Hornets keep pace with win over Aggies

Harvey-Wells County scored 14 first quarter points and scored a touchdown in every other quarter, and the HWC defense held Park River Area to just a single touchdown in each of the final three quarters, as the Hornets claimed a 35-18 over the Aggies in a Homecoming game victory on Saturday, September 16, at L.C. Loerch Field in Harvey.

The Hornets started the game with a 33-yard strike from Tallen Thorson to Keaton Keller down to the PRA 27-yard line. The big play was ever important, as the Hornets turned the ball over on the next play, giving the Aggies the ball in their own territory.

HWC's defense, which has been very impressive in the last two games, stopped the Aggies on three plays, getting the ball back for the Hornets' first scoring opportunity. The Hornets moved the ball 61 yards on nine plays, using 44 yards of rushing to score the touchdown. Kayl Sieg took the ball in from 20 yards out, and Carter Laber's extra point kick gave HWC a 7-0 lead.

The Hornets wasted little time in getting the ball back, as they recovered an Aggie fumble on the first play of the next PRA series. Keller's end around for 14 yards set up a 25-yard pass from Thorson to Sieg to add another seven points to the Hornets' score, as the home team led, 14-0, after one quarter.

Park River Area found their way into the scoring column on the first play of the second quarter. The seven-play, 62-yard drive was highlighted by a 35-yard pass from Jace Rosinski to Everett Fedje. Another 20-yard pass to Brennan Schramm set up a Rosinski one-yard plunge for the score. The PAT pass failed, and the HWC lead was cut to 14-8.

HWC got a nice return on the kickoff by Jaxon Feist to their own 45-yard line. Sieg rolled off a nine-yard and a 30-yard run on consecutive plays, setting up a 15-yard pass to Tyler Swang. The Hornets used four plays and a little luck to get into the endzone. On fourth down, the snap was bobbled, but picked up by Sieg, who scampered in from two yards out. Laber added the PAT kick, and HWC led, 21-6, at the half.

PRA got the scoring started on their second drive of the second half. A 35-yard pass from Rosinski to Emmitt Miller set up a two-yard scoring run from Rosinski to move the score to 21-12. The Hornets had an answer for the Aggie drive, using just three plays to score. Sieg's 60-yard run set up a five-yard run from Thorson, and with another PAT from Laber, the score was 28-12 after three.

The Aggies once again scored on the first play of the fourth quarter. A nine- yard pass from Rosinski to Miller capped an eight-play, 38-yard drive. The PAT pass was incomplete, but PRA pulled to within 28-18.

The Aggies had another fantastic chance to cut the lead to either three or four points. With just over eight minutes to play, the Hornet defense stopped the Aggies on four consecutive plays from inside the two-yard line. The possible game-changing defensive effort gave life to the Hornet offense, as they moved the ball 98 yards on the next drive. Christian Mertz started the drive with a 15-yard run which was followed up by runs of 23 and 38 by Sieg, moving the ball to the PRA 22-yard line. Several plays later, Jaxon Feist scored from two yards out on a reverse action play, giving HWC the score. The PAT was added for a 35-18 lead. The Hornet defense played solid in the last couple of minutes, sealing the 17-point victory.

Sieg led the highlights for the day, as the junior tallied 192 rushing yards on 17 carries and scored three times. Sieg also led the defensive effort with 11 tackles. Boston Fike and Christian Mertz each tallied seven tackles for the Hornets, who improved to 4-1 on the season.

The Hornet defense forced three important Aggie turnovers, with Nixon Buchmiller getting an interception and fumble recovery.

Class A - Region 2 Football

HWC 35, Park River Area 18

PRA 0 6 6 6 - 18

HWC 14 7 7 7 - 35

First Quarter

HWC: Kayl Sieg 20 yard run (Carter Laber kick)

HWC: Sieg 25 yard pass from Tallen Thorson (Laber kick)

Second Quarter

Park River: Jace Rosinski 1 yard run (pass failed)

HWC: Sieg 3 yard run (Laber kick)

Third Quarter

Park River: Rosinski 2 yard run (pass failed)

HWC: Thorson 5 yard run (Laber kick)

Fourth Quarter

Park River: Emmitt Miller 9 yard pass from Rosinski (pass failed)

HWC: Jaxon Feist 3 yard run (Laber kick)

HWC Statistics

Offense

Passing: Thorson 6-8-97 yards-TD

Rushing: Sieg 17-192-2 TD; Thorson 7-62-TD; Christian Mertz 10-60; Keaton Keller 2-17; Feist 1-3-TD

Receiving: Keller 1-36; Sieg 1-25-TD; Tyler Swang 2-18; Feist 1-9; Mertz 1-9

Defense

Tackles (assisted/unassisted): Sieg (4-7); Mertz (5-2); Boston Fike (5-2); Keller (2-4); Alex Smith (1-4); Thorson (1-2); Gavyn Schuh (3-0); Izaak Richter (2-0); Jadyn Vollmer (2-0); Feist (1-1); Frank Richter (1-1); Nixon Buchmiller (0-2); Andrew Williams (0-2); Grant Anderson (1-0); Collin Meckle (1-0); Jon Bender (0-1)

Sack: Mertz

Tackles for Loss: Bender, F. Richter, Sieg, Thorson

Interception: Buchmiller, Thorson

Fumble Recovery: Buchmiller