Hawks fight off challenge from Gehlen to win District opener
Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn never trailed in its 44-34 District win over Gehlen Catholic Friday night at Hartley. That being said, going to 1-0 in Class A District 1 proved to be anything but easy. The Jays responded to a 16-0 deficit with a pair of second-quarter touchdowns to cut the HMS lead to 16-14 at halftime. Twice the Hawks pushed the lead to a three-score margin and twice Gehlen answered with a touchdown.
“I thought we did a lot of good things early in the first quarter,” remarked HMS head coach Jay Eilers. “We got up 16 and we just kind of felt like ‘Hey, we can cruise here’ maybe. But there were some things that we needed to fix. It was nice to see the film at halftime and talk to our kids and adjust two things.”
Eilers noted that the Jays played hard and had taken away a couple of things that HMS had done well in the early going the week before against West Sioux. “I tip my hat to their coaching staff because Gehlen Catholic was a lot better this week than they were last week,” said the Hawk head man. He quickly added, “Hey, we were a lot better than we were last week, too.”
The coach spoke in more detail on the halftime refinements. “We made an adjustment with how we brought power, slightly, with one person,” explained Eilers. “We found trap. Trap is very successful. And again, I need to do a better job in the single wing of spin, and I think we spun better in the second half, and we spun more, and it made our offense better. It’s tough on linebackers.”
On the evening the Hawks rushed for 460 yards on 48 carries. “I feel like our o-line stepped up today,” commented Eilers. “We did an exceptional job. And it does not happen without an offensive line. Those kids, Lance Berends, Nick Bronstad, Adam Schierholz, Wyatt Borden, Jesse Garcia and Keevyn Jacobsma, those kids don’t get their names called and for them to do what they did for our team tonight – those young men, they brought it.
Quarterback Korey Ebel led HMS with 235 yards on the ground and three rushing touchdowns. He also completed 4 of 5 pass attempts for 104 yards and was the team’s leading tackler with seven stops, including four solos. “Kooper showed why he’s such a great football player,” stated his coach. “What he does defensively. He makes big hits. Offensively, I was extremely pleased with his progression in the passing game this summer and at fall camp and I think he’s done a phenomenal job. You talk about the speed of the game and, sometimes, the speed of the game is slowed down by talent, and sometimes the speed of the game is slowed down by knowledge. And you look at this kid, he’s got ‘em both. He knows this offense inside and out, and that’s just a football IQ that is amazing and, obviously, he is a young man of extremely high talent.”
Connor Dodd contributed 202 yards rushing and scored a pair of touchdowns. Mason Brinkman accounted for the other score on a 13 yard reverse. Ryan Borden wound up the leading receiver as his one reception netted 48 yards. Travis Kamradt totaled 5.5 tackles, including four solos. Berends had four tackles and a sack late in the game.
Eilers indicated the defensive line put more heat on Gehlen quarterback Connor Kraft as the game wore on. “I felt later in the game our d-line stepped up and was playing at the level that we’re going to ask them to play consistently,” remarked the coach. “We tried to create rotations tonight amongst four and five guys, but we’ve got to get pressure on quarterbacks if they’re going to be throwing the ball like they were.”
Up Next: HMS hits the road for the first time Friday night in the latest installment of the rivalry game with South O’Brien. This is the District opener for the Wolverines who downed Sioux Central 14-8 at home and then outlasted Sheldon 34-28 in two overtimes on the road. “For us to be successful next week against South O’Brien, we’re going to have to score almost each possession,” said Eilers. He further explained, “We’re both going to be pounding the rock and that’s going to make the clock go extremely fast, which is going to shorten the game.” Game time is 7:00 p.m. Friday, September 10 at Paullina.
Gehlen 0 14 13 6 – 33
HMS 16 0 20 8 – 44
First Quarter
7:14 HMS – Connor Dodd 10 yard run (Kooper Ebel 2 pt run) 8-0
0:56 HMS – Mason Brinkman 12 yard run (Ebel 2 pt run) 16-0
Second Quarter
8:15 Gehlen – Keaton Bonderson 55 yard pass from Connor Kraft (Bonderson 2 pt pass for Kraft) 16-8
5:35 Gehlen – Bonderson 52 yard pass from Kraft (2 pt pass failed) 16-14
Third Quarter
11:24 HMS – Ebel 8 yard run (Ryan Borden 2 pt run) 24-14
10:27 Gehlen – Ryan Livermore 51 yard pass from Kraft (Livermore kick) 24-21
8:45 HMS – Ebel 11 yard run (2 pt run failed) 30-21
4:47 HMS – Ebel 46 yard run (2 pt run failed) 36-21
4:36 Gehlen – Aiden Spangler 65 yard kickoff return (kick blocked) 36-27
Fourth Quarter
2:31 HMS – Dodd 11 yard run (Ebel 2 pt run) 44-27
0:19 Gehlen – Livermore 6 yard pass from Kraft (2 pt pass failed) 44-33
Rushing: Ebel 19-235, 3 TD; Dodd 21-202, 2 TD; Travis Kamradt 2-17; Brinkman 2-14, 1 TD; R. Borden 3-10; James Gellerman 1-2.
Passing: Ebel 4-5, 104 yards; Dodd 0-1.
Receiving: R. Borden 1-48, Dodd 1-36, Brinkman 1-10, Kamradt 1-10.
Leading Tacklers: Ebel 7 (5 solos); Kamradt 5.5 (4); Lance Behrends 4 (3 solos, 1 sack); Dodd 3.5 (2); Keaton Graves 3.5 (2); Keevyn Jacobsma 3.5 (2); Brinkman 2.5 (1); Adam Schierholz 2.5 (1).
Interceptions: Ebel 1-13.
Kickoff returns: Dodd 3-44.
Punt returns: Dodd 1-25.
Kickoffs: Ortega 7-132.
Punting: Ortega 4-154 (38.5 yard avg.).