The Brandon Blackhawks with the Milk Can Cup after their 35-14 win over the Martians on Thursday night.  Photo by Mo Voyer.

By David Fleet

Editor

The Milk Cup will stay in Brandon.

Kevin Bickett raced for four touchdowns as the Blackhawks topped the Martians 35-14 in the Battle of M-15 on Thursday night at a packed Roy U Stacey stadium in Goodrich. The win is the second straight for the Blackhawks and the debut for new coach Brad Zube.

“We are very proud of our team it was a great first win,” said Zube, following the game.  “However, I give a lot of credit to Goodrich. They are a very well coached and disciplined team–their front seven on defense is outstanding. Our defense stepped up too, holding the Martians to just six first downs all night. “

The game was tied going into the fourth quarter when the Blackhawks scored 21 unanswered points.

“Our kids really hung in there especially our defense who kept us in the game until the fourth quarter. These August games are tough to play when it’s warm out. We have several players on offense and defense that do not come off the field all night.”

For the past year the Blackhawks have kept the Milk Can Cup, the trophy awarded to the winner of the rivalry. The can was donated by Brandon Township’s Cook’s Farm Dairy and is a symbol of both communities’ rich farming tradition. Each year the score and date are etched on the cup, with the winning team keeping the cup until the next meeting.

While retaining the Milk Can Cup is great, Zube is already looking forward to the Dexter game next week.

“We have to get better in several area, but it was a nice way to start a season,” he said.

According to the Michigan High School Historical Game-by-Game results, the Brandon-Goodrich rivalry dates back to 1952 and continued until 1992. Goodrich now leads the series 30-13.

Bickett rushed for 50 yards on seven carries with one touchdown and caught eight passes for 99 yards and two touchdowns. He also returned a 51 year kick for a touchdown. On defense, Bickett had two interceptions, a fumble recovery and made nine tackles.

Blackhawk quarterback Kevin Grigereit completed 10 of 16 passes for 122 yards and two touchdowns

Blackhawks Joey Lovasz had 10 tackles, Bryce Chamberlin 10 tackles, two sacks and Mike Nicaj 13 tackles

Team        1q  2q  3q  4q   Final

Brandon   7     7    0    21      35
Goodrich  0    7     7    0        14