But that’s exactly what happened at Westwood High School on Friday evening in the latest chapter of the Ishpeming-Westwood rivalry. The Patriots took down the Hematites for their first win of the season in overtime, 14-12, when Ishpeming quarterback Hunter Smith’s 2-point conversion tying run was stopped short of the goal line.

Offense was hard to come by in this one, but big plays shaped each team’s touchdown drives in regulation. On the first play from scrimmage, Westwood (1-3) back Jayce Arseneau took a handoff 42 yards to reach inside of Ishpeming’s 10-yard line. Two plays later, Jerzee Karki found the end zone from 5 yards out to give the Patriots a 6-0 lead just 1:05 in.

On a 3rd-and-20 late in the third quarter for Ishpeming (2-2), Smith found Ryan Maki down the sideline for a long 54-yard pass to the Westwood 12. Four plays later, running back Preston Gauthier found the end zone to tie the game with 10:25 remaining.

Each team scored on its overtime possession, with the difference being Arseneau successful on his 2-point conversion for Westwood while Smith wasn’t for Ishpeming.

Ishpeming's Hunter Smith, front, finds room to run against the Westwood Patriots in the second quarter of their game played at the Patriots' field in Ishpeming on Friday. (Photo courtesy Daryl T. Jarvinen)

“The big focus today was being disciplined and staying with our assignments,” Westwood first-year head coach Jacob Wolf said. “People who said that we’re young, but that’s not necessarily the case.

“We’ve been undisciplined in certain games with certain roles and responsibilities. I need to see the film, but I’m pretty sure that we shored those up tonight.”

Ishpeming actually outgained Westwood 234-181, but had too many mistakes to pull through in the end. It’s certainly a strange thought that a long game like this can come down to one play, but the plays that led up to OT shaped the outcome.

The Hematites committed too many penalties, had the game’s only two turnovers, and turned the ball over on downs four times. IHS looked to come into Westwood and get a win, and the yardage says that the Hematites could’ve. However, the Patriots had the edge at the line of scrimmage holding Ishpeming to less than three yards per carry. On top of that, the miscues piled up for the Hematites.

“We started out slow, (and) after the first possession, we outscored them 6-0,” Ishpeming coach Cody Kugler said about the rest of regulation following the initial possession. “I can’t recall right now, but there were three to five times that the ball touched a receiver’s hands, and we just couldn’t capitalize on those catches.

Westwood head coach Jacob Wolf talks to his team during a timeout in the third quarter of their game played against Ishpeming at the Patriots' field in Ishpeming on Friday. (Photo courtesy Daryl T. Jarvinen)

“We can’t wait for the other team to get a sprint start and then try to overcome that. We just made a lot of mistakes, and I’ll take responsibility, because guess what? My play-calling didn’t work.”

Despite all of that, the game was tied 6-6 in the final minutes. The Hematites began a drive at their own 41-yard line with 8:12 left, and moved the ball into the red zone. On 4th-and-5 at the 17, Smith’s pass to receiver Logan Hurkmans was incomplete, forcing a turnover on downs.

Westwood had to quickly punt, and a good return by Smith set up Ishpeming once again inside of the Patriots’ 30.

But with no timeouts remaining, the Hematites went to the air and the Patriots forced three straight incompletions. On fourth down, Smith’s pass was intercepted by Andrew Niemi to effectively end regulation.

Both teams got four plays from the 10-yard line to score in overtime, and it took three Karki carries before he scored for Westwood. After Ishpeming got the ball, the Hematites trailed 14-6 on fourth down once again when Smith improvised on a pass play and scrambled back to his left for the end zone. On the 2-point try, he tried running to the right edge, but Westwood’s Bryce Markham and Byron Tossova were there to meet him a couple yards shy of the pylon.

The Patriots were finding ways to lose games in the first three weeks, with a pair of their losses to Houghton and Calumet each coming by two points. This time in a two-point game, Westwood got over the hump. With what was on the line between two programs that are eerily similar, the Patriots found a way.

“They’re a storied program with their history, and a lot of stuff we do, we took from them,” Wolf said. “I know a lot of those players, I know a lot of those coaches, they’re good, hard-working people. It was a great football game.”

This week, Westwood looks to build on this win with a road game at Manistique, while it doesn’t get any easier for Ishpeming, as the Hematites host undefeated Negaunee.

Travis Nelson can be reached by email at tnelson@miningjournal.net.