Hancock defensive lineman David Archambeau puts pressure on Houghton quarterback Jay Halonen during last season’s Copper Bowl game at McAfee Field in Hancock. (David Archambeau/For the Gazette)

HANCOCK — For Hancock Central High School’s Chris Salani, who serves the school as superintendent, this week is one that carries a special meaning every year. This week, of course, is Copper Bowl week.

“Obviously, it’s the highlight game of the year,” he said “From my end, obviously, the family history I have, with my uncle coaching in the 50’s and 60’s, to the all my cousins from his side, and all my cousins from my dad’s other brothers, through to my brothers, and myself. Copper Bowl has always been that game that you look forward to, the proverbial game on the calendar, right? So, having that history, and having my dad as coach, growing up in the household and seeing pretty much every game for the better part of 18 years of my life, it certainly brings a different element of intensity, different element of emotion, a different element of pride as well.”

Right off the top, Chris has memories of playing the game in all kinds of weather.

“Looking back on just some things that stand out, that you have in memory, the games that were played in snowbanks, or the games that were played at 75, 80,” he said. “You kind of flip the coin, and you never know what you’re going to get at the end of October.”

As a sophomore, Chris had a chance to play in the game for the first time, instead of watching his uncle’s teams, or his father’s teams, play. That year was one where the weather agreed with the two teams.

“As a player, I was fortunate enough to win two out of three, sophomore, junior, senior, and definitely have some great memories of that,” he said. “My sophomore year, John Sebbas was our quarterback. We played at Condon Field, actually, if I recall correctly. It was a beautiful day. It was warm. Everything was in our favor.

“I guess, from that standpoint, being a home game, having the home crowd, that was my first experience as a player. Being part of that group that we had with John as the senior leader, and the rest of his senior classmates, it was a great experience for being in the first game.”

Knowing that the Copper Bowl was the rivalry game you played at the end of the season was something that was always important to Chris.

“It’s tough to put it in perspective as a younger player,” he said. “You always had it on the calendar. You looked to it, and you knew that everything that you worked towards, each game prepared you for it.

“That year, we still had a chance to make the playoffs. Although we didn’t, it put a little bit of a different sense of intensity and emotion to the game.”

Chris admits that he felt he had a responsibility to his teammates, even as one of the youngest players on the field that year.

“I had a role, and I knew what my role was as a sophomore,” he said. “From an accountability standpoint, I didn’t want to let the other players down. We had opportunities to make impacts on the game, and whether myself or the teammates, in every sense of the word, you wanted to be a Bulldog, and you didn’t want to let any of the Bulldogs down.”

His junior year, conditions at Houghton were very different. In a rainstorm where the sleet blew sideways, Chris recalls that game being much less fun to compete in.

“My junior year, we played in Houghton, and what I remember about that, it was about 37 degrees and raining sideways,” he said. “When I say flip the coin, that was one of those games where we ended up losing that game, but what you take away from that is, as a team, what you do all year long, and how you come out and you try to compete and perform. Given those elements, it definitely was a tough game to play.”

As a senior, the possibility that the Copper Bowl might be your last time playing high school football hangs over you throughout the week leading up to the game, as well as in the game itself.

“Senior year, being the last game that we play against each other, or just for that matter, playing high school football, for a lot of us, it was surreal,” he said. “Yet, it was still a great experience and, of course, we came away with the win, so that made it all the better.”

Chris went on to play college football at Michigan State, but at the time of that game his senior year, nothing was set in stone yet, so he approached that game like it was his last.

“Just going to the last game and knowing, by and large, I felt at the time I was still going to be playing football, just didn’t know where at that time, so you still take it in the approach that, well, you just never know,” he said. “Certainly, this could be your last game. That playing with a lot of your teammates, and the guys across from the line of scrimmage, that was going to be their last game. So, the level of emotion that goes into preparing for the game, the level of emotion that goes on during the game, we had a really tight group. That was the biggest thing.”

Having the game at Condon Field his senior year was something truly special to Chris, who grew across the street from the field. When he and his classmates sat in the locker room before the game, they spoke about what the game meant to them so that they could impress upon the younger players how important the game would be.

“One thing that I vividly recall is just our time in the locker room before the game,” he said. “At the time, I think we were in the mid 20s with our roster, mid-to-high 20s. Of all the guys that were seniors, and some of the juniors, there were many days that we spent together on Condon Field growing up, where you’re playing tackle football without pads. You’d go have the pickup football game. Obviously, it was right outside my door. We lived on Anthony Street, so, of course, having keys, and access to the field, we were able to have some memories that we brought back in for that game. We talked about it, and what it meant.”

In the years since that game, Chris and his wife have raised children of their own, two of which, Colton and Austin, have also played in the Copper Bowl, while Chris has been on the Hancock coaching staff.

“Having both Colton and Austin go through, they knew growing up, too, about the whole rivalry thing,” Chris said. “They knew what it meant. Both boys were fortunate to come out on winning sides of the game.”

While he did serve as one of the coaches on the Hancock staff during his sons’ games, Chris the father was proud of the way his two sons carried themselves through their own Copper Bowl experiences.

“I’ll remove myself from coaching, but (I was) very proud as a father about how the kids competed, and what it meant to them, because you just never know if they take the same, I don’t want to say onus, but take the same approach that I did, or I would have, when I was their age,” said Chris. “Certainly they represented themselves very well, having the outcomes that they had when they played, and also the performances.”

Colton played quarterback for the Bulldogs with Austin as a wide receiver, so the two boys really had to work together to succeed in their game.

“That’s something that they spent a lot of time doing,” Chris said. “In fact, that was one of the attributes that, going through, whether it be offseason, or preseason workouts, working with one another. That’s something that, as I reflect on it, both my brothers were years apart from me. The two of them, they had the opportunity, they had that connection.”

Chris admitted that, even though it was his sons playing, he still felt the same game day feelings he had as a player.

“You still get the same game day jitters,” he said. “You still approach the game similarly as you would an athlete, obviously with more maturity, with a different outlook and perspective, because obviously your job as a coach is to help the boys, or the players, perform.”

Helping out with his sons’ team also gave Chris a new perspective on how his father must have felt when he and his brothers took the field during their careers.

“It allowed me to actually think on how my dad used to feel,” he said. “He’d often make comments about game days on Saturdays at Condon, and of course, with more recent history with McAfee with lights.

“We didn’t play on Saturdays, but we’d always talk about that early morning dew on the grass, that you could smell, and walking over to the field and sitting in the stands a bit, just reflecting on your game plans.”

Chris found himself understanding what his father was talking about.

“Based on what I remember he used to talk about, and how I found myself kind of in a similar position where you’re on your game day, you start thinking about different aspects of your game-planning, different aspects of personnel,” said Chris. “All those things go into it. So, I think it was a neat opportunity first getting on the sidelines, and thinking about how he approached things, and how I managed to approach things maybe either similarly or differently.”