most of you know i'm all about a "hometown hero"... and lucky for me, one of my good friends is married to one of menominee's all-time top 5! so today when she brought this newspaper article to my attention, of course i had to share it with everyone.
maroons old and young, in honor of this being maroons vs flivvers rivalary week, today's hometown hero shout out goes to...nathan twork
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9/23/2010 Kingsford week says it all Annual game normally determines GNC champion
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By TOM KAESER EagleHerald assistant sports editorMENOMINEE - It's a simple mission statement spoken on the Menominee practice field and locker room: "Kingsford Week."Since Nathan Twork dove into the end zone to give the Maroons a 35-29 overtime win over Flivvers in 1997, the collision of Great Northern Conference powers has been a call to arms for both teams.The rivalry will be at a boiling point again for the 7 p.m. kickoff Friday at Flivver Field."To us this is our conference championship," Kingsford coach Chris Hofer said. "I don't know if it will end up that way, but that's the way we have to approach it. That's usually what it comes down to."Menominee is 7-6 in the series since beginning a three-year run as GNC champs in 1997. The Flivvers are gunning for their third straight league crown."Throughout the years Menominee and Kingsford have switched back and forth over who won the conference," coach Ken Hofer noted. "This is a very important game for both teams."The Flivvers are 40-13 at their home field since 1997, including a 4-2 mark against the Maroons.Following consecutive 21-point losses to Kingsford the past two seasons, Menominee will have to put together four quarters of quality football to turn the series around.The top-ranked Flivvers (4-0) boast a strong and experienced offensive line and a defense that was a question mark heading into the season has allowed just 38 points.Kingsford has outscored its four opponents 60-19 in the first half and has allowed just one first-quarter touchdown."I'm a little apprehensive because we have a tendency to start slow," Ken Hofer explained. "We won't have that luxury in this game. We have to be aggressive and come right after them. We have to show them we've come ready to play."The Flivvers and Maroons (3-1) both employ a stable of running backs to move the chains.Senior quarterback Kyle Sexton has come of age in the Flivvers' Wing T. He rushed for 106 yards in the win over Lakeland, Wis., and passed for 113 yards on an 11 for 16 night against Duluth Central-Denfeld, Minn. last week."They mainly use (Erik) Kleisner, but the guy that scares us most is Sexton," the Menominee coach said. "He'll roll out and pass and roll out behind his blockers and run. Last year he was a good runner. This year he's a great runner."Kleisner, who ran to the silver medal in the 400 dash at the U.P. finals, is a breakaway threat. He ripped eight-time Division 8 state champion Muskegon Catholic Central (3-1) for 118 yards. Senior speedster Paul Dayaert (5-7, 160) is also a threat out of the backfield.Kingsford always has a tackle-busting fullback and senior Andy Ross (5-8, 175) fills the bill this season. He bludgeoned Wausau East for 120 yards in the season opener."They like to run the fullback trap, off-tackle play and waggle pass," Ken Hofer noted. "We've been working diligently against that. There have been times when we've shut their trip totally down, but they always have something else to go to."Jimmy Rice (6-1, 205) and 6-foot-5 tight end Ian Wienke lead the offensive line.Wienke and junior Jeff Gregory (6-2, 160) give Sexton lanky targets with good hands.Defensive end Brandon Aman (6-3, 200), Jim Joski (6-2, 235) and Gregory lead the defense. "Our guys up front have making a lot of plays," Chris Hofer said of his defense.Kingsford will try to use its speed to prevent Menominee's quick backfield of Keefer Conery, Erik Gilbert, Erik Hines and Connor LaPlante from getting into open space on the edges. Fullback Jordan Miller is sledgehammer in the single wing.If the Maroons try to over the top with their passing game, the Flivvers will have to choose their poison among Hines, Gilbert and Jacob Leanna."They're pretty solid, pretty skilled," the Flivver coach said. "We have work to do on defense. They've got potential to hit a home run. We have to get in there, control the line of scrimmage and get more people to the ball than they have blockers."Conery missed practice Monday and Tuesday with the flu, but was in school Wednesday.Defensive tackles Jacob Hart and C.J. Lingis return to the Maroon line after sitting out last week."I thought (Jacob) Henes and (Jacob) Enderby played exceptionally well (at defensive tackle)," Ken Hofer said.Both defenses are capable of turning games around. The Flivvers have forced 12 turnovers and the Maroons have forced eight turnovers.Linebackers Jacob Gerdt, Jordan Miller and Tanner Maccoux and Conery lead a first-team defense that shut down Gladstone and Rhinelander the last two weeks.The father and son coaching duo usually talk about upcoming games during the week, but not during "Kingsford Week.""This is a quiet week between us," Ken Hofer said with a smile.
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and now a little blast from the past:
once a maroon, always a maroon...