Top-ranked Lake Linden-Hubbell (4-0) hosts the 3-1 North Central Jets on Saturday, Sept. 26, at 1:30 p.m. Eastern, looking to stay unbeaten after senior Brady Axford's six-touchdown performance in a 60-32 rout of previously 3-0 Norway earned him the Week 4 Vertical Raise Player of the Week award.

The senior quarterback, running back and defensive back did it every way possible in the Sept. 19 win. Axford rushed for three touchdowns, threw for one, caught one and returned a kick for another. He added a two-point conversion in the 60-point outburst, as My UP Sports reported.

The award is presented by My UP Sports in partnership with Vertical Raise.

"They're a really good program year in and year out, so you know if you can beat them, it's really big," Axford said of the Norway win.

Norway had been one of the U.P.'s strongest 8-player programs. The Knights went 9-0 in the 2025 regular season and reached the MHSAA Division 1 8-player playoff semifinals before losing to eventual state runner-up Blanchard Montabella, finishing 11-1, according to a Mining Journal preseason report. Norway dropped to 3-1 and fell to No. 4 in the UPSSA 8-player poll released Tuesday, Sept. 22.

Lake Linden-Hubbell climbed from one first-place vote to four in that same poll, holding the No. 1 spot at 4-0. The Lakes have scored at least 44 points in every game: 52-36 over Ishpeming, 44-14 over Ironwood, 50-12 over Munising and 60-32 over Norway, per Mining Journal scores. They are averaging more than 50 points per game.

The offense is a family affair. Axford is one of three triplets on the roster alongside brothers Tyler and Lukas Axford. In the Week 2 win over Ironwood, Brady ran for 268 yards and two touchdowns on 21 carries while throwing for two more scores, the Daily Globe reported.

After the Norway win, head coach Brett Gervais said Axford's willingness to push in the weight room and step into a leadership role set the tone for the team. Even before the season, Gervais praised Axford's drive. In an Aug. 20 WLUC preseason feature, Gervais said Axford amazed him as a leader and that "you couldn't write a book on it better than what Brady's been able to do."

The Lakes went 8-3 in 2025, sharing the Great Lakes 8 West Conference title and returning to the postseason.

North Central Jets finished 7-3 in 2025 and lost to the Lakes in the first round of the playoffs.