×

Calumet Copper Kings shut out Gwinn Modeltowners football team, 55-0

CALUMET — Calumet High School’s explosive and efficient offense, along with its suffocating defense gave the Gwinn football team more than it could handle in a 55-0 victory Friday night in Calumet.

The Copper Kings blew the game open with 28 first-quarter points, then tacked on 21 more in the second for a big 49-point lead at halftime.

Calumet was highly efficient scoring as it created that impressive lead in just 14 plays. The defense was just as dominant, holding Gwinn to minus-1 rushing yards.

This was the third win in a row for the Copper Kings, with one win via forfeit over West Iron County, as they improved to 3-2.

“We’ve really been focused on our stuff — fundamentals — and just getting back to (what) we do well,” Calumet coach Josh Frantti said. “Gwinn is a little beat up, but just the execution and the mistakes we made early (in the year) are starting to disappear, and you can see that.”

Gwinn fell to 0-5, though this was the first time since the season opener that the Modeltowners weren’t really competitive after losses of 22-8 to Manistique, 12-0 to L’Anse and 33-18 to Hancock.

Frantti and his staff knew going in that the Modeltowners were suffering from struggles in the win-loss column.

“We knew Gwinn was down, and the message to the kids was to focus on us,” he said. “The kids did a good job of staying in the game and executing even when it started to roll a little bit.”

Calumet had 321 yards of offense, while Gwinn managed 134.

Amar Patterson had five carries for 83 yards and two TDs, while Danny Loukus rushed for 71 yards on seven tries with a score.

Teammate Aksel Loukus added two rushes for 57 yards and a TD to go with an 80-yard kick return for a touchdown. Brayden Nelson ran three times for 55 yards and a score, then added a blocked punt return for six points. Garrett Peterson got into the end zone and carried the ball three times for 55 yards.

Aksel Loukus took the opening kickoff 80 yards for a touchdown and a 7-0 lead 14 seconds in.

Leading 21-0 in the latter stages of the first quarter, Gwinn attempted a punt that was blocked when Calumet’s Alen Bjorn broke into the backfield. Nelson scooped up the loose ball and returned it for a score to make it 28-0.

Gwinn did get its offense rolling briefly in the second period, though two plays into the Copper Kings’ initial second-quarter possession, senior Amar Patterson made a 35-yard scamper that resulted in a touchdown 3:06 in.

Gwinn found something on the next time it had the ball, completing a 58-yard pass before turning it over on downs.

A running clock in the second half slowed Calumet’s scoring spree, with Peterson getting the first TD more than six minutes in on a 37-yard dash that made it 55-0.

Gwinn threatened to score late in the game, but the Kings’ Cam Anderson intercepted a pass to preserve the shutout.

Newsletter

Today's breaking news and more in your inbox

I'm interested in (please check all that apply)
Are you a paying subscriber to the newspaper *
   

Starting at $4.62/week.

Subscribe Today