Let's play football

After consecutive disappointing losses, Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn football players and coaches made a concerted effort to move on and focus on the next opponent. The results of Friday's game at LeMars say it all: Only one turnover, four penalties for just 33 yards, and a 22-7 win over Gehlen Catholic.

"We just had a different outlook. We were physical for four quarters. We were going to play hard," Hawk coach Tyler Horkey said.

The Hawk defense was dominating. The Jays only gained 20 rushing yards on 21 attempts. They did pass for 126 yards, but were limited to four completions in 18 attempts.

"They got one long pass, but it was well-defended," Horkey noted.

Defensive leaders were Lance Berends, five solos and two assists (3.5 for loss); Travis Kamradt, three solos and two assists; Noah Adams, Connor Dodd and Kooper Ebel, three solos; Dawson Schiphoff, two solos and two assists (2.5 for loss); and D.J. Doyle and Keevyn Jacobsma, two solos.

"Our defense was phenomenal," Horkey said. "The kids were prepared. We had our best week of practice."

The Jays' passing game was the key to their only score. Following a 40-yard reception that put the ball at the Hawk 19, Ryan Livermore connected with Zach Kraft for a 22-yard scoring pass. Livermore's PAT gave the Jays a 7-0 lead late in the first quarter.

Neither team could consistently move the football the rest of the first half.

Early in the third quarter, the Hawks put together a 10-play drive that culminated with Kamradt scoring on a 4-yard run. The conversion attempt failed, but the Hawks had cut the margin to one point.

After an exchange of punts, H-M-S took the lead early in the fourth quarter on an 11-yard run by Dodd. Ebel ran the conversion to make the score 14-7.

Gehlen Catholic's next drive ended with an interception by Ebel, the first of two he had in the game. The Hawks' running game took over and advanced the ball to the Jays' 8. After a penalty, Ebel connected with a wide-open Adams for a 21-yard touchdown pass. Ebel's conversion run made the score 22-7.

Anticipating that Gehlen Catholic's defense would load up to stop the run, H-M-S took advantage of a gap in the secondary to score the touchdown.

"We knew the middle of the field would be left open," Horkey noted.

Gehlen Catholic was able to complete a 57-yard pass late in the game, but four attempts to the end zone failed and H-M-S earned its first win in district play.

The Hawks ground out 275 yards on 62 attempts. Many of those runs, especially in the second half, were right up the middle as the Jays' defensive alignment was geared to limit H-M-S's pitch plays.

"We knew what we could run against that," Horkey noted. "We got four or five carries on sneaks, maybe more. That's unheard of. It came down to our offensive line playing so great."

Ebel led the balanced ground attack with 94 yards Dodd rushed for 88 yards, Schiphoff ran for 55 and Kamradt added 38.

H-M-S finished with 90 passing yards on seven completions. Adams had 38 receiving yards on three receptions, Mason Brinkman had 33 yards on two receptions, Dodd had one catch for 13 yards and Schiphoff's reception was good for six yards.

• Next up: at MMCRU

H-M-S (2-2, 1-1) is back on the road Friday night, traveling to Marcus to take on MMCRU. The Royals (1-3, 0-2) lost to South O'Brien, 34-0, last week.

"They're showing improvement," Horkey said. "They have great athletes. They'll give us a fight."

H-M-S expects the Royals' offense to be similar, but what they will feature defensively may be a question mark. The Hawks will continue to focus on improvement and achieving their goals.

• Results/schedule

Scores for Sept. 18

H-M-S 22, Gehlen Catholic 7

Lawton-Bronson 42, Akron-Westfield 21

South O'Brien 34, MMCRU 0

Games for Sept. 18

H-M-S at MMCRU

Akron-Westfield at South O'Brien

Lawton-Bronson at Gehlen Catholic