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Copper Kings football shuts down Gremlins, 29-0

Calumet’s Kent Koskela (48) catches a 24-yard touchdown for the game’s first points in the second quarter of a game against Houghton Friday at Alumni Field in Houghton. (Levi Erkkila/For the Gazette)

HOUGHTON — As expected, the Houghton Gremlins football field was near capacity for the anticipated matchup between the Gremlins (2-4) and Calumet Copper Kings (3-3). Calumet’s solid defense and retooled offense led to a 29-0 victory, which snapped a three-game skid.

The Copper Kings have been struggling to score points over their previous three contests: a shutout against Negaunee, six points against Menominee, and a shutout against Kingsford.

“We just came off a tough three-game stretch, but our kids have been getting better every week,” said Calumet coach Josh Frantti. “We made some changes this week, which paid off; we did awesome offensively tonight. The kids handled it well and did everything that we asked.”

The Gremlins ran 39 plays and had a respectable 190 total yards; however, most plays came outside the Kings’ red zone, limiting the home squad’s opportunity for points.

“In the last two weeks, our kids have been phenomenal defensively,” Frantti explained. “They know their assignments and communicate everything; for the most part, they shut down Jay Halonen and Trevor Erva tonight. We were a little worried. They are a great backfield tandem. We knew we had our hands full, but our kids did great.”

The Gremlins are down their quarterback, Oscar Petersen, and top wideouts, which limited the Houghton offense.

“Petersen is injured and out for the year,” said Houghton coach Tim Driscoll. “Jay Halonen has done a nice job filling in, but we’ve become somewhat one-dimensional. Our top three wide receivers, maybe top four wide receivers, were in street clothes today.

“Give a lot of credit to Calumet; they play physical and shut down our run game, and our pass game couldn’t get going either.”

Driscoll also touched on the Copper King offense.

“Calumet did a nice job converting on third and fourth down when the game was close,” he said. “They hit a couple of explosive plays to take the lead, and then we played from behind, which wasn’t our strong suit.”

The Copper Kings started with the ball, and their drive lasted over 11 minutes. However, the Gremlins got a fourth-down stop at the goal line to keep the score knotted at zero. Houghton ran two plays before the end of the first, and the field flipped with the home team facing a third-and-5 at their own six.

After picking up four on the first play of the second quarter, the Gremlins faced a fourth-and-1 at their 10-yard line, and to the surprise of many, they went for and converted the first down. Houghton made it six more yards before they had to punt, and Calumet took over at the 39.

Seven plays later, the Copper Kings took advantage of the excellent field position with a 24-yard TD pass from Ted Loukus to Kent Koskela; a successful point-after attempt made it 7-0 Calumet with 4:49 left in the half.

The Copper Kings got the ball right back after a Gremlin three-and-out. The Calumet drive went 52 yards in five plays, capped by an Anderson 22-yard TD scamper. The PAT went through the uprights to make it 14-0.

Houghton got the ball with 32 seconds before halftime but did not threaten the Calumet end zone.

Trailing 14-0, the Gremlins hit a big play for 38 yards early in their first second-half drive but couldn’t manage any points and turned the ball over on downs.

Calumet’s first offensive play of the third went 71 yards for a touchdown. Anderson pulled away from Houghton’s defenders and broke open the game, with the point after good, at 21-0 Copper Kings.

The Gremlins continued to move the ball. However, they again turned the ball over on downs, this time on the Copper King 30.

The clock showed 4:42 left in the third when the Calumet offense took the field; The Copper Kings’ drive continued into the final frame.

With 9:20 remaining in the game, Jax Carlson made it a four-score game after an 11-play, 70-yard drive that drained 7:02 off the clock. They broke the plain on the two-point try, and the visitors led 29-0. The Gremlins fought hard to the end, but the deficit was far too much for a comeback.

UP NEXT

On Friday, Calumet will take on the Bulldogs in Hancock, and Houghton will host Gladstone.

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