Brady Axford accounted for four touchdowns as Lake Linden-Hubbell beat North Central 44-27 on Saturday, Sept. 26, in a homecoming victory that kept the Lakes unbeaten at 5-0.

Axford, the Lakes' quarterback, carried 27 times for 222 yards and two rushing touchdowns. He completed six of seven passes for 79 yards and two more scores, both to Tyler Axford. He also converted three two-point attempts on the ground, according to the Keweenaw Report.

Tyler Axford added 115 yards on nine carries and a rushing touchdown of his own.

The game started fast. Each team scored on its first two possessions. Lake Linden-Hubbell converted both two-point tries while North Central made one of two extra-point kicks, giving the Lakes a 16-13 edge after the opening exchanges.

A 93-yard touchdown run was called back on a penalty, but Brady Axford broke free for a 62-yard touchdown run on the Lakes' next possession. Tyler Axford hauled in a 35-yard touchdown pass from his brother in the closing seconds to push the halftime lead to 28-19.

Blake Lebo punched in a one-yard touchdown to open the third quarter. North Central answered with a touchdown late in the third quarter that trimmed the deficit to nine points before Brady Axford sealed the win with a 16-yard scoring run in the second half.

The Lakes entered the game ranked No. 1 in both the UPSSA 8-player poll and the Associated Press 8-Player Division 2 poll, according to rankings released the week of Sept. 22. Lake Linden-Hubbell received four first-place votes in the UPSSA poll and three in the AP poll after a 60-32 rout of previously unbeaten Norway in Week 4.

Head coach Brett Gervais praised Axford's leadership during WLUC's preseason tour in August. "I can't say enough good things about Brady Axford … he's been, every step of the way, a leader," Gervais said.

Five games in, Axford is backing that up. As we reported Sept. 24, he earned a weekly honor after scoring six touchdowns in the Week 4 win over Norway.

The Lakes went 8-3 last season, shared the Great Lakes 8 West Conference title and returned to the postseason after missing the playoffs in 2024, according to WLUC's preseason report. Lake Linden-Hubbell plays 8-player football in the Great Lakes 8 West Conference.

Lake Linden-Hubbell travels to Rapid River on Friday, Oct. 2, with pregame coverage set for 6:40 on KBear 102.3.