Hancock quarterback Beeny Keranen (right) scrambles out of the reach of L'Anse's Connor Kemppainen during a game Friday at McAfee Field in Hancock. (Eddie O’Neill/For the Gazette)

HANCOCK — The 2025 high school football season kicked off on Thursday across the state of Michigan. Locally, the L’Anse Purple Hornets earned their first win for new head coaches Jon Boever and Mike Griffin as they outscored the Hancock Bulldogs on the road, 26-6, at McAfee Field.

“We came out strong, and for the most part did what we were supposed to do,” noted Griffin. “I certainly am happy for the win.”

After 10 minutes of back-and-forth play between the 20-yard lines, the Purple Hornets broke through with a touchdown at the 1:52 mark. Vinny Seratti ran one in from seven yards out. The two-point conversion was no good and it was 6-0 after one.

The Purple Hornets added eight in the second quarter.

Quarterback Keegan Davidson hit Daniel Connor with a short pass in the red zone. They then converted with two, and it was 14-0 at the half. “I told the boys at half time to keep putting points on the board and keep executing,” Griffin stated. “I liked the dire want of our running backs to just run and not get tackled by one guy. Our defense played a heck of a game as well.”

The Bulldogs earned their first touchdown of the season at around the seven-minute mark of the third quarter. A pass play between Hancock quarterback Benny Keranen and Sawyer Martens resulted in a 17-yard score. Their attempt for an extra two was no good. It was now a 14-6 L’Anse lead.

The Purple Hornets scored twice more and kept the Bulldogs out of the end zone. Their play of the game came with less than two-minutes to go in the third. On first down in Bulldog territory, Davidson stepped back and fed the ball to Connor Kemppainen, who broke a couple of tackles and found daylight for a 79-yard touchdown run.

In the opening minutes of the fourth quarter, Davidson did the running himself with a two-yard quarterback scramble for six and an eventual 26-6 victory.

Hancock coach Jeff Hauswirth described his squad’s opening effort on the gridiron as inconsistent.

“We had some good moments, but we lack experience. We are young,” he noted. “The key for us will be how we respond to this game. Will we learn from our mistakes? That is the goal, and that’s how we get better.”

Up next

The Bulldogs will travel to Gwinn for a Friday night matchup against the Modeltowners. That same night, the Purple Hornets will welcome the West Iron County Wykons to their field.