The Official Newspaper for Foster County
The Official Newspaper for Foster County
Harvey-Wells County put together two important things against Bottineau, and the result was a dominating win against a one- loss team as they routed the Braves, 35-14, on Friday, September 20 at L.C Loerch Field in Harvey.
The two things that the Hornets excelled at were defensive pressure and the ground game. HWC, behind three sacks each from Tyler Swang and Christian Mertz, accumulated eight sacks overall, and had seven other plays that went down as tackles for loss, including three more from Swang and two from Mertz. The Hornet ground game piled up 300 rushing yards, with two Hornet players reaching at least 130 yards each.
The HWC defense held the Braves to -5 yards on their first two possessions, but the visitors got the first score of the game on their third drive. After moving the ball 35 yards in seven plays, quarterback Emerson Marum found Conner Guss for a 36-yard touchdown pass. Nik Halvorson's extra point kick gave the Braves a 7-0 lead after the first quarter.
The Hornets' first scoring drive was a short one, as it took just five plays and covered 55 yards. Tallen Thorson had a 40-yard run on a 3rd-and-8, which set up a nine yard scoring run from Kayl Sieg with 6:30 left in the second quarter. Carter Laber made the first of five PAT kicks, tying the game at seven.
Two great defensive stands from HWC resulted in two three-play drives for the Braves. The Hornets found the end zone one more time with just 23 seconds remaining in the half. A 43-yard run from Thorson on 3rd and 11 moved the ball deep into Brave territory, where Sieg got his second scoring run from four yards out, giving HWC the halftime lead of 14-7.
The Hornets used just 13 seconds of the second half to cash in on their third score. Sieg took the handoff, sprinted through the middle of the Bottineau defense and then turned the jets on as he scored easily from 67 yards out. With the point after, HWC's lead moved to 21-7.
Another great defensive stand from HWC resulted in just three more Bottineau plays before the Hornets got the ball back. HWC used a lot of the clock, taking nine plays on the next drive. The offense had three penalties, but were able to take nearly seven minutes off the clock before giving the ball back to the Braves at their own 15.
Bottineau clicked again on their passing game late in the third, as Marum connected for 16 yards to Tukker Fedje, 11 yards to Khaliel Abdurrahman, 17 yards to Toby George, eight yards to Will DeMontigny and then hit Landen Solberg for a 39-yard score. The PAT kick from Halvorson drew the score to 21-14 early in the fourth.
Bottineau's next play was an onside kick which was successful, giving the Braves new life at midfield. Three straight incompletions and a sack by Kiefer Finley ended the drive about where it started, and gave HWC the momentum. Thorson connected with Swang for 15 yards and then Sieg rambled off three runs in a row for 19 yards, setting up a Thorson touchdown run of 11 yards. The PAT from Laber was good, and the lead was back to 14 at 28-14.
Swang's tackle for a loss of three and Rylend Whetzel's sack and loss of six put a quick stop to the Braves next possession. Sieg again rushed three times for 31 yards, while Christian Mertz added another nine yard burst for HWC. Thorson once again found the end zone for a two-yard score and the lead moved to 35-14.
Bottineau's last possession was 10 plays long, but sacks from Swang and Mertz during the drive was devastating for the Brave offense as they turned the ball over on downs with just over a minute to play.
Thorson and Sieg led the Hornet ground attack, with Thorson finding some open room when he couldn't find a receiver. The senior quarterback ran for 152 yards, while the workhorse Sieg rushed 15 times for 133 yards. Swang led all receivers with 47 yards on three catches.
Swang and Mertz were dominating on defense, as they recorded 10 and seven tackles, respectively. Nixon Buchmiller also recorded a nice sideline interception for HWC.
The win moves HWC to 2-3 overall and 2-1 in regional play. The loss dropped Bottineau to 2-1 in Region 2 and 3-2 overall.
Class A - Region 2 Football
HWC 35, Bottineau 14
Botno 7 0 0 7 14
HWC 0 14 7 14 35
First Quarter
Bottineau: Conner Guss 36 yard pass from Emerson Marum (Nik Halvorson kick)
Second Quarter
HWC: Kayl Sieg 9 yard run (Carter Laber kick)
HWC: Sieg 4 yard run (Laber kick)
Third Quarter
HWC: Sieg 67 yard run (Laber kick)
Fourth Quarter
Bottineau: Landen Solberg 39 yard pass from Marum (Halvorson kick)
HWC: Tallen Thorson 11 yard run (Laber kick)
HWC: Thorson 2 yard run (Laber kick)
HWC Statistics
Offense
Passing: Thorson 8-14-73 yards-INT
Rushing: Thorson 15-152-2 TD; Sieg 15-133-3 TD; Christian Mertz 3-12; Jaxon Feist 1-5; Tyler Swang 1-(-2)
Receiving: Swang 3-47; Feist 2-16; Nixon Buchmiller 1-10; Mertz 1-4, Sieg 1-(-4)
Defense
Tackles (unassisted/assisted): Swang (8-2); Mertz (6-1); Dominik Hoffart (3-2); Kyson Zerr (1-3); Sieg (3-1); Easton Schuh (1-3); Porter Johnson (1-2); Thorson (3-0); Kiefer Finley (2-1); Rylend Whetzel (2-1); Buchmiller (3-0); Andrew Williams (2-1); Feist (2-0); Laber (1-0); Luke Heitmann (0-1); Isaac Keller (0-1)
Sacks: Mertz and Swang 3, Whetzel 1, FInley and Johnson 0.5
Interception: Buchmiller
Tackles for Loss: Swang 3, Mertz 2, Finley, Johnson
