Striving for consistency

On a night when every team in Class A District 1 struggled to score in their season opener, Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn put together two second-half drives that offered glimpses of better things to come.

West Sioux built a commanding lead in the first half, taking advantage of turnovers and the Hawks' inability to consistently move the football. H-M-S then reached the end zone twice in the second half to close out a 49-14 loss on Aug. 31 in Hartley.

The Falcons scored two first-quarter touchdowns, one coming on an interception return. Leading 21-0 early in the second quarter, West Sioux scored on a pair of one-play drives, one set up by a long kickoff return.

"Obviously, we just weren't quite ready on some different looks that we were given," acknowledged Hawk coach Jeremiah Delzer. "We've got to be more ready and that obviously starts with me in the preparation, making sure that we're good on things and that we're able to do things."

H-M-S was limited to one first down in the opening half and was hampered by penalties and turnovers throughout the game. West Sioux's first score in the second half was set up by an interception while a fumble put the Falcons in position for their final score.

"We can't get to Step B if we aren't executing Step A very well," Delzer noted. "It's a couple of things, especially up front where I need to do a better job of 'this is what we're going to do' and the kids can buy into their techniques and fundamentals, and then we'll get there."

A 16-play drive culminated with a two-yard scoring run by James Gellerman. After forcing West Sioux to punt, H-M-S scored in the final seconds on a 12-yard pass from Jack Mastbergen to Jackson Vogt. Octmann Mattis kicked both PATs to make the final score 49-14.

"Our message was let this second half define the rest of our season, not the first half define the rest of our season," Delzer said. "Obviously we shored up a little bit defensively and we got stops that we needed to, and offensively we had a little bit more success in moving the ball."

The Hawk defense forced two West Sioux turnovers. Damion Hansen intercepted a tipped pass in the first half and Isaac Schierholz recovered a fumble in the third quarter.

No stats for the game were available as of press deadline.

• Next Week: vs. Alta-Aurelia

H-M-S and Alta-Aurelia will be seeking their first win when they meet Friday in Hartley. Delzer anticipates the Hawks will see an offense similar to the one they faced last week.

"I don't known a ton about them. I know off the film study they're going to do similar things to what West Sioux will do," he said. "They're going to give you a lot of different looks and stress the defense, so be ready for a similar type game where we've got to be ready with a good defensive game plan."