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Copper Kings fall to Braves

Justin St. Ours | Daily Press Calumet's Hans Kiilunen (16) pitches the ball to teammate Brayden Nelson (left) before Gladstone's Mitchell Cartwright (52) can reach him Friday in Gladstone.

GLADSTONE — The Gladstone Braves helped Craig Ness make his coaching debut a successful one here Friday night in a season-opening 42-13 football triumph over the Calumet Copper Kings.

“I’m more relieved to be playing some football more than anything,” said Ness. “I’d like to say we’re pretty balanced. I’m just so happy about how we played and for the kids. We’ve had some tough games with them the last 4-5 years. They always play hard. We’re just very happy.”

The Braves led 16-0 after the first quarter of the non-conference outing and extended their lead to 22-0 on a 35-yard run around right end by junior quarterback Nate Young early in the second.

A trick play got Calumet on the board with one minute, 38 seconds left in the second stanza in which senior quarterback Hans Kiilunen lateraled to senior Aksel Loukus, who then tossed a 39-yard pass to classmate Amar Patterson for its first score.

“They were running the ball well at that point and changed things on us,” said Ness. “That was a good call.”

Gladstone answered just 48 seconds later when Young completed a 39-yard touchdown pass to senior Tyler Darmogray for a 28-6 cushion heading into the halftime locker room.

The Braves marched 53 yards in six plays to open the third frame, gaining a 36-6 advantage on Young’s 22-yard aerial to junior Elliot Vitito.

Junior Alan Bjorn plowed through the middle from the one-yard line for Calumet’s second TD.

Braves’ junior Austin Solis then broke off right tackle and dashed 63 yards for his first score with 3:52 left to play.

“Hats off to Gladstone,” said first-year Calumet coach Josh Frantti. “They have a good team and executed their game plan. We have a lot of young guys stepping into new roles. I think they saw where that level is. We had a tough first half and had a couple mental breakdowns. At halftime, we challenged the kids to step up, and they responded. As a coaching staff, we need to do a better job preparing them. There’s definitely things we need to work on. We’re going back to work on Monday.”

Gladstone took advantage of a short field on its opening drive.

Following a short punt, the Braves started on the Copper Kings’ 29 with junior Eli Berthaume scoring on a one-yard run up the middle for an 8-0 lead on their fifth play from scrimmage.

The Braves made it 16-0 with 3:10 left in the opening frame when Young scrambled away from two defenders and heaved a 56-yard aerial to Darmogray.

“Their quarterback is definitely a dynamic player,” said Frantti. “You’ve got to do a good job staying home and containing him. You’re not going to completely stop him. You just have to do your best to contain him.”

Young completed 8-of-9 passes for 161 yards and three TDs and ran eight times for 84 and another score. The Braves finished with 197 on the ground.

“Nate is the complete quarterback,” said Ness. “He can run and throw. I think the kids were more excited to play than we were. I thought our line played well on both sides of the ball and set the tone. Our first touchdown was pretty important. We were guessing and guessed right. We knew what we wanted to do.”

The Copper Kings finished with 202 yards in total offense. They ran for 138 and passed for 74.

Both teams play again Thursday. The Braves host Kingsford and the Copper Kings host Negaunee.

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