George Leinonen photo Houghton’s Elliot Majlessi breaks a Westwood tackle Thursday in Houghton.

HOUGHTON — Before August even ended, the Westwood High School football team matched its win total of last season after posting a 38-6 victory at Houghton on Thursday night.

The Patriots (2-0) scored all their points in the first half, forcing a running clock for the entirety of the second half.

“We’re headed in the right direction,” WHS head coach Scott Syrjala said. “We’ve improved on learning from our mistakes compared to last year.”

He gave credit to his coaching staff for those improvements, but it doesn’t hurt having players like junior quarterback Nathan Beckman and junior runner Ashton Bergman.

George Butvilas had Houghton’s only score: a 51-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter.

“They took it to us tonight,” Houghton head coach Frank Bonacorsi said. “Both sides of the line got us. They were aggressive and punched us in the mouth.”

Beckman scored three of Westwood’s first four touchdowns on runs of 41, 50 and 19 yards as he rolled up 214 yards rushing in just 14 attempts. The QB also completed 5 of 7 passes for 84 yards and no interceptions.

Beckman’s 41-yard score came on the game’s second play from scrimmage. With a Bergman conversion run, the Patriots quickly had an 8-0 advantage.

Beckman also hooked up with senior Ethan Burke for a 19-yard TD pass late in the first quarter, with the same duo scoring on the PAT pass for a 24-0 lead after one quarter.

Westwood’s final score came when junior defensive lineman Sam Gilles forced a Houghton fumble and junior teammate Jacob Adriano scooped up the ball and ran 43 yards for a TD.

The Gremlins (0-2) were limited to 125 yards of offense, with 80 coming on the ground and 45 through the air. Butvilas completed 3 of 10 passes for 45 yards, while also leading the team with 52 yards rushing on eight attempts.

The Patriots host 2-0 L’Anse at 7 p.m. next Friday, while Houghton goes to Gogebic.