West Hancock wins battle of Top 10 teams

Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn knew what was coming when West Hancock had the football, but that didn't make it easy to stop them.

Class A's No. 1-ranked team rushed for 354 yards on 66 attempts while preventing H-M-S [No. 10] from having any offensive consistency during a 20-6 win last Friday at Britt.

Hawk coach Jay Eilers was most disappointed that his players' hard work and effort didn't pay off with a victory.

"We came here to win and we didn't quite get it," he said afterward.

The Hawks did not touch the ball until the 5:47 mark of the first quarter, but it took them just one play to take a 6-0 lead on a 37-yard pass from Kooper Ebel to Connor Dodd. The score was set up by Landon Elwood's fumble recovery, which was the game's only turnover.

West Hancock's formula for success asserted itself in the second quarter. Mathew Francis did the legwork on every play but one during a 73-yard drive. His 33-yard run tied the score at 6-6.

Except for a 10-yard pass, Francis also carried the load during the Eagles' next scoring drive. His 2-yard run and conversion attempt put them in front, 14-6, at the half.

A 50-yard run by Logan Leerar in the third quarter gave West Hancock a two-score advantage. Another pair of long drives ate up much of the clock in the second half.

"Defensively we bowed our neck, and bowed our neck and bowed our neck. And you're going to continue to bow your neck and get into third and shorts and those things," Eilers said.

West Hancock's scoring drives took nine, 10 and 15 plays, while two others lasted 16 and 12. The Eagles ground out 19 first downs compared to three for the Hawks, whose two longest drives were eight plays each.

Eilers said prior to the game that H-M-S had to value the three and 3-1/2 yard offensive plays and string them together. They did that at times, but not consistently.

"When we weren't getting the three, that's putting us against the sticks and that is where we were," he noted. "We're going to evaluate this game and make sure that it makes us better. We struggled offensively. That's on me."

The kicking game was a bright spot for H-M-S.

"We felt like the punting game could be a change of field position and it came out to be exactly what it was," he said. "Jordan [Ortega] does a great job back there, our front line does a great job and we do a good job of covering."

Individual and team stats for H-M-S were not posted prior to press deadline.

• Next up: vs. Hinton

The Hawks' Homecoming game opponent Friday night is Hinton. The Blackhawks feature a versatile offense and have decent size.

"They like to run the power read with their quarterback and the run game/pass game similar to the option," Eilers noted. "They do have some big kids up front."

The coach wants to see the Hawks create more turnovers in the game at Peterson Field.

"I think we can get back to a position where we can start taking the ball away," Eilers said. "I think we can be in a good position to do that. It's going to be our job to get up and play Hawk football and do our job early."

Eilers wants the players to take advantage of the Homecoming experience while focusing on game preparation.

"It's about our kids and it's about them enjoying it," Eilers said. "As a football team we always have a responsibility, but I want them to enjoy the heck out of it."

CLASS A DISTRICT 1

Scores for Oct. 1

West Hancock 20, H-M-S 6

Akron-Westfield 45, Hinton 28

Alta-Aurelia 43, MMCRU 0

South O'Brien 42, Gehlen Catholic 24

Games for Oct. 8

Hinton (1-5, 1-3) at H-M-S (4-2, 4-0)

Akron-Westfield (2-4, 2-2) at South O'Brien (5-1, 3-1)

Alta-Aurelia (4-2, 3-2) at North Union (3-3, ND)

Gehlen Catholic (3-3, 2-2) at MMCRU (0-6, 0-5)