By Dan Hardenbrook
The Newberry Indians Varsity Football team bounced back from a disappointing season opener, earning their first win of the 2026 season by beating the Brimley Bays 42-12 at home last Thursday.
The win was an impressive wire-to-wire performance with big plays on both sides of the ball, and Newberry’s balance and depth were key factors in the win.
Brimley came in shorthanded – they have no JV this year and have low numbers at the varsity level. They were forced to play with just 14 players and were physically outmatched by the Indians.
The Bays actually got on the board first. After stopping the Indians, Brimley capitalized on a penalty and scored on their opening drive. Newberry answered the call with an impressive drive that started inside their own 10 yard line; 92 yards later the Indians tied the game on a two-yard pass from Grant Lewicki to Logan Thiele.
The scoring drive was highlighted by a spectacular deep catch by Thiele, near the sideline to give the Indians a spark. Newberry converted the two-point try and picked up their first lead of the season, going up 8-6 with 57 seconds left in the opening quarter.
It was almost entirely Indians from that point. When Brimley took a chance on 4th down in their own territory, the Indians made the stop and earned great field positioning for their next drive.
Running backs Luke Luebkert and Symon Whalen marched the Indians down close to the goal line, where Lewicki punched in a one-yard TD run on a QB sneak. A Julian Suriano interception stopped Brimley’s next possession, and the Indians scored again before halftime on Gaijye Depew’s 18-yard TD catch from Lewicki.
The Indians took the 20-6 halftime, and the Bays tried to regroup after their talented quarterback Cooper Jones and All UP receiver and defensive back Gus Von Sengrenn went down with injuries. Jones returned, but was less than 100%, while Von Sengrenn had to be helped off the field by EMS.
Luebkert capped off a great night by helping the Indians grind out yards and time in a huge second half. He scored on a 15-yard touchdown run with 8 minutes to go in the third quarter. He followed that up with a 27 yarder to blow the doors open on the week 2 win.
Thiele, who took over for quarterback in the second half for Lewicki, wrapped up the night with a beautiful 28 yard score to give Newberry the big win.
The Indians enter a big week sitting at 1-1 on the season. Friday night will be one of the biggest games of the season when the longtime rival St. Ignace Saints come to town. It is also the annual Patriot game.
The JV/Varsity doubleheader will kick off at 4:30 p.m. The Saints are coming in red-hot after dominant wins to start their season 2-0.
