A winless football team going against one of the top teams in the state creates all sorts of mismatches and the Glenville-Emmons football faced that dilemma Friday against Houston, the No. 4-ranked team in the state.

Entering the game the Wolverines (0-5, 0-5) looked to save face and as head coach Derek Nelson said the team did as well as it could have against the Hurricanes in a 54-10 loss.

“Basically all we told them this week was, ‘Forget about who Houston is, forget about how good their record is,’” Nelson said. “You have to make sure as an individual you beat the guy across the ball and don’t worry about what else is going on around you. As long as you beat that guy across the ball, everything else will fall into place.”

Houston scored less than a minute into the game when Brett Benson caught a 16-yard pass from Andy Sires. The Hurricanes (5-0, 5-0) turned it on in the first quarter adding five more touchdowns before it ended and led 41-0. Benson caught another touchdown pass in the quarter and also returned an interception for a touchdown in the first quarter.

Glenville-Emmons did get on the board in the second quarter when Garret Schumaker scored from one yard out before the half ended to make the game 54-7. The Wolverines went on to add a 35-yard field goal by Michael Thofson in the third quarter for the 54-10 final.

The Hurricanes finished the game with 308 yards of total offense, with 207 of those coming on the ground. Glenville-Emmons compiled 101 yards of total offense.

The Wolverines had a tough time handling the speed of Houston both offensively and defensively. Running plays to the sidelines were quickly snuffed out by the Hurricane defense and and their offense was aided by the swift feet of of Trent Kerrigan and Kevin Lindh.

Glenville-Emmons is in the midst of a 17-game losing streak and the weight of the streak can add up, but Nelson has the team keeping a positive attitude.

“I tell them, ‘Football is more than just winning. It’s about an experience, an experience you’re going to live with the rest of your life,’” Nelson said. “It’s all what you put into it.”

Nelson said he was impressed with how the team maintained a positive attitude after a big loss. The team is already focused on its next challenge, Spring Grove where Nelson feels the Wolverines have an opportunity to end the streak.

“They were still pretty up and positive about things,” Nelson said. “The main thing is we’ve got Spring Grove to look forward to and that can be our ‘W’ for the year. Spring Grove is down. There’s no reason why we can’t beat them. That’s what we’re looking forward to.”

Houston 54, Glenville-Emmons 10

Houston – 41 13 0 0 – 54

G-E – 0 7 3 0 – 10

First Quarter

Houston – Brett Benson 16 pass from Andy Sires (Nick Henderson kick)

Houston – Trent Kerrigan 6 run (kick failed)

Houston – Benson 53 pass from Sires (Henderson kick)

Houston – Kerrigan 38 pass from Sires (Henderson kick)

Houston – Kevin Lindh 4 run (Henderson kick)

Houston – Benson 31 inteception return (Henderson kick)

Second Quarter

Houston – Alex Blexrud 7 run (Henderson kick)

Houston – Chris Stackhouse 70 interception return (run failed)

G-E – Garret Schumaker 1 run (Michael Tofson kick)

Third Quarter

G-E – Tofson 35 field goal

Fourth Quarter

No scoring

Total offense

Houston – 308

G-E – 101

Total rushing

Houston – 207

G-E – 61

Total passing

Houston 101

G-E – 40