Kingsford senior Gavin Grondin (1) breaks around the right side of the line on a long gain as Negaunee’s Matthew Ulvila (22) gives chase on Friday at Flivver Field. (Terry Raiche photo)

KINGSFORD — Last season, Kingsford and Negaunee met on a football field for the first time in 29 years with the Miners eking out a 13-12 win in Negaunee.

The win left the Miners hyped after they beat the Flivvers for the first time in their history.

On Friday night the teams squared off again, and this time it was the Flivvers who secured the hard-fought win, nipping Negaunee 29-27 on Homecoming Night at Flivver Field.

After the battle between two of the state’s top teams, the AP Division 5 eighth-ranked Flivvers stayed unbeaten and atop the WestPAC Copper Division standings, while the AP Division 6 fourth-ranked Miners fell to 3-1 and one game off the pace in the conference.

While all that is clear cut, the game certainly wasn’t. The Flivvers built a 29-8 lead midway through the third quarter before the Miners stormed back with three straight touchdowns, two on interception returns, to put a scare in the Flivvers and their followers.

Kingsford’s Thomas Maynard (6) hauls in a pass as Negaunee’s Weston Yesney (21) tries to chase him down on Friday at Flivver Field. (Terry Raiche photo)

For Kingsford senior standout Mason Tappy, all was well that ended well.

“I’m very ecstatic,” the linebacker said. “We came out blazing. We were set back a little bit in the second half, but we held ground.

“This is the hardest team we’ve played this year, but we did it for (injured junior lineman Wyatt) Shippy and we got our get-back.”

Tappy and his fellow seniors led the way with fullback Trenton VanOss rushing for two touchdowns, quarterback Nic Novara connecting with Thomas Maynard for a 22-yard scoring strike and Gavin Grondin returning a kickoff 86 yards for another score.

“We stressed all week that we had to make the plays,” Flivver coach Mark Novara said.

“We didn’t last year and we lost. We had to make them this year and we did and we got the ‘W.'”

Not that it was easy though it did appear that Kingsford would run away with the game midway through the third quarter. VanOss started the scoring with a 1-yard run at the 3:33 mark of the first quarter, and after Negaunee took an 8-7 lead on a 11-yard scamper by Broc Bonovetz, the Flivvers exploded for three straight touchdowns.

Grondin took the ensuing kickoff after the Negaunee score and burst through the middle of the Miner coverage for a touchdown and then added the 2-point conversion when he out jumped the Negaunee corner on a pass from Nic Novara.

Leading 15-8, the Flivvers turned away Negaunee’s fourth down attempt on its own 35-yard line. Senior linebacker Blake Flaminio led a host of Kingsford tacklers on a play that proved crucial in the final analysis.

Four plays later, Novara hit Maynard on a seam route that left Kingsford with a 22-8 halftime advantage after Sid Olson’s point after.

On the initial drive of the second half, the Flivvers appeared to be stopped when they faced a fourth-and-14 at their own 39. But instead, Coach Novara gave the go-head to special teams coach Joe Kriegl for a fake punt which turned out to be a perfect call with perfect execution.

Punter Jack Kriegl’s pass hit Grondin who had broken free up the middle for a 19-yard gain to the Negaunee 42-yard line.

Five plays later, VanOss ran in from the 10 and the Flivvers seemed in control with a 29-8 lead.

Kriegl’s pass was indicative of his versatile talents. The junior started at tailback, split out as a wide-out, took direct snaps for running yards during a couple of possessions, played safety, returned kicks and punted in the game.

“He’s a phenomenal athlete,” Coach Novara said of Kriegl. “I’m pretty sure we could put him at center and he would do fine.

“He’s just one of those guys and the more ways we can get him the ball, the better we are.”

Seeming down and out after being forced to punt on the ensuing drive, the Miners turned the game on its head when a blitzing pass rusher hit Nic Novara’s arm when he went back to throw. Senior linebacker Hank Tincknell caught the fluttering pass and returned it for a touchdown that put Negaunee back into the contest with 3:59 to play in the third quarter.

“You’re up three scores and you’re feeling pretty good about yourself and then the turnover and boom, they’re right back in the game,” Coach Novara said. “We got lax on pass (protection) and a couple guys come off the edge and the ball’s up in the air.”

The Miners forced a Flivver punt on the next possession and then took just three plays to slice their gap even further when senior quarterback Ty Jacobson hit senior wide receiver Brady Mager for a 46-yard TD that pulled Negaunee within 29-20 on the final play of the third quarter.

Just four plays later, senior defensive back Ian Engstrom picked off a pass and ran it back 36 yards for another touchdown, and just like that, the Miners stood within two points with 9:39 still left to play.

The Miners then forced a punt before driving 35 yards to their own 46 with under 4 minutes remaining. But on fourth and two, Tappy came up with the decisive play as he broke through a double-team and sacked Jacobson to preserve his team’s fourth straight win to begin the 2024 campaign.

“Obviously, it’s fourth down and this is what we needed to win the game,” Tappy said. “And you just come in with everything you’ve got, man.”

After his team’s win, Coach Novara spoke of the twists and turns and the lessons learned.

“Invaluable lessons, right?” Novara began. “We’re still a work in progress. We need to keep getting better and better and not do those things that hurt ourselves.

“We’ve got a nice football team, but we’re not good enough to not play at a high level and beat good teams.”

And what was the final teaching point to his players before they began preparation for their next game at Calumet (2-2) on Friday, Sept. 27.

“Don’t get comfortable.”