FLORENCE, Wis. — Florence quarterback William Kelley ran 25 times for a school-record 278 yards and running back Logan Schuls added 20 carries for 141 yards and three touchdowns carrying the Bobcats past Three Lakes 36-32 in an exciting Northern Border Conference clash of state-ranked, undefeated 8-player varsity football teams Friday night in Florence.

The Bobcats took a 16-12 lead into halftime and led 24-20 at the end of three but had to overcome a late rally by Three Lakes that saw the Bluejays go up 26-24 before Florence responded with two fourth-quarter touchdowns to win it.

Florence rolled up 475 yards of total offense, including 440 rushing yards, and dominated time of possession in the second half before surrendering a final Bluejays touchdown with just 1:40 remaining in the game. Florence’s Isaiah Fennessy recovered Three Lakes’ onside kick attempt to help the Bobcats claim a Homecoming win.

“Glad that’s over,” Florence head coach Kent Walstrom said. “Three Lakes is a well-coached, physical team with an outstanding quarterback-receiver duo. We knew we needed to play ball control on offense to limit their scoring chances.”

The Bobcats finished the day with zero fumbles.

“Fifty carries with no fumbles in a high school game against a good team is a big accomplishment. Our run game really came through for us tonight,” Walstrom said. “We’ll likely see them again in the playoffs.”

Three Lakes standout quarterback Jared Kaufman had a hand in every Bluejays’ touchdown, completing 14-of-19 passes for 251 yards and three pass TDs, all to receiver Tyler Janikowski. Kaufman also had 14 carries for 120 yards and two rushing touchdowns.

Janikowski totaled 36 rushing yards on seven carries but caught 10 passes for 198 yards and three TD receptions for the Bluejays.

“Janikowski is a dynamic receiver you have to account for on every snap,” Walstrom said.

Florence’s scores came on a first-quarter one-yard TD pass from Kelley to tight end Bryce Leffler before rushing touchdowns by Schuls in the second, third and fourth quarters, and a fourth-quarter rush TD by Kelley.

Defensively, Leffler recorded eight tackles and two sacks and Trent McLain had eight tackles and one sack. Schuls led the team with nine tackles and a forced fumble. Joey Holmstrom had seven tackles and Kelley and Logan Thompson had six each.

Florence’s next game scheduled against Goodman-Pembine has been forfeited by the Patriots.

The Bobcats (6-0) will return to action on Friday, Oct. 13 at home against White Lake-Elcho at 7:00 p.m. for Parents’ Night.

REBELS 68, BADGERS 34

LAONA, Wis. — Although it found success on offense, the Niagara Badgers couldn’t slow down Northern Border Conference foe Laona-Wabeno (3-3, 1-1) on Friday, as the Badgers (0-6, 0-3) fell 68-34.

“Too many big plays given up, simple as that,” Niagara coach Philip Towns said. “We were able to move the ball today. Tallied up some yards and points. But we had some young players in some tough spots in the secondary. They were chasing a little too much, but they didn’t give up. Tough pill to swallow tonight. We made a couple more mistakes than them and paid the price on the scoreboard.”

Christian Hedmark led the way for the Badgers with 12 carries for 153 rushing and one TD. He also added six receptions for 124 yards and a score.

The Niagara offense also received contributions from JJ Wallace (3 carries, 68 yards, 1 TD), Mason Richtig (9-for-22 passing, 173 yards, 2 TDs) and Dante Stachowicz (1 catch, 30 yards, 1 TD).

The Badgers defense received contributions from Hemark (6 tackles, 2 sacks), Wallace (3 tackles), Richtig (3 tackles, 1 sack) and Stachowicz (5 tackles).

Niagara welcomes Three Lakes to town for an 8-player gridiron clash Friday at 7 p.m.

TROJANS 36, LAKES 28

LAKE LINDEN — The Great Lakes Conference-West Division race got even more interesting on Saturday, as Forest Park (5-1, 5-1) traveled to Lake Linden and edged out the Lakes for a 36-28 victory.

“We played awesome,” Trojans coach Brian Fabbri said. “We told the kids they had to play a perfect game and it wasn’t perfect, but we definitely played to our potential. Very, very happy with what I saw on the field.”

For Fabbri, his team showed him something with how they performed under pressure.

“We had some games where it wasn’t really close, and one of our tougher opponents, Norway, really took it to us,” Fabbri said. “So it was good to get into a tough physical game and see what our kids have.”

Matthew Showers led the Trojans defensively with 10 tackles, a forced fumble, a fumble recovery and a game-sealing interception. Felix Quevedo added 11 tackles.

Quevedo led the Forest Park offense with 26 carries for 219 yards and four touchdowns. Freshman Dax Huuki added 19 carries for 163 yards.

The Trojans are back in action on Friday in Crystal Falls against Ontonagon at 6 p.m.

– Daily News sports editor Sean Chase also contributed to this report.