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Hancock utilizes run game, uptempo offense to defeat Calumet 42-24

Daily Mining Gazette/Bryce Derouin Hancock’s Alex Nordstrom fights for extra yardage against Calumet, Friday, at Agassiz Field. Nordstrom ran for four touchdowns in his team’s 42-24 win.

CALUMET — The Hancock Bulldogs and Calumet Copper Kings have played each other in football dating as far back as 1895.

But never before in the rivalry has an offense displayed the fast-paced tempo and precision that the 2017 Hancock Bulldogs showcased Friday at Agassiz Field.

Hancock racked up 404 yards of offense (260 rushing, 144 passing) as its signature no-huddle quick-snap attack led the Bulldogs to a 42-24 West-PAC win over the Calumet Copper Kings.

“I think we wore them down with the run,” said Hancock junior back Alex Nordstrom, who finished with 111 yards and four touchdowns on 30 carries. “We do the (uptempo) in practice so we’re used to it. At the end of the game, they get tired and the advantage comes to us.”

While Nordstrom gained the majority of his yards off tackle or along the edges, senior back Aaron Barnes added 99 yards on 15 carries up the middle. The Bulldogs (4-1, 3-1 West-PAC) stayed committed to the ground game throughout the night, running the ball on 59 of the team’s 69 offensive plays.

Hancock head coach Ted Holmstrom attempted to duplicate the success of the Hurley Midgets, who ran for 295 yards against Calumet (3-2, 2-2 West-PAC) in a 32-26 Hurley win on Sept. 8.

“We watched the Hurley film and they gave us the recipe to run it right on (Calumet),” Holmstrom said. “We just ran the ball and ran the ball because that’s what Hurley did. That’s where we felt we had our advantage.”

The difference is Hancock has more athletes and relies on the speed of its players and the no-huddle attack, whereas Hurley’s offense is based more on power and deception with its Wing-T formation.

The quickness at which Hancock reeled of its plays managed to catch Calumet out of position.

“When you’re playing a quick-snap team like that, you can’t wait for them to get set or be ready,” Calumet head coach John Croze said. “I think at times they caught us getting into our stances when we should have been getting ready.”

Calumet also didn’t help themselves with its self-inflicted miscues.

On the first possession of the game, facing a third-and-3, Calumet fumbled the snap before recovering. On the punt, the snap sailed over the head of senior Cooper Twardzik, who ended up being tackled at Calumet’s own 9 for a loss of 28. Four plays later, Nordstrom scored the first of his four touchdowns.

The next Calumet drive ended on another fumbled snap, but this time, was recovered by the Bulldogs. Thirteen plays and 72 yards later, Hancock made Calumet pay again with a 4-yard score from Nordstrom.

“We’ve been like that all season long so far. We’ve got to quit being our own worst enemy,” Croze said. “We were playing catch-up, and Hancock has a nice group of athletes and they make it tough on you.”

The Bulldogs scored touchdowns on four of their five possessions in the first half; the only drive that didn’t result in a score was a fumble recovered by Calumet at the Hancock 28.

Calumet took advantage of Hancock’s mistake with a 1-yard score from junior back Travis Ojala.

Ojala’s score was the first of four touchdowns in the final 5 minutes, 10 seconds of the second quarter. The Copper Kings once again made it a one-score game when junior Brent Loukus reached the ball over the goal line for his first of two scores before adding a 2-point conversion to trim Hancock’s lead to 21-16 with 31 seconds remaining in the quarter.

For most teams, they would be content with a knee and going into halftime with a five-point lead; not Hancock.

“We always feel like as long as we have a few ticks on the clock, we got a chance,” Holmstrom said.

Holmstom has an open line of communication when it comes to his players and playcalling. So when the players thought they could gash Calumet up the middle with a run by Barnes, Holmstrom obliged and Barnes went for 55 down to the Calumet 7.

“I was thinking pass, but they said (the Barnes run) was it,” Holmstrom said. “That’s the cool thing about our team. We have very smart young men who help me and the coaching staff with the problems that come up in a football game.”

With 2 seconds left at the Calumet 7, Holmstrom did call a pass, but sophomore quarterback Colton Salani scrambled to his right and dove into the end zone for the score with no time remaining for a 28-16 lead.

Salani’s scramble was the first of three clutch plays by the sophomore who continues to play beyond his years.

Following Loukus’ 30-yard touchdown run in the third quarter, Salani connected with senior Grant Hokenson on a fly route with a perfectly-placed ball down the right sideline for a 47-yard touchdown.

And to set up the final dagger, facing fourth-and-5, Salani delivered a strike over the middle to Nordstrom for a 24-yard gain down to the Calumet 2 — despite getting rid of the ball with a Calumet defender in his face. Three plays later, Nordstrom scored his fourth touchdown of the night for a 42-24 advantage.

Salani completed 5 of 9 passes for 123 yards and one touchdown and added 59 yards rushing and a rushing score.

“He’s something else,” Holmstrom said of Salani. “He works harder than anybody else on our entire team, and that’s what the quarterback at Hancock Central High has to do, because in the offense we have, a pro-style offense, that quarterback really has to be on. Everybody looks to him for leadership, and I’m very impressed with him.”

Next, Hancock hosts Hurley in a key West-PAC matchup, while Calumet heads to West Iron County on the same day.

Hancock 13 15 8 6 — 42

Calumet 0 16 8 0 — 24

First quarter

H — Alex Nordstrom 3-yard run (LeClaire XP good), 7-0, 8:36

H — Nordstrom 4-yard run (XP blocked), 13-0, 1:17

Second quarter

C — Travis Ojala 1-yard run (2-point good), 13-8, 5:10

H — Nordstrom 1-yard run (2-point good), 21-8, 2:31

C — Brent Loukus 4-yard run (2-point good), 21-16, 0:31

H — Colton Salani 7-yard run (LeClaire XP good), 28-16, 0:00

Third quarter

C — Loukus 30-yard run (2-point good), 28-24, 5:00

H — Salani to Grant Hokenson on 47-yard pass (2-point good), 36-24, 3:50

Fourth quarter

H — Nordstrom 1-yard run (2-point no good), 42-24, 11:12

Total offense

Hancock 404 (260 rushing, 144 passing); Calumet 266 (154 rushing, 112 passing)

Rushing (carries-yards-touchdowns)

Hancock — Nordstrom 30-111-4; Barnes 15-99-0; C. Salani 11-59-1; A. Salani 1-2-0; Kero 2- -6-0; Calumet — Loukus 19-92-2; Hendrickson 5-28-0; Erkkila 6-27-0; Ojala 9-25-1; W. Twardzik 2-10-0; Berg 1-0-0; C. Twardzik 1- -28-0.

Passing (completions-attempts-yards-touchdowns-interceptions)

Hancock — Salani 5-9-123-1-0, Larson 1-1-21-0-0; Calumet — Loukus 9-22-112-0-0; Twardzik 0-1-0-0-0.

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