COPAN — Things did not go the way of the Gans Grizzlies on Thursday night as they lost their District BII-4 road game to the host Copan Hornets 56-0 in a game that ended by the 45-point mercy rule at halftime.

The Hornets (6-1 overall, 2-0 in district play) led 40-0 after a quarter, then outscored the Grizzlies 16-0 in the second quarter to put the game into mercyrule status.

First-year Gans coach Gary Hixon said miscues doomed the Grizzlies (1-6, 0-2).

“We turned the ball over a lot,” Hixon said. “We had five or six turnovers, all coming off fumbled snaps. (Freshman) Austin (Hines) was our quarterback. It was cold, and he’s not used to handling that cold leather (football) and cold hands. He couldn’t feel the football very well. We gave them a ton of opportunities, but not to take away anything from them. They are a very good ball club. They’re a very well-rounded football team. In all three phases of the game, they’re good at. Their quarterback is a big kid. Between them and Wilson, they’ll probably be the best teams we’ll see all season.”

The win put the Hornets into a tie for the district lead with the Wilson (Henryetta) Tigers, who the Grizzlies will face at 7 p.m. Friday at Grizzly Field.

“In our six-team district, those two teams (Copan and Wilson) are really good,” Hixon said.