Click the thumbnails to see photos and videos, and to hear post-game comments from Player of the Game Wyatt Forvilly, and from Braves Coach Dennis Cannoot.
GWINN---The Gladstone High School football team opened its season Thursday night with a 30-6 win over the Gwinn Model Towners at Gwinn's McCormick Field.
Junior Wyatt Forvilly led the Braves with 255 yards rushing, including a 42-yard touchdown run in the third quarter, and he added six more points with three two-point conversion runs. Cooper Sanville scored two touchdown runs in limited action, and quarterback Landon Pepin added a touchdown run in the first quarter to get the Braves going.
The game was marred by lots of mistakes, which is typical for a Week One matchup. But the Braves were rough in the penalty department, jumping off-sides five times on defense and committing a pair of personal foul penalties.
The Gladstone defense stood tall when challenged, however, stopping Gwinn twice inside the five yard-line: once by forcing a fumble just before halftime, and again later in the second half as Gwinn tried a last-gasp rally with a stuff on a fourth down run.
Gwinn, which did not have a varsity team in 2025 due to lack of numbers, has enough players this year. The Model Towners scored their only touchdown in the third quarter on a trick play, as junior quarterback Peyton Bell tossed it back to sophomore running back Evan Armatti, who threw up field to a wide open junior receiver Gage Jones.
Jones juggled the ball, but hauled it in for a 62-yard touchdown play.
For most of the game, the Braves completely controlled the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball. But the Model Towners kept hanging in there, as much of the community came out for a tailgate party and a “Meet The Towners” set of introductions.
Football Coach Derek Nyquist's 34-player Gwinn roster includes just five seniors as he tries to rebuild the Model Towner program. Thirteen of the guys are freshmen. Seven are sophomores.
Gladstone's scores came on Pepin's 12-yard touchdown run in the first quarter, Sanville's ten-yard TD scamper in the second, and Forvilly's electric 42-yard breakaway run for a touchdown in the third quarter.
For the Braves, new head coach Dennis Cannoot said after the game that his team had too many mistakes, including all of those off-sides penalties. But he added that his team did a lot of good things on both sides of the ball, and that he is happy with where his team is at heading into a Week Two showdown in Negaunee against the rival Miners.
Negaunee won a rivalry war against Marquette Thursday night, 30-28, in Marquette. In that game, Miners senior quarterback Kyle Waterman, came back from an ACL injury that cost him most of his junior season, threw two touchdown passes and ran in another score. Fellow senior Evan Dellangelo scored on three touchdown receptions.
Next Friday's game in Negaunee starts at 7:00 and will be broadcast live on FM-93.5, AM-600, and on-line at www.radioresultsnetwork.com.
THURSDAY'S OTHER UPPER PENINSULA GAMES
Kingsford 35, Escanaba 16
Iron Mountain 35, Hancock 0
Norway 50, Munising 2
