Kingsford’s Gavin Trevillian (35) lowers his shoulder to take down Menominee’s Kaeden Calcari (5) for a nice tackle during Friday night’s entertaining regular-season finale at Flivvers Stadium. Unfortunately, the Flivvers couldn’t cap the festivities a victory, as a missed field goal with just second left allowed the Maroons to head home with a hard-fought 42-41 win. (Terry Raiche photo)

KINGSFORD — At halftime of Kingsford’s regular-season finale against Menominee on Friday night at Flivver Field, Kingsford High School staged its annual halftime spectacular, complete with marching band members wearing lights on costumes, with sparklers and a fireworks show worthy of the Fourth of July going on around them.

While the show was amazing, the game itself may have been more so. The Flivvers and the Maroons staged a Great Lakes Conference game for the ages with Menominee surviving 42-41.

The teams combined for 975 yards of offense with each squad scoring six touchdowns. The difference? Menominee converted three of six 2-point conversions, while Kingsford converted two of four and went 1 of 2 on kicks.

Additionally, the Flivvers missed two field goals, including a 35-yarder with five seconds remaining that would have won the game.

Afterwards, one side was jubilant, while the other side looked dazed.

Menominee coach Chad Brandt summed up the evening’s festivities well.

“Fireworks during halftime and fireworks on the field,” he said. “We beat a heck of a football team tonight, and it was one of those whoever had the ball last finishes.”

Not quite, but Brandt’s point was well taken. The game was a rollercoaster worthy of Great America.

While the enthusiasm of the Menominee players, coaches and sizeable number of fans reverberated around the grounds, the Flivver players and coaches were left wondering how they could have lost a game in which they scored almost at will.

“Couldn’t stop them,” Kingsford coach Mark Novara said. “You put up 41, that’s a good night. A lot of times you win those games, but tonight it wasn’t enough.

“We had a few special teams’ miscues, and in a game like this you can’t have those or that’s what happens.”

“It was a tough one,” senior standout Nic Nora said. “We battled. We struggled a little bit defensively; we were clicking on offense. But it came down to the wire. It is what it is. We’ve got to move on … and focus on the playoffs one step at a time.”

The teams traded touchdowns throughout the first half. While the Maroons drove the ball mostly through the air in somewhat methodical fashion, the Flivvers used the explosive plays of Nora and fellow senior Cole Myllyla.

Myllyla opened the scoring with a 63-yard scamper and Nora later took a pass from sophomore quarterback Nic Novara and ran for a 79-yard touchdown which, after the 2-point conversion pass from Novara to junior wide receiver Cardel Morton, gave the Flivvers a 20-14 lead with 4:44 left before intermission.

Menominee answered right back on a 5-yard run by junior Landan Bardowski and the teams turned the field over for the halftime extravaganza tied at 20.

The teams continued their scoring bonanza right off the bat in the second half. The Flivvers (6-3) took the kickoff and drove 45 yards on seven consecutive running plays. Myllyla capped off the drive with a 6-yard run, but Kingsford failed to convert on the extra-point kick after a miscue with the snap and placement.

Menominee (5-4) then put together consecutive touchdown drives, turning to their running game. Senior back Kaden Calcari scored both touchdowns, one on a 4-yard run and one on a 43-yard run leaving the Maroons up 28-26.

Then it was Kingsford’s time for back-to-back scores. On both drives, Nora carried the ball on every play, From the 7:03 mark of the third quarter to under a minute to play in the game, Nora carried the ball 14 times in a row.

While some observers wondered if Myllyla was injured, Nora’s workload at tailback was the result of an adjustment to the Menominee defensive game plan.

“I was actually getting three guys on me at wide-out tonight, so Coach said we’re going to try you at tailback and it clicked.”

Brandt was left seeing visions of Nora and Myllyla breaking off long runs.

“You talk about skill guys,” Brandt said. “They’ve got skill guys. I know I lost sleep during the week. Then (at the end of the game) I had to look (at the scoreboard) again because it seemed like every time I turned around 12 (Myllyla) or 1 (Nora) were going up one sideline or another.”

But Kingsford left too much time on the clock after Nora scored on a 5-yard run to give the Flivvers a 41-34 edge with 3:46 to play.

Menominee began what turned out to be the drive of the game on its own 35-yard line. The first two plays went nowhere, but on third down, junior quarterback Trevor Theuerkauf connected with Bardowski for a 20-yard pass. Then he hit sophomore Kaiden Bell for 15 yards on the next play, setting up the Maroons on the Kingsford 30.

Three plays later, Bardowski broke a tackle and ran in from the 23 to pull his team within 41-40. As they did all game, the Maroons tried for the 2-point conversion and converted the most important one on a scramble by Theuerkauf.

The Flivvers took over with just 1:34 to play and moved the ball into position for a long field goal, but the kick was pulled to the left.

“Obviously, this stings us,” Coach Novara said. “It hurts It was probably a great football game to sit and watch. Unfortunately, we came up on the wrong side of it.”

Kingsford will host a first-round MHSAA Division 6 game against Kingsley (7-2) at Flivver Field.