The Hancock Central High School varsity football team lifts the Copper Bowl trophy after defeating Houghton 20-17 in the 68th annual Copper Bowl on Friday, Sept. 24, 2021, in Houghton, Mich. (Adam Niemi/The Daily Mining Gazette)

HOUGHTON — A beautiful fall evening turned sour Friday night for the return of the Copper Bowl between the Houghton Gremlins and the Hancock Bulldogs.

Just as the Houghton marching band wrapped up the National Anthem a light drizzle moved in over Alumni Field. That grew into a full-fledged driving rain with gusty winds by the end of the first quarter that lasted for the night.

Hancock (3-2) battled it out and survived a relentless Gremlins’ attack with a 20-17 win. It’s the fourth Bulldogs’ Copper Bowl win in the past five games.

“It was a great game,” Hancock coach Ramon Sague said. “The weather was tough, and it made for a memorable night.”

Ball control was the Gremlins’ nemesis from the first to the last play of the game. They had nine fumbles – four recovered, five turned over. As well they threw two interceptions and caught two. After stopping a Hancock opening drive and causing a punt, the Gremlins’ sloppiness began. On their first possession of the game and their first play of the drive, they fumbled. It resulted in a Hancock touchdown as Leroy Bastion made a 21-yard run past the goal line. Minutes later Brandon Pietila’s extra point made in 7-0.

It was deja vu all over again in the second as Hancock capitalized on another Gremlin turnover. This time Shane Aho was the score maker as he posted a 14-yard run to make it 14-0 at the start of the second.

However, the Gremlins (3-2) took advantage of a Hancock turnover as they mounted a 57-yard drive in nine plays which ended when quarterback Cam Markham snuck in with a TD from one-yard out. Kaiden Zapolnik made it an 8-14 game with a two-point conversion.

Before these two rivals headed into the locker room at halftime, the Gremlins’ Ray Shaw kicked a 25-yard field goal at the 3:44 mark to make it a 14-11 game.

As the downpour only got stronger, and there was a mass exodus of umbrellas from the bleachers, both teams stayed dry in their respective locker rooms and mapped out strategy.

“I told the guys we are in the lead, and you have a chance to make history in this memorable game,” Sague said.

In the other locker room, head coach Micah Stipech of the Gremlins was trying to rearrange personnel.

“Our strongest receiver Gaborik Carlson got hurt in the second and we had to make some basic adjustments to blocking,” he said. “We thought we were okay as long as we didn’t turn the ball over.”

The Gremlins took the lead midway through the third. From the snap, Markham stepped back at around the 6:30 mark and hit Blake Wiley in the end zone for a 14-yard pass with men on him. The extra point was blocked but the Gremlins led for the first time with a 17-14 score.

That’s how it looked headed into the final 12 minutes of the game and everybody now soaked. Stipech saw victory if his squad held onto the ball. Easier said than done. Another fumble by Markham at the 10:10 mark cost the Gremlins the Copper Bowl. It couldn’t have come at a worst spot as Markham dropped the snap at the Houghton’s own two-yard line. A play later Aho plowed it in from the backfield. Pietila’s extra point bounced off the crossbar.

“You cant expect to turn the ball over and over again and expect to win,” Stipech said. “We were just giving them the ball, and they took advantage of that.”

The Gremlins had one last shot with less than two minutes to go. They stopped the Bulldogs on a 4- and-7 play on their own 15-yard line. But their hopes for a 75-second, 85-yard drive were squelched when the Bulldogs Chad Nordstrom intercepted a Markham pass. Hancock’s quarterback Brad Johnson took two knees to wind the clock down, and the Bulldogs hoisted up the 2021 Copper Bowl minutes later.

As the celebration Segue said that he was quite pleased with the play of his new nose tackle Chance Bridgers.

“Bridgers has been causing the (opposite) centers some serious problems and I think that caused a lot of those fumbles,” he said. “He has been playing incredible in the middle and putting a lot of pressure on the center there. It was just a great performance by him and our players tonight.”

HCHS 7 7 0 6 — 20

HHS 0 11 6 0 — 17

First Quarter

HCHS — Bastion 21 run (Pietila kick), 9:54.

Second Quarter

HCHS — Aho 14 run (Pietila kick), 10:34.

HHS — Markham 1 run (Zapolnik 2-point), 7:20.

HHS — Shaw 25 field goal, 3:43

Third Quarter

HHS — Wiley 14 pass from Markham (Shaw kick failed), 6:30.

Fourth Quarter

HCHS –Aho 4 run (Pietila kick failed), 9:55.