A season of growth

An improved record and a playoff appearance by the Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn football team were some of the highlights of the 2024 season.

H-M-S improved its win total by two, moving to 3-6 overall and 3-3 in Class A District 1. As the fourth-place team in the district, H-M-S qualified for the postseason for the fourth time in five seasons.

First-year head coach Jeremiah Delzer is pleased with the players' attitude throughout the season.

"Just the growth from everybody, everybody's buy-in and wanting to be there, and how much we grew up and did things the right way. I was proud of that," he said. "I've got a whole bunch of really good kids who want to do things the right way. That's going to help and serve us down the road."

Delzer also appreciates the contributions of seniors James Gellerman, Damion Hansen, Jayden Leth, Jack Mastbergen, Slayton McCarter, Blake Meendering and Dominic Tripp.

"I told the seniors they should be proud because they started something and we're going to start doing this thing the right way, and it's just going to continue to grow and grow," Delzer said.

Individual and team statistics for the season are listed below.

• Passing: Jack Mastbergen 88-169, 52.1 percent, 1,206 yards, 13.7 yards per completion, 10 TDs, 11 INTs, 118.5 passer rating; James Gellerman 5-8, 62.5 percent, 29 yards, 5.8 yards per completion, 0 TDs, 0 INTs, 93.0 passer rating. Totals: 93-177, 52.5 percent, 1,235 yards, 13.3 yards per completion, 10 TDs, 11 INTs, 117.4 passer rating.

• Rushing: Gellerman 184-753, 12 TDs; Mastbergen 150-764, 4 TDs; Slayton McCarter 3-37; Blake Meendering 4-15, 1 TD; Hunter Daggett 2-10; Jayden Leth 1-6; Jackson Vogt 2-2. Totals: 346-1,587, 4.6 yards per carry, 17 TDs

• Receiving: McCarter 22-384, 2 TDs; Vogt 24-288, 5 TDs; Gellerman 17-206, 1 TD; Leth 11-203, 1 TD; Isaac Schierholz 19-151, 1 TD. Totals: 93-1,232, 13.2 yards per catch, 10 TDs.

• Total Tackles: Gellerman 59, Mastbergen 33.5, Schierholz 33, Alex Billings 31, Meendering 30, Vogt 27, Daggett 26, McCarter 14, Dominic Tripp 12, Damion Hansen, Leth, Ricky Smith, Jr. 11, Luke Dagel 9, David Wetrich 6, Mykle Meyers, Riley Wiersma 3, Lawton Schiphoff 2, Nathan Stofferan 1. Total: 322.5.

Fumble Recoveries: Mastbergen 3, Billings, Gellerman, McCarter (35-yard return) Schierholz 1.

• Interceptions: Vogt 2, Gellerman (24-yard return), Hansen, Leth (15-yard return), McCarter.

• Kick Returns: Gellerman 12-181, Vogt 8-99, McCarter 1-16, Talon Zearing 13-0. Total: 34-296 yards, 8.7 yards per return.

• Punt Returns: Gellerman 6-37, Vogt 4-0.

• Kicking: Mattis Octmann 1-1 FG (28 yards), 14-14 PATs.

• Punting: Mastbergen 18-618 yards; Gellerman 3-80 yards; Total: 21-698 yards, 33.2 yards per kick.

• Conversions-Points: Gellerman 4-8, Mastbergen 1-2.