Playing the game the right way

When an athletic team is struggling to win games, any "firsts" are important. Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn achieved some of those during its Homecoming game on Sept. 22.

H-M-S scored the initial touchdown, led at half time and led at the end of the third quarter – all for the first time this season. But those accomplishments were not enough as Kingsley-Pierson scored twice in the final period to earn a 34-24 win.

The Hawks' early success was due to the style of football they played.

"I thought that was an exceptionally physical football game because there were two teams out there playing the game the right way, and that's absolutely physical," Hawk coach Jay Eilers said. "I thought we did it at a level that was so much higher than we've seen so far this year."

After catching a pass in Panther territory, James Gellerman scored on a 30-yard run to put H-M-S in front, 8-0. Slayton McCarter then intercepted a pass, but the Hawks failed to take advantage. A short punt gave the Panthers good field position and they responded with a 24-yard run that cut the lead to 8-7.

Gellerman capped H-M-S's next drive with another touchdown run, extending the margin to 16-7. Kingsley-Pierson answered to make the half time score 16-15.

Aided by a penalty after a reception by McCarter early in the second half, the Hawks scored on Gellerman's third touchdown run.

Kingsley-Pierson came right back to cut the deficit to 24-21. They were threatening late in the third quarter when McCarter came up with his second interception at the Hawk 2.

Penalties and a short punt gave the ball back to K-P at the Hawk 33. The Panthers took their first lead on a 17-yard scoring pass. After intercepting a pass, K-P scored again to make the final score 34-24.

The Hawks rushed for 215 yards and passed for 115. But injuries hampered the offense as the game progressed.

"With some of the injuries that we had in the second half, we were kind of limited in those situations and I think that hurt us offensively," Eilers acknowledged.

Two areas were especially concerning to the Hawk coach.

"We've got to improve the penalties, and penalties are always on the head coach. The margin is too thin to win with the penalties that we're giving in a game," Eilers said. "I thought our special teams were a hindrance. I've got to do better."

No H-M-S stats were posted as of press deadline.

• Next Up: at South O'Brien

A pair of teams hungry for their first win will meet Friday at Paullina. South O'Brien is a very familiar opponent and Eilers knows what both teams want to accomplish.

"They're going to be very similar to us. They're going to run the ball. They're going to be very physical. Again they're going to tackle physical," Eilers noted.

Several areas will be crucial to both teams' success.

"This is going to be a battle of the trenches. Linebacker play is going to be critical. Who's going to stop the run and who's going to take advantage of big plays in the passing game when they're available," Eilers said. "Who makes the plays on those and then who takes away their pre-snap penalties. We've got to do it. It's got to be us."