Redmen Football Take Down Eskymos 17-14 After Game Delay

Escanaba, MI – September 21, 2019 – The Marquette Redmen football team took down the Escanaba Eskymos 17-14 this afternoon on Marquette County’s Fox Sports Marquette 105.1-99.9 and 103 FXD. Play was suspended due to an issue with the power last night. Marquette battled back from losing their lead early in the third quarter to improve to 2-2 on the season.

It was a two-day homecoming for the Escanaba Eskymos.  The number one team in the UP prepared for a tough match-up in theirs and Marquette’s GNC opener.

The Marquette Redmen were coming off of their first win of the 2019 season. After a tough couple of games early in their slate, the Redmen defeated the Sault Ste. Marie Blue Devils in a shutout game last week. The momentum from that victory was in their favor early in the first quarter.

Day two of the Redmen-Eskymos game.

The Redmen took control and set the tone on their first possession of the game. Drew Wyble zipped into the end zone from 63 yards on 3rd and 10 for an early lead of 7-0 over the Eskymos.

Eskymo QB Ethan Silverstone missed his receiver on their first possession and threw it right to Drew Wyble. Marquette looked to capitalize on the early misstep, taking over at the Escanaba 40 yard line.

The Redmen made some progress down the field, but ultimately Wyble set up for a field goal attempt from 22 yards out. A pre-snap penalty set the Redmen back five yards to the 27. No problem for Wyble as the kick was good for a 10-0 Marquette lead.

Marquette began the second quarter with a little setback and found themselves at 3rd and 15. An interception by Escanaba’s Tyler Lawson put the Eskymos at their own 31 for a glimmer of hope at evening the score in the first half.

Marquette’s defense caused some issues for Escanaba to protect their lead early in the second quarter. Ethan Hayes took down Silverstone for a loss of seven on the play for Escanaba. The Eskymos ended up kicking it away and the Redmen took over with about eight minutes to go in the half.

Austin Ridl threw an interception, again straight to Lawson, to give Escanaba another chance at leveling the playing field before halftime. It was Escanaba’s 5th possession of the game with only one first down on their scorecard. Lawson changed that with a gain of 27 yards and their first foray into enemy territory.

Escanaba found themselves within the Marquette 10, and Joshua Bruntjens found the end zone with ease for an Esky touchdown. A successful kick tightened the gap to 10-7, the Redmen still in the lead.

Darkness threatened to suspend play as the lights at Escanaba’s field refused to illuminate the situation during the halftime show. A suspension in play was confirmed just after 8:30 pm.

The Eskymos hosted the Redmen over a two day period.

The next morning, kickoff for the third quarter resumed play about 15 hours after calling it quits.

Marquette seemed to be chomping at the bit to start off the third quarter. The Redmen took over on Escanaba’s first drive at the Eskymos’ 39 for an excellent chance to improve their 10-7 lead. Marquette ended up losing nine yards on that drive, though, and Escanaba took the ball back for their second drive of the morning.

The Eskymos didn’t waste any chances on this drive. Escanaba’s Joshua Bruntjens received a 41-yard touchdown pass from Ethan Silverstone to take the lead 14-10 over the Redmen.

The Redmen rolled down the field on their next drive, looking to take back the lead. Austin Ridl saw a chance and took it as he ran for a gain of 11 yards. Justin Jurmu followed up with a nice reception for a gain of nine. Brady Wright carried the ball and three defenders with him as he muscled his way to a first down. Marquette fell just short, however, and continued their quest for their first touchdown since the first quarter as the minutes ticked down in the third.

Kameron Karp took down Silverstone by the ankles to give Marquette a big chance early in the fourth quarter to turn things around. The Redmen ended up punting it away, but caught lucky break as they regained possession on a loose ball.

Karp, again with a clutch play, motored down the field for a gain of 23 on a 4th down. Isaac Johnson then slipped away from a couple of defenders to receive a 13-yard touchdown pass and regain the lead for Marquette at 17-14.

Marquette defense stopped up Escanaba to take over with less than three minutes to go in the game and put a stamp on their 17-14 victory after two days of play.

The Redmen will be back on the road Friday, September 27th at 7 pm against Petoskey. Tune in to Fox Sports Marquette 105.1-99.9 and 103 FXD for all the action!

Listen to a recording of the live broadcast of the first half.

Listen to a recording of the live broadcast of the second half.