball over, although the Braves did recover an on-side kick in the second half that bounced off a Blue Devil player's facemask.
Tyler Wells touchdown run for Braves.
The Braves travel to Escanaba for the Battle of Delta County next Friday against the 1-5 Eskymos. Game time is 7:00. It will be broadcast live on WGKL-FM (105.5), WCHT-AM (600), and on-line at www.rrnsports.com, starting at 6:45.
Click the thumbnails in the ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS box to see videos taken by Nate Bellville and photos taken by Ron Jurek.
Gladstone's Justin Jurek (4) is defended by Sault Ste. Marie's Justin DeLisle (10) Friday night.
