Deserving what they earned

Last Friday night's cold and windy conditions were the perfect backdrop for the kind of football Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn wants to play – run the ball and be solid on defense.

The Hawks did both as they won their playoff rematch with Gehlen Catholic, 38-6, at Peterson Field in Hartley.

The Class A state playoff qualifier banner presented after the game highlighted the fact that for the first time, H-M-S had won a second-round postseason game.

"That was H-M-S football. They deserve what they've earned," Hawk coach Tyler Horkey said. "Our guys came to play. They were prepared for what they needed to do."

The Hawks knew what to do defensively to counter the Jays' passing attack.

"Our plan was to pressure them with the blitz on the edge," Horkey noted. "It helps we have the athletes to do it."

Those athletes spent a lot of time in the Jays' backfield, where they recorded 12 tackles for loss, including nine sacks. Keaton Graves led the defense with three sacks, Lance Berends had 2.5 and Mason Brinkman and DJ Doyle finished with 1.5 sacks.

Graves led all defenders with 15 total tackles, Berends had 12.5, Doyle had 12, Kooper Ebel had six and Connor Dodd and Kayl Jacobsma added four.

The offense was also prepared, especially if the Jays focused on stopping H-M-S's outside runs. The answer was to attack the middle of the field, which meant steady doses of Ebel and Graves carrying the ball. The Hawk quarterback gained 178 yards on 27 attempts while Graves ran for 115 yards on 22 carries.

"We knew [Gehlen] would try to take away the edge," Horkey said. "We tried to hit the edge just to keep them honest."

The Hawks' first drive set the tone, with Graves carrying the ball five times, including a dive into the end zone. After recovering a Gehlen Catholic fumble on defense, Ebel was the featured runner in H-M-S's second scoring drive. He scored the touchdown and Graves added the conversion to make the score 14-0.

Following an interception deep in their territory, the Jays' completed an 83-yard pass to get on the scoreboard. Ebel blocked the PAT, but the lead was cut to 14-6.

With just 1:35 left in the half, the Hawks put together a 68-yard scoring drive. After losing yardage on two penalties, Noah Adams' 11-yard reception set up Ebel's scoring run with one second on the clock. That made the halftime score 20-6.

Berends' punt block early in the third quarter gave H-M-S the ball at the Jays' 10. Ebel scored his final touchdown three plays later. Later in the quarter, a fourth-down sack set up the offense in Jays' territory. Graves capped the drive with a 15-yard scoring run.

Early in the fourth quarter, H-M-S came up with another fourth-down sack on Gehlen Catholic's end of the field. Graves scored his final touchdown as well as the conversion, making the final score 38-6.

Horkey credited the entire offense for generating 296 rushing yards in the game.

"It was them just playing together as a unit," he said.