Hawks celebrate a win after topping Sibley-Ocheyedan 28-21
It took seven weeks of football, but the perseverance of the Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn football team has paid off. For the first time this season, the scoreboard verified that the Hawks are winners as it displayed a 28-21 victory over Sibley-Ocheyedan. With the win October 6 at Hartley, HMS improved to 1-4 in Class A District 1 and 1-6 overall.
“We asked our team to be a bunch of kids tonight and have fun,” said Hawk head coach Jay Eilers. “I know the program that we try to have as coaches and I think our kids respect it. We’ve got great men that are coaches. Every coach that we have on our staff cares about our kids. When kids know you care about them, when you’re 0-6 they’ll come out and play with their hair on fire. That’s what our kids did tonight.”
HMS rushed for 255 yards and took the ball away five times. James Gellerman intercepted two passes while the other two picks were courtesy of Slayton McCarter and Blake Meendering. Ethan Wiersma recovered a fumble.
Gellerman accounted for 233 of those rushing yards, toting the ball 47 times and scoring three touchdowns. He was also the leading tackler with six solo stops and one assist. Jack Mastbergen threw for 35 yards and rushed for a touchdown of his own.
“I compliment our kids up front,” said Eilers. “And, golly, if you were at that football game you saw a young man running with pure determination. James Gellerman was not going to take no for an answer.” The coach also singled out the performances of Mastbergen, McCarter and Meendering. Concluded the coach, “Just proud of our kids, proud of our coaches and so happy for our community and our school.”
The Hawks scored on their opening possession with Gellerman taking it in from seven yards out. Mastbergen ran for the two points. McCarter then made his interception deep in HMS territory. The poor field position cost the Hawks when their punt was blocked out of the end zone for a safety.
A low punt by HMS set up the Generals on the Hawks 35. A scrambling Kayne Julius found Tanner Gries in the end zone for an 11 yard score and the extra point gave Sibley-Ocheyedan a 9-8 lead at the half.
Momentum swung quickly in the second half as Meendering’s interception gave HMS the ball at the General 16. Gellerman capitalized with a five yard score but the two-point pass was unsuccessful and the Hawks led 14-9. The lead didn’t last for long as Dominic Marco raced 83 yards to give his team a 15-14 advantage.
Sibley-Ocheyedan recovered a short kickoff but the Hawks defense dug in and held the Generals on downs. HMS then began a 63-yard drive that culminated in a six yard touchdown run by Mastbergen. Gellerman added the two points and the Hawks were up 22-15.
Wiersma’s fumble recovery came on the kickoff and HMS was in business at the General 35. With the aid of a facemask penalty, the Hawks were able to drive to Gellerman’s third touchdown of the game. His two-point run came up short so HMS was on top 28-15 with just under ten minutes remaining in the game.
Sibley-Ocheyedan’s attempt at a rally was short circuited by Gellerman’s second pick. When they got the ball back with 5:41 left the Generals were able to drive 78 yards to cut the deficit to 28-21. Julius hit Riley Getzel with a five yard touchdown pass but the pass to tack on two more points was incomplete.
When HMS recovered the onside kick there were just over three minutes left. The Hawks were able to chew up all of that time as the excitement built to a crescendo when the final horn sounded.
Up Next:
The Hawks end the season Friday night as they host Gehlen Catholic. The Jays are 3-4 on the season and 3-2 in the district. They are coming off a 33-0 Homecoming victory over South O’Brien. “They’ve got a great running back right now,” noted Eilers. “I compliment Jeremy Schindler, their head coach. They’ve committed to running the football. Their quarterback’s doing a great job of running quarterback counter and some things like that. They’re running the ball very well and then they have always done a nice job of throwing the ball. They’ve kind of come back to being more balanced. I think their offensive line’s going to come off the ball. I think we match up well versus Gehlen. Our d-line can stop the dad gum run.”
Game time is 7:00 p.m. Friday, October 13 at Hartley.
S-O 2 7 6 6 – 21
HMS 8 0 6 14 – 28
First Quarter
6:44 S. HMS – James Gellerman 7 yard run (Jack Mastbergen 2 pt run) 8-0
2:48 S-O – Safety (punt blocked out of end zone) 8-2
Second Quarter
0:52 S-O – Tanner Gries 11 yard pass from Kayne Julius (Dougla Macias kick) 8-9
Third Quarter
7:38 HMS – Gellerman 5 yard run (2 pt pass failed) 14-9
7:18 S-O – Dominic Marco 83 yard run (2 pt run failed) 14-15
Fourth Quarter
11:23 HMS – Mastbergen 6 yard run (Gellerman 2 pt run) 22-15
9:56 HMS – Gellerman 1 yard run (2 pt run short) 28-15
3:11 S-O – Riley Getzel 7 yard pass from Julius (2 pt pass failed) 28-15
Rushing: Gellerman 47-233, 3 TD; Mastbergen 7-22, 1 TD.
Passing: Mastbergen 4-10, 35 yards.
Receiving: Slayton McCarter 1-17, Ethan Wiersma 1-14, Zach Pearson 1-6, Gellerman 1-(-2).
Leading Tacklers: Gellerman 6.5 (6 solos), Wiersma 4.5 (4), Pearson 3.5 (3), Blake Meendering 3.5 (3), Jr. Araiza 3.5 (3), Bradley Van Beek 2.5 (2).
Sacks: Adam Schierholz 1.
Interceptions: Gellerman 2-35 return yards, Meendering 1-13, McCarter 1-0
Fumble recovery: Wiersma.
Kickoff returns: Araiza 2-56.
Punts: Gellerman 3-30 (10 yd avg).