Sieg runs wild in Hornet victory

Two fourth quarter scores for Harvey-Wells County turned a slim six-point lead into a 20-point victory, as the Hornets started the season 1-0 by defeating the Rugby Panthers in Rugby on Friday, August 19.

Both the Hornets and Panthers were pretty conservative to start the night, but HWC got the scoring rolling on their second possession. It only took a couple of plays but the highlight was a 48-yard scamper by Kayl Sieg, setting up a three-yard touchdown run from Tallen Thorson. The PAT was incomplete, giving HWC a 6-0 lead.

Rugby scored on the very next possession, also on a short possession drive. Two short complete passes came from Brody Schneibel, before Jacob Ripplinger reeled off a 59 yard scoring catch and run and with the missed PAT, the game was tied at six.

The Panthers took their only lead of the night midway through the second quarter. Schneibel rambled for a 22-yard run, and then found Bryceton Deplazes on a 25-yard strike before Macen Heisler scored from five yards out. The PAT run from Taytum Risovi gave Rugby a 14-6 lead.

HWC followed the visitor scoring off with another score. Sieg rushed the ball 44 yards on four carries, before Thorson found Gabe Allmaras for 13 more yards. Thorson once again found the endzone on a one- yard plunge, and with the Sieg PAT run, the game was tied at 14.

The Hornets had their chance to score late in the first half, as they moved the ball down to the Panther 17-yard line where the drive was stopped on downs.

The Hornets took the lead for good on their second drive of the second half. A pass from Thorson to Sieg for 22 yards was followed up by a pass to Allmaras for 12 and then to Jaxon Feist for 13, moving the ball to the six yard line. From there, Thorson found Keaton Keller on a six yard scoring strike and with the missed PAT, the Hornets led 20-14.

The Hornet defense stepped up on the ensuing Panther drive, as Rugby moved the ball down to the HWC two yard line. Schneibel was stopped for a loss of four to end the third quarter, and then a botched snap ended up at the 20-yard line where Rugby turned the ball over on downs.

It didn't take HWC long to turn the Panther miscues into points, as Thorson found Sieg with a 76-yard scoring pass, and with the PAT pass to Allmaras, moved the score to 28-14 with 10 minutes to play.

Rugby continued to move the ball behind Schneibel, but couldn't find paydirt. The Panthers had completions of 33 and a run of 16 to move the ball deep into HWC territory, but a sack by Allmaras and a great defensive effort at the six-yard line once again gave the Hornets the ball back deep into their own territory.

The final scoring drive of the night was a long one starting at the HWC six yard line. The drive had some big plays as HWC converted on three big 3rd down plays and ended up scoring on a pass from Thorson to Keller from five yards out to make the final score 34-14.

Statistically, sophomore Kayl Sieg had a monster game with 271 yards rushing and 116 more receiving for a whopping 387 all purpose yards. Sophomore quarterback Tallen Thorson connected on 16-of-33 passes for 254 yards, with Allmaras leading the way with seven catches for 74 yards.

Allmaras also led the defense with 12 tackles and three sacks, while Keaton Keller had two sacks and Jadyn Vollmer had one interception.

Class 11B Region 2 Football

HWC 34, Rugby 14

HWC 6 8 6 14 - 34

Rugby 6 8 0 0 - 14

First Quarter

HWC: Tallen Thorson 3 yard run (pass failed)

Rugby: Jacob Ripplinger 59 yard pass from Brody Schneibel (pass failed)

Second Quarter

Rugby: Macen Heisler 5 yard run (Taytum Risovi run)

HWC: Thorson 1 yard run (Kayl Sieg run)

Third Quarter

HWC: Keaton Keller 6 yard pass from Thorson (pass failed)

Fourth Quarter

HWC: Sieg 76 yard pass from Thorson (Gabe Allmaras pass from Thorson)

HWC: Keller 5 yard pass from Thorson (pass failed)

HWC Statistics

Offense

Passing: Thorson 16-33-254 yards-3 TD

Rushing: Sieg 23-271; Thorson 10-3-2 TD

Receiving: Sieg 3-116-TD; Allmaras 7-74; Keller 5-51-2 TD; Jaxon Feist 1-13

Defense

Tackles (unassisted/assisted): Allmaras (4-8); Sieg (1-3); Alex Smith (1-3); Thorson (0-3); Brock Fike (3-0); Jadyn Vollmer (0-3); Keller (1-2); Maddix Martinson (0-2); Frank Richter (1-0); Feist (0-1); Harrison Lies (0-1); Manning Buchmiller (0-1); Kevin Bender (1-0); Gavyn Schuh (1-0)

Sacks: Allmaras 3, Keller 2, Lies

Interception: Vollmer