Defense reigned supreme but Calumet did just enough offensively to come away with a 14-8 victory at Westwood on Friday.
Calumet marched down to the Westwood 25-yard line on their opening possession but were stopped on fourth down. However the Copper Kings got the ball back one play later, recovering a fumble at the Patriot 29-yard line. Once again the Westwood defense came up with a stop deep in their own territory as the two teams shut each other out in the opening quarter.
The game’s first score occurred with 43 seconds left in the first half as Calumet quarterback Scott Loukus connected with Dean Loukus on a ten-yard touchdown pass. The two-point conversion put the Copper Kings ahead 8-0 going into halftime.
Westwood opened the third quarter with a 40-yard drive into Calumet territory but turned the ball over following a fourth down incomplete pass. The Copper Kings responded with a 60-yard touchdown drive that lasted 4:49, capped by a 35-yard fourth down touchdown toss from Loukus to Nick Djerf. The conversion failed and Calumet led 14-0 after three quarters.
Westwood got within one yard of the endzone midway through the fourth quarter but a Calumet goal line stand preserved the shutout. The Patriot defense forced the Kings to punt from their own endzone, setting up a 32-yard scoring drive that was capped by a five-yard rushing touchdown from Chad Pohlman. Patriot quarterback Taylor Dellangelo connected with Mason Mariuzza on the two-point try to bring Westwood within 14-8 with 55 seconds left but the ensuing onside kick was unsuccessful.
Calumet moves to 3-0 while Westwood drops to 1-2 on the season. The Patriots return to action on Friday, September 20th at archrival Ishpeming.