The goal was to win

Winning the final game of the regular season would give Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn its second straight outright Class A District 1 championship. The Hawks achieved that goal, defeating Akron-Westfield, 41-8, on Oct. 14 at Peterson Field.

It's the first time in 25 years that H-M-S has won back-to-back district titles with unbeaten records. The Hawks topped the District 1 standings at 6-0 in 2021 and 2022.

"I'm extremely proud that we're [No. 1] in the district. I think that puts us in a great position moving forward in the second season, and that's going to be great for us," said Hawk coach Jay Eilers.

A nearly seven-minute drive to open the game put H-M-S in control, with Kooper Ebel scoring on a six-yard run. Ebel would score twice more in the half on a one-yard run early in the second quarter and on a 56-yard scamper with a 59 seconds remaining. Trenton Vollink added an 11-yard scoring run in the second quarter to help H-M-S build a 29-0 half time advantage. The Westerners were held to one first down in the half.

"I think we came out pretty well early. I thought our kids executed. I thought we ran hard," Eilers noted. "Defensively we pursued to the ball."

H-M-S was hampered by penalties and negative-yardage plays in the second half. Akron-Westfield began to move the football, advancing to the Hawk 16 before stalling. Ebel scored on an 86-yard run and then the Westerners put together their best drive which culminated with a 13-yard scoring pass.

Ebel scored his fifth touchdown with 7:30 left in the game to close out the 41-8 win.

"I think our kids just kind of felt like, 'Hey, it's over.' There's a lax, and that's a difficult situation because I think there was a gap in athleticism and physicality, and we didn't always show that gap," Eilers acknowledged.

Even so, the Hawks accomplished what they set out to do.

"The goal was to win and we did exactly that," Eilers said. "Our kids did a good enough job to win, and win handily."

Ebel finished the game with 257 rushing yards on 19 attempts, while Trenton Vollink ran for 126 yards on 21 carries.

Ebel also completed 3-of-5 passes. Ethan Wiersma caught one for 35 yards and Ethan Diehm had two receptions for 13.

The Westerners were limited to 44 rushing yards but gained 152 through the air.

"I thought our (defensive) effort was very good. Our open field tackling is not where we expect it; it's not where our kids expect it," Eilers said. "I know they're going to be prepared and be ready to go moving forward."

Defensively, Ebel topped the tackle chart with 7.5 total stops, including six solos. Lance Berends had 6.5 tackles (five solo), and Wiersma and Vollink each had five (four solo), with the latter adding an interception.

Other tackle leaders were Spencer McCarter 4/3, Adam Schierholz 4/2, Elijah Groeneweg 3.5/2, Diehm 3/3, JR Araiza and Ethan Baker 2.5/2, and Ryan Borden 2/2.

• Next Up: North Union

H-M-S hosts North Union (5-3) Friday night in the first round of the Class A playoffs. The Warriors finished fourth in District 2 with a 3-3 record.

"I know there's going to be a lot of excitement having a playoff game at home. What a great opportunity for our kids, our school, our administration and our community," Eilers said.

North Union had two common opponents with H-M-S, losing to West Hancock (60-27) while defeating Alta-Aurelia (35-27). Their play selection and yardage were approximately two-thirds run and one-third pass. They gained 1,447 yards on the ground on 198 carries and passed for 787 yards, completing 53-of-104 attempts.

The Hawks' preparation process for the playoff opener will not change. Eilers' biggest concern after last week's game was the health of several players.

"The injury bug is very concerning to me," he said. "They're injured, and they're injured where they cannot play right now. To try to get off that injury bug is going to be big for us to move forward and accomplish the goals we have."

Winners of first-round games will be placed in four-team pods to determine pairings for the second round on Oct. 28.