CRYSTAL FALLS – The Forest Park Trojans either led the game or were tied with the Ontonagon Gladiators for 43 minutes of action Friday night at Dick Mettlach Field in Crystal Falls.

However, the Gladiators took their first and only lead with 4:58 remaining on a 2-point conversion run after a touchdown run by Jack Nelson to upend the Trojans 38-36 on Senior Night.

Forest Park (1-7) opened the scoring when senior Trent Kannich hit paydirt on a 6-yard run at the 6:25 mark of the first quarter. Devin Koga connected with Colton Devore on the 2-point try to put the hosts up 8-0.

Ontonagon (3-5) responded three minutes later when Nelson completed an 18-yard scoring strike to Brody Bobula. The conversion failed, leaving the Trojans up by two.

Forest Park then grabbed control with three consecutive touchdowns and 2-point conversions. Kannich connected with Joey Mainville for an 18-yard TD and added the conversion run with 9:31 remaining in the second quarter to push his team’s lead to 16-6.

Kannich ran in from the 5-yard line and added the 2-pointer just 82 seconds later. Then with 3:42 left before the halftime break, Kannich burst 23 yards for his third rushing touchdown of the half to lift FP to a 30-6 margin.

But the Gladiators quickly rebounded and scored two touchdowns on passes of 54 yards and 36 yards and added two 2-point conversions to pull within 30-22 at intermission.

The score stayed that way until Ontonagon tied things on a 44-yard TD strike from Nelson to Bobula with 1:53 left in the third. After the conversion, the Gladiators pulled even at 30-all

“Defensively we played better than last week (in a 64-42 loss to Ironwood) and were able to hold the Ontonagon running game for most of the game,” FP coach Brian Fabbri said. “We struggled against the pass and Ontonagon took advantage of our man coverage.”

Forest Park regained its lead with 9:25 left in the game on a 37-yard TD pass from Koga to Mainville. However, the 2-point conversion try failed, leaving the Trojans up by six but vulnerable to an Ontonagon comeback.

Which is just what happened when Nelson ran in from the 5-yard line and the Gladiators added the game-deciding conversion with 4:58 remaining.

Kannich led the Trojans with 218 yards rushing on 39 carries. In total, FP rushed for 267 yards on 47 attempts and added 5 of 10 completions for 70 yards.

Eli Brzoznowski recorded five solo tackles, three assisted tackles and a sack to lead the FP defense, while Nick Stachowicz finished with four solos and five assisted tackles.

Mainville added an interception for the Trojans.

Forest Park will travel to Powers to face UPSSA eight-player No. 5 North Central (6-2) on Friday for the final game of their injury-ravaged 2025 season.

“Looking forward to competing against a good opponent and trying to build momentum heading into the off-season,” Fabbri said.

Athens 46

Niagara 0

Playing at home, the Athens Bluejays shut out Niagara 46-0 in a WIAA Level 1 8-player playoff game Saturday.

The Badgers finished the season at 4-5.

“It was a tough way for the season to end, but we had a lot of positives this year,” said Niagara coach Ben Laarman. “We took a big step forward as a program and hopefully we will be able to continue to grow from here.”

Laarman credited the team’s seniors — Brayden Bartels, Kaden Courts, JJ Wallace, and Noah Wheeler — for their dedication.

“They’ve had three coaching staffs in four years but they had great attitudes, played really well, and helped lay a foundation for future success,” he said.

Athens was led on the ground by Evin Passehl, who ran the ball 14 times for 177 yards and 2 touchdowns. The Bluejays (7-2) will move on to Level 2, taking on No. 1 seed Lena/St. Thomas Aquinas (9-0) on Friday night.