They answered the call

Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn stayed true to its identity while South O'Brien showed some new wrinkles when the two teams clashed Sept. 9 at Peterson Field in Hartley.

The Wolverines had some success throwing the football but it was not enough to offset the Hawks' physical style of play. The result was a 22-6 win that keeps H-M-S atop the Class A District 1 standings.

"I thought we played very physical. Our physicality is what we asked our kids to do," said Hawk coach Jay Eilers. "Just proud of our kids, of the way we stepped up. I felt we were in some tough positions a couple of times, but each time we answered the bell."

Being physical was a difficult task against the Wolverines' blitzing defense.

"They had so many people at the line of scrimmage," Eilers said. "We want to get multiple people through the hole and they limited that, based on their blitz package."

The Hawks still had a productive rushing attack. Travis Kamradt recorded 29 carries for 161 yards. His 39-yard run in the first quarter was the initial score of the game.

Kooper Ebel carried the ball 22 times for 172 yards. He scored on a 51-yard run in the second quarter and again on an 11-yard run with 39 seconds left in the half.

H-M-S also had success in the passing game. Ethan Diehm had two catches for 21 yards, Ryan Borden had one for 27 yards and Trenton Vollink had one for 12.

The Wolverines challenged H-M-S's secondary, especially in the first quarter, when they appeared to have scored twice on receptions in the end zone. Fortunately for H-M-S, both plays were negated by penalties.

Trailing 14-0, the Wolverines scored their touchdown with 5:06 left in the first half.

Eilers said that South O'Brien attempted to play "2-on-2" offensively because H-M-S struggled the week before against Gehlen Catholic's passing attack. The Wolverines only rushed for 25 yards on 18 attempts but passed for 100 yards.

Defensive adjustments eventually paid dividends as H-M-S only allowed one first down in the second half.

"We had to adjust twice and then had to adjust a third time to really get what we wanted," Eilers noted. "We moved Lance Berends around. We played him at defensive end, at D-tackle and at nose. We've got to continue doing that because that kid wreaks havoc."

Berends finished with four total tackles, three of which were for losses. Other tackle leaders (total/solo) were Ebel, 6.5/5; Kamradt, 5/4; Trenton Vollink and Diehm, 3.5/3; Ethan Baker, Elijah Groeneweg and Ethan Wiersma, 2.5/2; and Keevyn Jacobsma, 2.5/1.

Eilers was pleased with the Hawks' resiliency during the game.

"I know [South O'Brien] matched out toughness many times, but we continued to answer the call. We continued to find ways," he said.

• Next Up: MMCRU

H-M-S hosts MMCRU on Friday at Peterson Field. Eilers anticipates the Royals will also attempt to challenge H-M-S's defense by getting the ball out into space.

"Based off scores, they're much improved. I know they're going to be ready to play."

Staying focused during a busy week of Homecoming activities will be important.

"You can't let Homecoming activities affect our process," Eilers observed. "I love Homecoming but the process can't change. The process has to stay the same."