West Hancock wins the battle of heavyweights 31-18
In a highly anticipated battle of top ten teams September 30 at Hartley, it was number one West Hancock remaining undefeated with a 31-18 victory over Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn. The Eagles scored late in the first half following a fumble recovery and then returned the second half kickoff deep into HMS territory to set up another touchdown and take an 18-6 lead.
The non-district loss dropped the Hawks to 4-2 on the season with all four wins coming in Class A District 1. Both Hinton and Gehlen Catholic improved to 3-1 in the District with wins Friday night. HMS and Hinton square off this Friday at Hinton. The Hawks defeated Gehlen earlier in the season.
“Them coming out and scoring as quickly as they did on offense in that first series of the second half was difficult for us to swallow,” commented HMS head coach Jay Eilers. “I’m extremely proud of our kids’ commitment to playing hard. I think it’s a part of their DNA to play as hard as they do. I’ve got to make sure that they’re in the best position to be successful and do a better job than what I did tonight.”
West Hancock quarterback Mitchell Smith ran for 147 yards and two touchdowns and threw for 89 yards and two more scores. Rylan Barnes caught all nine of those passes, frequently working the sidelines. “That’s what’s disheartening – not stepping up to make a play at some point,” said Eilers “That’s tough.”
Eilers saw a number of different looks from the Eagles on film. “One of the things that they are significantly different at this year is the multiple formations,” noted the coach. “We broke down 12 formations that they ran and they’re going to find one of them that works. It’s hard to cover 12, especially when some of them, percentage-wise, they only did it three percent of their snaps. They’re coached well enough that they’re going to find things that work. That’s what they did against us tonight.”
The Hawks actually out-gained West Hancock from scrimmage 296 yards to 251 but that doesn’t take into account the long kickoff return by the Eagles. Kooper Ebel gave the game a second dual-threat quarterback as he ran for 129 yards and two touchdowns and threw for another 104 yards. Ethan Diehm caught three passes for 62 yards including a 44-yard touchdown reception. Travis Kamradt added another 63 yards on the ground and caught two passes for 17 yards.
Eilers thought both teams defended the run well but he did take note of something. Said the coach, “I know there were piles when we were on defense and those piles were moving against us. And offensively when there were piles it was not moving in our favor. I was disappointed we weren’t the most physical football team. But that’s something we have to look into to find out why and either fix it or we need to adapt and be something better than what we can be. But I know our seniors. I know the leadership we have with those guys. These kids are going to come back on Monday hungry to play football.”
A scoreless first quarter ended with Ebel breaking a long run to the West Hancock 21. Ebel converted on fourth-and-one and later scored from a yard out. Kamradt was stopped short on the two-point run and HMS led 6-0.
Smith used his legs to drive the Eagles into HMS territory then found Barns for the touchdown. A two-point pass was incomplete and the game was tied 6-6. A fumble gave the ball back to West Hancock at midfield. The Eagles then used up most of the remaining 2:20. Barnes’ receptions were instrumental on this drive and his catch with 17 seconds left gave the visitors a 12-6 lead at halftime.
Following intermission, the long kickoff return by Jaxen Peterson set the Eagles up at the HMS three yard line and Kale Zuehl scored on the next play. He couldn’t find paydirt on his run for two points and the West Hancock lead was 18-6.
The Hawks were forced to punt and Smith’s 46-yard touchdown run plus the PAT kick upped the lead to 25-6. Needing a big play, HMS got it in the form of the TD hookup between Ebel and Diehm. Again HMS could not convert for two points and the score was 25-12.
The Eagles were then on the move again. Aided by a pass interference penalty, West Hancock was able to punch it in with Smith adding a second rushing touchdown. The kick was missed and the Eagles led 31-12. The Hawks next drive ate up the final 5:13 of the third quarter. HMS scored two plays into fourth on an Ebel run. He wasn’t as successful on the try for two points, leaving the Hawks 13 points in arrears at 31-18. Ryan Borden successfully recovered the onside kick but the possession ended in an interception. Neither team could do much on offense for the remaining 8:31 and West Hancock left town with the win.
Up next: HMS and Hinton will bring identical 4-2 records into Friday night’s game. The Blackhawks’ losses were to Gehlen Catholic and Woodbury Central. They are coming off a 22-7 victory over Akron-Westfield. “We’re going to play a really good Hinton team,” noted Eilers. “They’ve got a receiver who is extremely fast and extremely athletic. They’re doing a lot of things formationally, from being in the ‘bone to moving their two fullbacks in the ‘bone around, going unbalanced, going balanced, moving things around, multiple formations so they will have our full attention. I know that will be a big game, so (West Hancock) can hurt for 24 hours or 48, and then it’s gone. After 48 it can’t be with us anymore.”
Kickoff is 7:00 p.m. Friday, October 7 at Hinton.
WH 0 12 19 0 – 31
HMS 0 6 6 6 – 18
Second Quarter
8:09 HMS – Kooper Ebel 1 yard run (2 pt run failed) 6-0
4:42 WH – Rylan Barnes 14 yard pass from Mitchell Smith (2 pt pass failed) 6-6
0:17 WH – Barnes 15 yard pass from Mitchell Smith (2 pt pass failed) 6-12
Third Quarter
11:44 WH – Kale Zuehl 3 yard run (2 pt run failed) 6-18
9:17 WH – Mitchell Smith 46 yard run (David Smith kick) 6-25
6:57 HMS – Ethan Diehm 44 yard pass from Ebel (2 pt run failed) 12-25
5:13 WH – Mitchell Smith 15 yard run (kick failed) 12-31
Fourth Quarter
11:51 HMS – Ebel 6 yard run (2 pt run failed) 18-31
Rushing: Ebel 27-129, 2 TD; Travis Kamradt 18-63.
Passing: Ebel 10-18, 104 yards, 1 TD, 1 int.
Receiving: Diehm 3-62, 1 TD; James Gellerman 4-17; Kamradt 2-17; Keevyn Jacobsma 1-8.
Leading Tacklers: Kamradt 7.5 (6 solos); Ebel 7 (5); Ethan Wiersma 5 (4); Lance Berends 4 (3); Gellerman 3.5 (3); Trenton Vollink 3 (2), Jacobsma 3 (2).
Kickoff returns: Diehm 2-27, Ebel 1-22, Kamradt 1-15, Vollink 1-5.
Kickoffs: Ebel 4-160.
Punting: Ebel 3-74 (24.7 avg).