Serving O'Brien & Clay Counties
Serving O'Brien & Clay Counties
District title, quarterfinal playoff berth among accomplishments
In addition to leading his team to an 8-3 overall record in 2022, H-M-S head coach Jay Eilers was named the Class A District 1 Coach of the Year.
Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn's football team picked up where it left off in 2021, again winning an outright Class A District 1 title and earning two postseason victories.
The Hawks also compiled an 8-3 overall record for the second straight season.
Running what Hawk coach Jay Eilers calls "the oldest offense in the book," H-M-S again set a school record for points scored in a season. The 437 points scored this fall edged the previous record of 436 set a year ago. The Hawks scored at least 40 points seven times, with a season-high of 66 against MMCRU.
Defensively, H-M-S allowed 273 points. The 38 points scored by West Sioux in the opener were the most allowed in a game.
While the accomplishments on the field were impressive, Eilers focused on other things when reflecting on his second season as head coach.
"I just pray I've made as much of an impact on these kids as they have made on me," he said. "I pray that these kids know how important they are to me, these kids know how much I love them, these kids know how excited I am for their futures, because I know what they've given me. And I couldn't ask for anything else."
Seniors Ethan Baker, Lance Berends, Ryan Borden, Ethan Diehm, Landen Elwood, Elijah Groeneweg, Kooper Ebel, Keevyn Jacobsma, Travis Kamradt, Spencer McCarter, Tyson Tessum and Trenton Vollink leave a legacy that extends beyond the field.
"They're better people than football players. They are some of the best young men I've ever met," Eilers said. "The joy that they bring on a daily basis, the friendships that they have are life-long. The example that they've done for our program has created a foundation that will last many, many years. The foundation had been started before I ever got here."
Individual and team statistics for the season follow.
* Passing: Kooper Ebel 51-95, 824 yards, 6 TD, 4 INT; Jack Mastbergen 1-3, -3 yards. Team: 52-98, 53.1 percent, 821 yards, 15.8 yards per completion, 6 TD, 4 INT.
* Rushing: Ebel 268-2,511, 32 TD; Travis Kamradt 151-1,024, 15 TD; Trenton Vollink 59-374, 5 TD; Aiden Espeland 21-170, 1 TD. Team: 501-4,048, 8.1 yards per attempt, 53 TD.
* Receiving: Borden 10-286, 2 TD; Ethan Diehm 16-222, 1 TD; Kamradt 5-91, 1 TD; Keevyn Jacobsma 5-63; Tyson Tessum 3-42; James Gellerman 6-39, 1 TD; Vollink 4-36; Ethan Wiersma 1-35; Ethan Baker 1-10, TD. Team: 52-821, 15.8 yards per catch, 6 TD.
* Tackles (total/solo, tackles for loss): Ebel 78/61, 4 TFL; Lance Berends 62.5/49, 15 TFL (7 sacks); Kamradt 57/44, 1 TFL; Wiersma 51.5/41, 3 TFL; Vollink 40/31; Jacobsma 38/27, 3 TFL; Diehm 29/27; JR Araiza 27/23, 1 TFL; Borden 24.5/22; Adam Schierholz 20/12, 2.5 TFL; Spencer McCarter 19.5/15; Elijah Groeneweg 17.5/13, 6 TFL (4 sacks); Baker 17/12; Gellerman 10.5/8; Bryce Ortega 10/8, 3.0 TFL; Evan Eilers 8/7; Landen Elwood 6/5; David Wetrich 3/2; Ethan Huberg 2.5/2; Slayton McCarter, Mastbergen 2/2; Damion Hansen, Blake Meendering Ben Waddell, Espeland, Tessum, 1/1; Isaac Schierholz 0.5/0. Team: 531/418, 38.5 TFL (15.5 sacks).
* Fumble Recoveries: Berends 1-35, TD; Gellerman 1-15, TD; Borden, Eilers, Jacobsma.
* Interceptions: Ebel 3-1; Diehm 1-13; Borden 1-12; Kamradt 1-11; Vollink, Wiersma 1-0. Team: 8-37.
* Kick Returns: Diehm 14-391, 2 TD; Borden 7-72; Ebel 3-41; Kamradt 3-37; Vollink 1-5; Gellerman 1-0. Team: 29-546, 18.8 avg., 2 TD.
* Punt Returns: Ebel 4-59, 14.8 avg.
* Kicking: Ebel 38-1,749 kickoffs, 11-18 PAT; Vollink 20-704; Groeneweg 10-386. Team: 68-2,839.
* Punting/Avg.: Ebel 11-372; Diehm 1-26. Team: 12-398, 33.2 avg.
* Conversions-Points: Ebel 12-24; Kamradt 6-12; Vollink 3-6; Espeland 2-4; Borden 1-2. Team: 24-48.
