GLENVILLE &045; There was good news and bad news for the Glenville-Emmons Wolverines.

The bad? The Mabel-Canton Cougars are not only tough, but loaded with underclassmen. The good? They’re not in the Wolverines’ division of the Southern Confederacy Conference.

Mabel-Canton, playing nine-man football for the first time after moving down from Class A, handed the Wolverines a season-opening 45-8 setback at Glenville Thursday night.

“They’re a good football team,” said Wolverines head coach Andy Baumgartner. “And they’re young. They’re mostly juniors, and they play 12 freshmen. I’m not taking anything away from them, but we should have played them closer.”

Baumgartner was especially hoping for a better showing on defense.

“We talked very poorly,” said the coach.

The Wolverines scored their lone touchdown with 45 seconds remaining on a 2-yard run by Tyler Boyum.

For the night, the Wolverines rushed for 109 yards and threw for 103.

Quinton Sand, a 5-foot-10, 165-pound sophomore, scored three touchdowns for Mabel-Canton, which is joined in the East Division of the conference by Grand Meadow, Houston, Lanesboro, LeRoy-Ostrander and Spring Grove. The West includes G-E, Alden-Conger, Cleveland, Granada-Huntley/East Chain, Lyle/Austin Pacelli and Nicollet.

The Wolverines travel to Spring Grove Friday.