Author: Tanner Hoops

Westwood and Negaunee landed a combined 17 different players on the All-West Peninsula Athletic Conference football team for the 2018 season.

Westwood lineman Sam Gilles was named West PAC Copper Division Lineman of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year while unanimously collecting all-conference honors on both sides of the ball. Nathan Beckman earned honorable mention for Offensive Player of the Year.

Area All-West PAC Copper Division Selections
 *Unanimous selection

First Team Offense:
 Jacob Adriano (Westwood)
 *Nathan Beckman (Westwood)
 Ashton Bergman (Westwood)
 *Sam Gilles (Westwood)Blake Hewitt (Westwood)

Honorable Mention Offense:
 Peyton Anderson (Negaunee)Drew DuShane (Negaunee)Leo Helppi (Negaunee)Brayden Velmer (Negaunee)

First Team Defense:
 Erik Anderson (Westwood)
 Nathan Beckman (Westwood)
 *Ashton Bergman (Westwood)*Sam Gilles (Westwood)
 *Hayden Mann (Westwood)
 Brayden Velmer (Negaunee)
 Jason Waterman (Negaunee)
 Alex Zampese (Negaunee)
Honorable Mention Defense: Garrett Mann (Westwood)Alex Munson (Negaunee)
 Chad Pohlman (Westwood)

First Team Kicker:
 Erik Salminen (Negaunee) 

Patriots, Miners Claim All-West PAC Honors

Westwood and Negaunee landed a combined 17 different players on the All-West Peninsula Athletic Conference football team for the 2018 season.

Westwood lineman Sam Gilles was named West PAC Copper Division Lineman of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year while unanimously collecting all-conference honors on both sides of the ball. Nathan Beckman earned honorable mention for Offensive Player of the Year.

Area All-West PAC Copper Division Selections
 *Unanimous selection

First Team Offense:
Jacob Adriano (Westwood)
*Nathan Beckman (Westwood)
Ashton Bergman (Westwood)
*Sam Gilles (Westwood)                                                                                            Blake Hewitt (Westwood)

Honorable Mention Offense:
Peyton Anderson (Negaunee)                                                                                    Drew DuShane (Negaunee)                                                                                        Leo Helppi (Negaunee)                                                                                      Brayden Velmer (Negaunee)

First Team Defense:
Erik Anderson (Westwood)
Nathan Beckman (Westwood)
*Ashton Bergman (Westwood)                                                                              *Sam Gilles (Westwood)
*Hayden Mann (Westwood)
Brayden Velmer (Negaunee)
Jason Waterman (Negaunee)
Alex Zampese (Negaunee)

Honorable Mention Defense:                                                                                  Garrett Mann (Westwood)                                                                                          Alex Munson (Negaunee)
Chad Pohlman (Westwood)

First Team Kicker:
Erik Salminen (Negaunee

Three Marquette area football teams are postseason bound after the statewide playoff pairings were released on Sunday.

Westwood (7-2) is the #3 seed in Division Six District One and will travel to Calumet in the opening round. The Copper Kings (9-0) defeated Westwood 14-12 in the regular season, a game which ultimately decided the West PAC Division A championship. The September 7th meeting was the most tightly contested game Calumet has been involved in this season, having won the rest of their games by at least 22 points. The Patriots are back in the playoffs for the second consecutive year and for the third time in the last four seasons. Westwood ended the regular season on a five-game winning streak and have not been scored upon since September 14th against Ishpeming. Kickoff is set for 7:00 on Friday with the broadcast available on ESPN UP and on the ESPN UP app. The other District One matchup has Elk Rapids visiting top-seed Traverse City St. Francis.

Ishpeming (9-0) and Gwinn (6-3) will play each other in the opening round of the Division Eight District One tournament. Ishpeming, ranked 5th in the final AP poll, is coming off their fifth unbeaten regular season in the last ten years, capturing the West PAC Division B championship in the process. Gwinn started the season 4-0 before clinching a postseason berth with Friday night’s victory over Munising. The two teams met in the regular season on September 28th; a 44-8 victory for Ishpeming. The game is scheduled for a 7:00 kickoff on Friday. 

Three Marquette area football teams are postseason bound after the statewide playoff pairings were released on Sunday.

Westwood (7-2) is the #3 seed in Division Six District One and will travel to Calumet in the opening round. The Copper Kings (9-0) defeated Westwood 14-12 in the regular season, a game which ultimately decided the West PAC Division A championship. The September 7th meeting was the most tightly contested game Calumet has been involved in this season, having won the rest of their games by at least 22 points. The Patriots are back in the playoffs for the second consecutive year and for the third time in the last four seasons. Westwood ended the regular season on a five-game winning streak and have not been scored upon since September 14th against Ishpeming. Kickoff is set for 7:00 on Friday with the broadcast available on ESPN UP and on the ESPN UP app. The other District One matchup has Elk Rapids visiting top-seed Traverse City St. Francis.

Ishpeming (9-0) and Gwinn (6-3) will play each other in the opening round of the Division Eight District One tournament. Ishpeming, ranked 5th in the final AP poll, is coming off their fifth unbeaten regular season in the last ten years, capturing the West PAC Division B championship in the process. Gwinn started the season 4-0 before clinching a postseason berth with Friday night’s victory over Munising. The two teams met in the regular season on September 28th; a 44-8 victory for Ishpeming. The game is scheduled for a 7:00 kickoff on Friday. 

Three Marquette area football teams are postseason bound after the statewide playoff pairings were released on Sunday.

Westwood (7-2) is the #3 seed in Division Six District One and will travel to Calumet in the opening round. The Copper Kings (9-0) defeated Westwood 14-12 in the regular season, a game which ultimately decided the West PAC Division A championship. The September 7th meeting was the most tightly contested game Calumet has been involved in this season, having won the rest of their games by at least 22 points. The Patriots are back in the playoffs for the second consecutive year and for the third time in the last four seasons. Westwood ended the regular season on a five-game winning streak and have not been scored upon since September 14th against Ishpeming. Kickoff is set for 7:00 on Friday with the broadcast available on ESPN UP and on the ESPN UP app. The other District One matchup has Elk Rapids visiting top-seed Traverse City St. Francis.

Ishpeming (9-0) and Gwinn (6-3) will play each other in the opening round of the Division Eight District One tournament. Ishpeming, ranked 5th in the final AP poll, is coming off their fifth unbeaten regular season in the last ten years, capturing the West PAC Division B championship in the process. Gwinn started the season 4-0 before clinching a postseason berth with Friday night’s victory over Munising. The two teams met in the regular season on September 28th; a 44-8 victory for Ishpeming. The game is scheduled for a 7:00 kickoff on Friday. 

Nathan Beckman passed for two touchdowns and ran for two more as Westwood rolled past Negaunee 44-0 on Thursday.

The Patriots scored three plays into the game when Beckman tossed a 68-yard touchdown pass to Ashton Bergman. The two-point conversion gave the Pats an 8-0 advantage. Westwood doubled their lead later in the quarter as Beckman rushed into the endzone from four yards out.

The score held until the 6:31 mark in the second quarter. Faced with fourth down and goal from the 14-yard line, Beckman found Jacob Adriano wide open in the endzone. The conversion gave the Pats a 24-0 lead, which they took into halftime. Beckman capped a 53-yard scoring drive with a 14-yard touchdown scamper at the 3:10 mark in the third quarter before running untouched into the endzone on the two-point try.

Early in the fourth quarter, Beckman scrambled for a 32-yard gain on fourth and long to set up Bergman’s second touchdown of the night. Senior runningback Troy Anderson, playing in his first game since suffering a broken arm early in the season, raced 55 yards across the goal line with 2:15 left to play.

Westwood finishes the regular season 7-2 overall, 6-1 in West PAC Division A. The Patriots have not been scored on since September 14th and have put up 122 unanswered points during that stretch. Westwood is headed to the postseason for the second consecutive year and for the third time in the last four seasons. The victory on Thursday marked the first time in school history that the Patriots have won consecutive football games against Negaunee. Westwood’s first round playoff opponent and location will be announced on Sunday.

The Westwood Patriots scored early and often on Thursday, rolling past rival Negaunee 44-0 in West PAC football action.

Westwood scored three plays into the game when Nathan Beckman tossed a 68-yard touchdown pass to Ashton Bergman. The two-point conversion gave the Patriots an 8-0 advantage. Westwood doubled their lead later in the quarter when Beckman rushed into the endzone from four yards out.

The score held until the 6:31 mark in the second quarter. Faced with 4th and goal from the 14-yard line, Beckman connected with Jacob Adriano. The conversion gave the Pats a 24-0 lead, which they took into halftime. Beckman capped a 53-yard scoring drive with a 14-yard touchdown run at the 3:10 mark in the third quarter. Beckman then ran untouched into the endzone on the two-point try.

Early in the fourth quarter, Beckman scrambled for a 32-yard gain on 4th and 11 to set up Bergman’s second touchdown of the night. Senior runningback Troy Anderson, playing in his first game since suffering a broken arm early in the season, scampered 55 yards across the goal line with 2:15 left to play.

Westwood finishes the regular season 7-2 overall, 6-1 in West PAC Division A. The Patriots have not been scored on since September 14th and have put up 122 unanswered points during that stretch. Westwood is heading to the postseason for the second consecutive year and for the third time in the last four season. The victory on Thursday marked the first time in school history that the Patriots have won consecutive football games against Negaunee.

 The Westwood Patriots scored early and often on Thursday, rolling past rival Negaunee 44-0 in West PAC football action.

Westwood scored three plays into the game when Nathan Beckman tossed a 68-yard touchdown pass to Ashton Bergman. The two-point conversion gave the Patriots an 8-0 advantage. Westwood doubled their lead later in the quarter when Beckman rushed into the endzone from four yards out.

The score held until the 6:31 mark in the second quarter. Faced with 4th and goal from the 14-yard line, Beckman connected with Jacob Adriano. The conversion gave the Pats a 24-0 lead, which they took into halftime.
Beckman capped a 53-yard scoring drive with a 14-yard touchdown run at the 3:10 mark in the third quarter. Beckman then ran untouched into the endzone on the two-point try.

Early in the fourth quarter, Beckman scrambled for a 32-yard gain on 4th and 11 to set up Bergman’s second touchdown of the night. Senior runningback Troy Anderson, playing in his first game since suffering a broken arm early in the season, scampered 55 yards across the goal line with 2:15 left to play.

Westwood finished the regular season 7-2 overall, 6-1 in West PAC Division A. The Patriots have not been scored on since September 14th and have put up 122 unanswered points during that stretch. Westwood is heading to the postseason for the second consecutive year and for the third time in the last four season. The victory on Thursday marked the first time in school history that the Patriots have won consecutive football games against Negaunee.

Ishpeming’s Jeff Olson has been selected by the Detroit Lions as the Farm Bureau Insurance of Michigan High School Football Coach of the Week. Olson, a 2016 Michigan Football Coaches Association Hall of Fame inductee, has guided the Hematites to a 7-0 start this season. Currently in his 27th season at Ishpeming, Olson has won three state championships, 196 career games and has led the Hematites to the playoffs in 17 of the past 20 seasons. Olson’s squad, ranked 5th in this week’s Division Seven poll, hosts Munising on Friday night.