Copper Kings football doubles up Gremlins
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CALUMET -- The last time the cross-canal rivals, the Calumet Copper Kings and Houghton Gremlins, met on the football field, the Copper Kings posted a 46-0 shutout of their opponent. That was in October 2025.
Friday, a completely different script played out at Agassiz Field in Calumet. While the Copper Kings won 14-7, it was anything but a blowout. In fact it was a scoreless game until halfway through the third quarter.
At 0-0 and 24 minutes of football under their belt, both coaches knew what needed to happen in the last 24 minutes of this 2026 opener.
"With the Gremlins having a new coach (Eli Luoma), I knew they were going to play us tough," said Copper Kings coach Josh Frantti. "So we needed to make some adjustments. That included reminding our guys what their jobs were on the field. When they did those jobs we had success."
The Copper Kings first success came at the 6:35 mark of the third quarter when Calumet got into the red zone. On second down Keith Koivisto punched in a six-yard scamper for six points. The extra point was good on the kick from Oskar Loukus and the Copper Kings led 7-0.
Fast forward a quarter, and Koivisto was at it again finding daylight for a touchdown run of three yards, and another six points. Add the extra point from Loukus, and the Copper Kings led 14-0 with less than five minutes to go.
However, the Gremlins were not going to be shut out again. Quarterback Brody Donnelly drew up a pass play in the end zone and hit Michael Solena with the ball in the numbers for a touchdown at around the 2:45 mark. With their extra point good, it was now a 14-7 Calumet lead.
Interestingly, Houghton was successful in an on-side kick, but could not find the end zone as the clock wound down.
As for the player of the game, Frantti didn’t hesitate on awarding it to more than one – his defense.
"The game ball goes to the defense," he said. "They kept the Houghton offensive from earning the big play."
Despite the loss, Houghton’s coach Luoma was quite happy with his team’s effort.
"It was a tough loss but we put up a good battle," said Louma. "We showed a toughness as our kids played so hard. I loved the effort as they didn’t give up till the last whistle. I am proud of them for how they played."
The Copper Kings ran 50 plays for 270 yards, 255 of which came on the ground. The Gremlins answered by running 40 plays for 164 yards, with most of that coming from quarterback Brody Donnelly, who threw for 115 yards in the contest.
Loukus was 1-for-1 through the air for 15 yards on the day. He also ran 22 times for 105 yards. Koivisto ran eight times for 74 yards and two touchdowns.
Trent Anderson ran the ball 12 times for 73 yards. He was also the top Calumet defender, making eight tackles.
Donnelly went 8-for-12 through the air for Houghton, for 115 yards and a touchdown. His favorite target was Solena, who made six catches for 103 yards and the touchdown.
Up next
Both teams are on the road this Thursday. The Copper Kings will travel to Westwood, and the Gremlins will be in Kingsford. Both games will kick off at 7 p.m.