Houghton is all smiles as they pose with the Copper Bowl Friday night at Alumni Field in Houghton. The Gremlins defeated Hancock 42-0 to keep the trophy. (Eddie O’Neill/For the Gazette)

HOUGHTON — While the Hancock Bulldogs volleyball team won the Copper Spike on Thursday night, it was the Houghton Gremlins football team that evened the score on Friday night. The Gremlins shut out the Bulldogs, 42-0, and kept the Copper Bowl in Houghton, where it has been proudly displayed for the last several years.

“This was a lot of fun winning at home against your rival and getting the first win of the season,” said Gremlins coach Tim Driscoll. “Our offense was clicking, and our defense was strong.

“I was proud of our team, and the way they played.”

To say that the Houghton offense was strong was an understatement. On their first possession of the game, they marched 84 yards down the field, and Brayden Goudge capped it off with a one-yard touchdown run for six at the 9:25 mark. They scored again on their second possession and they led 14-0 after 12 minutes.

They added 16 points in the second quarter. Goudge squirmed his way into the end zone again. This time it was from nine yards out to start the second. Cael DeVoge closed out the second with a 20-yard run for six around the 3:30 mark. Brody Donnelly punched in two, and the Gremlins (1-2) now had a 30-0 lead at the half.

In short, Hancock (0-3) struggled to put any offensive drive together and struggled to stop a feisty Gremlins offense. Hancock’s coach, Jeff Hauswirth, admitted as much.

“We had a hard time blocking and tackling,” he said. “Those are key points to good football. We need consistency.”

On the other side of the field, Driscoll was pleased with the way the Gremlins played their game.

“I liked that we played our style of football,” he said. “We got back to basics and kept moving the ball down the field.”

Goudge added another touchdown in the third for the Gremlins. It was another red-zone scamper with the ball to make 36-0.

In the fourth, teammate Alex Hebert posted a 77-yard run for the end zone, and made the score 42-0 at that point.

“Brayden (Goudge) gets the football tonight,” stated Driscoll. “He did a great job of running the football. It is always a highlight of the season to get a Copper Bowl win. We now are in the meat of the season and need to focus on that.”

Up next

The Gremlins will head to Westwood for a game on Friday, Sept 19. The Bulldogs head to Gladstone that same night. Both games kick off at 7 p.m.