Field position, turnover are 'deal-breakers'

Teams whose offenses are predicated on controlling the line of scrimmage battled in the wind and rain Friday night at Peterson Field. Gehlen Catholic would win the fight, scoring a late touchdown in each half to hand Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn a 16-8 loss.

H-M-S landed the first blow, scoring on a 60-yard run by James Gellerman.

"We were able to run power early," Hawk coach Jay Eilers noted. "I thought James did a great job. I felt like they had somebody there second level, and James just made a guy miss. From then on we snuck that right out the front door and got down there."

Eilers credited good blocking, especially by Blake Meendering and Damion Hansen, on the successful counter play for the two-point conversion.

The Hawks also had the early advantage in the field position battle. But Gehlen Catholic began to flip the field, driving deep into H-M-S territory late in the first quarter and starting their next possession near midfield. That drive would end with a short scoring run to deadlock the score at 8-8 with 34 seconds left in the first half.

"We kind of lost the line of scrimmage a little bit there for a while," Eilers admitted. "I felt like their running back was getting to the second level before we could get contact."

Both teams had trouble moving the ball due to the worsening weather conditions in the second half. The Hawks' initial drive was stopped short at the Jays 25. As they did in the first half, Gehlen Catholic eventually used field position to their advantage.

The biggest turning point came with seven minutes left in the game. H-M-S lost a fumble at their 38 and the Jays capitalized, scoring the go-ahead touchdown on a 21-yard run. The two-point conversion made the score 16-8.

Eilers credited Gehlen Catholic with making a critical half-time adjustment, for they had not run the scoring play in over 200 that he had seen on film.

"The turnover giving them the short field was a deal-breaker," he admitted. "I can't imagine trying to take a snap in that weather. It wasn't because of a lack of effort. It wasn't because of a lack of execution. It was just a tough situation to be in."

H-M-S's last drive failed to gain a first down and the Jays ran out the clock.

Gellerman finished with 174 yards on 31 rushing attempts, which proved to be the all the offense H-M-S would have.

Gellerman was a force on defense, recording 11 total tackles. Other tacklers were Ethan Wiersma 7.0, Evan Eilers 5.0, Slayton McCarter, Bradley Van Beek and Meendering 4.0, Jayden Leth and Ethan Huberg 3.0, and JR Araiza and Adam Schierholz 2.5.

"To be a team [Gehlen Catholic] that has been spread, that I thought had been finesse for a couple of years, to come out and be as physical as they were is a huge compliment to their coaches and players," Eilers observed. "I think our kids were playing hard. As physical as we were at times, to lose the battle in the trenches was a deal-breaker."

H-M-S concludes the season with an overall record of 1-7 and was tied for sixth in Class A District 1 with a 1-5 mark.

A summary of the 2023 season will be featured in a future issue of the Sentinel-News.