Miners football team off to a 2-0 start
Each and every year, a surprise team or two emerges during the high school football season. So far in 2013, the Negaunee Miners are one of those surprise teams.
Paul Jacobson’s squad is 2-0 after home wins against Manistique and Calumet, despite losing their top two offensive threats from a year ago. Quarterback Ryan Syrjala and running back Tyler LaJoie have led the way for the Negaunee offense through the first two weeks of the season.
Things are definitely going in the right direction for Negaunee as they head into their week three matchup on the road vs. Gladstone.
“I thought we made improvements from week one to week two and we need to continue to do that in order to get where we want to be,” said Jacobson.
“Gladstone has a lot of seniors. They have a different system and I think coach (Cody) Kangas is going to do a great job down there. We just have to make sure we take care of the football on the road do what we have to do to get a win,” added Jacobson.
“T.L. (Tyler LaJoie) is obviously one of the better running backs in the U.P. Ryan Syrjala is definitely stepping up to the plate. He’s the leader of the offense and he’s definitely showing it on the field,” said Miners offensive lineman Tyler Thomas.
“With Gladstone, it doesn’t matter about their record, it doesn’t matter about the stats. It’s going to be a close, good game. If they (Gladstone) goes 1-8 and the only team they beat is us, then that’s a good season for them,” said Thomas.
Kickoff between the Miners and the Braves is set for 7 p.m. on Friday.