The Official Newspaper for Foster County
The Official Newspaper for Foster County
The final game of the season for Harvey-Wells County didn't disappoint, as the excitement was at a high and the scoring matched that level.
In a game that featured two teams that had much better plans for the 2022 season, HWC was playing their final game and standing at 2-5 on the season, while Grafton was 0-7 with a game against Rugby on October 14 to finish their season.
The teams battled for the first half, but a stingy Hornet defense shut the door on the Spoilers in the second half to lift HWC to a 52-28 season finale victory at L.C. Loerch Field in Harvey on Friday, October 7.
The Hornets opened the Parents' Night game with one of their four seniors finding the end zone, as Gabe Almaras plowed his way across the goal line from a yard out, capping a seven-play, 73 yard drive. The PAT from Tallen Thorson to Allmaras gave HWC a quick 8-0 lead.
Grafton would have an answer to the initial HWC score as they also moved the ball, mostly through the air. Chance Burns's one-yard run capped off the nine play, 63-yard drive. The PAT from quarterback Tony Villarreal to Braylon Baldwin knotted the score at eight.
After a four-play drive for HWC stalled, Grafton went back to the air, as Villarreal found Baldwin on a 45-yard scoring strike. The PAT failed, and the Spoilers led 14-8 after one quarter.
The second quarter was one for the books, as 46 combined points were put on the board. At one point, five touchdowns were scored in 5:48.
Keaton Keller got the Hornets started with a two- yard score and with another PAT from Thorson to Allmaras, HWC took a 16-14 lead, one that they would not relinquish for the rest of the game.
The Hornet defense forced the first three-and- out of the game, and gave the ball back to the offense. Four plays later, Kayl Sieg broke through the middle for a 15-yard score and with the PAT pass from Thorson to Keller, HWC led by 10 at 24-14 with 5:54 remaining.
A sack by senior Harrison Lies started the next series for Grafton, as they lost 12 yards and were moved back to their six-yard line. A fantastic over the shoulder catch and run by Chance Burns resulted in a 94-yard touchdown pass from Villarreal, keeping the Spoilers close. The PAT pass to Kruiser Burns pulled Grafton to within 24-22.
With 3:23 remaining, Thorson found Jaxon Feist for a 34-yard score and the two point conversion by Carson Heilman was good, moving the lead back to 10 for HWC. Grafton once again had an answer late in the half, as Braylon Baldwin took the ball in for a four yard score with 20 seconds left in the half, cutting the Hornet lead to 32-28.
With everyone thinking the half was pretty much over, Thorson ran the ball once to move the clock to 14 seconds. On the next play, Thorson found Keller on a slant-in pass, and he did the rest as he outsprinted the Spoiler defense for a 63-yard score with six seconds left on the clock. The Hornets picked up their fifth PAT of the game, as Sieg got the extra point run, putting a huge dagger in the Grafton momentum and taking a 40-28 halftime lead.
The third quarter is more of what fans would think of when watching an 11 man football game - long drives and minimal scoring. Grafton got the ball to start the second half and kept the ball on offense for a majority of the third. The Spoilers moved the ball 53 yards on 12 plays, but the HWC defense stood tall as they forced a turnover on downs at the HWC five-yard line.
With 95 yards to go for the HWC offense, the Hornets took the challenge and ran out the rest of the third quarter on the drive. The second play of the fourth quarter saw Sieg scamper in from seven yards out, culminating a 13-play, 95- yard drive using seven runs and six pass plays to get the job done. The PAT pass failed, and HWC led 46-28.
Grafton continued to move the ball into the fourth as the Hornet defense once again caused a turnover on downs at the HWC 14 yard line. Another senior, Brock Fike, got into the scoring column on the next Hornet drive, as he plunged in from a yard out for the final score of the game ending an 11-play, 86-yard drive to make the score 52-28.
Senior Dawson Noyes, playing in his final game, made the highlight film on the Spoilers' last drive, as he intercepted a pass at the 45-yard line and returned it to the Grafton 23 yard line to give the ball back to the HWC offense to run the clock out and secure the 24-point victory.
Statistically, the Hornets amassed a total of 538 yards on offense. Thorson threw two touchdown passes and amassed 381 yards through the air. Keller was the biggest recipient of those passes, as he hauled in nine for 173 yards. Allmaras also eclipsed the 100- yard mark with six catches for 101 yards.
Sieg kept the Grafton defense honest with a solid running game, rushing the ball 22 times for 141 yards.
Defensively, HWC recorded two sacks (Keller and Lies) and two interceptions (Jadyn Vollmer and Noyes) and were led once again by Allmaras with 11 tackles.
Class 11B Region 2 Football
HWC 52, Grafton 28
Grafton 14 14 0 0 - 28
HWC 8 32 0 12 - 52
First Quarter
HWC: Gabe Allmaras 1 yard run (Allmaras pass from Tallen Thorson)
Grafton: Chance Burns 1 yard run (Braylon Baldwin pass from Tony Villarreal)
Grafton: Baldwin 45 yard pass from Villarreal (pass failed)
Second Quarter
HWC: Keaton Keller 2 yard run (Allmaras pass from Thorson)
HWC: Kayl Sieg 15 yard run (Keller pass from Thorson)
Grafton: C. Burns 94 yard pass from Villarreal (Kruiser Burns pass from Villarreal)
HWC: Jaxon Feist 34 yard pass from Thorson (Carson Heilman run)
Grafton: Baldwin 4 yard run (pass failed)
HWC: Keller 63 yard pass from Thorson (Sieg run)
Fourth Quarter
HWC: Sieg 7 yard run (pass failed)
HWC: Brock Fike 1 yard run (run failed)
HWC Statistics
Offense
Passing: Thorson 23-27-381 yards-2 TD
Rushing: Sieg 22-141-2 TD; Heilman 3-9; Fike 3-7-TD; Allmaras 2-4-TD; Thorson 3-(-4)
Receiving: Keller 9-173-TD; Allmaras 6-101; Feist 2-66-TD; Fike 6-41
Defense
Tackles (unassisted/assisted): Allmaras (5-6); Fike (4-3); Jadyn Vollmer (1-4); Harrison Lies (4-1); Sieg (2-2); Dawson Noyes (1-3); Izaak Richter (0-3); Heilman (1-2); Keller (1-1); Thorson (1-1); Gavyn Schuh (1-0); Dominik Hoffart (0-1); Andrew Fry (1-0); Quinton Deede (0-1)
Sacks: Keller, Lies
Tackles for Loss: Allmaras, Keller
