Hornets rout Spoilers, 53-14

Harvey-Wells County continues to dominate their opponents on the football field as the regular season comes to an end in just a short two weeks.

The latest team to feel the Hornet wrath was the Grafton Spoilers, as the rushing game helped put up 35 second quarter points and the defense shut down all aspects of the Spoiler offense in a 53-14 win on Friday, October 4 at L.C. Loerch Field at Veterans Memorial Park in Harvey.

It took a couple of possessions, but the Hornets found the scoring column after a fumble recovery by the HWC defense. Four running plays totaling 29 yards set up a touchdown run that was overturned by a holding call. HWC rebounded, and two plays later, Tallen Thorson scored on a 37-yard run. The PAT failed, and the Hornets held the first lead at 6-0 with 2:51 left in the first.

After forcing the Spoilers into a turnover on downs at the HWC 8-yard line, Kayl Sieg went for a 90-yard run, and then scored from one yard out. Christian Mertz was good on the PAT, and the Hornets moved out to a 14-0 lead. A three-and-out led to another short drive of two plays, as Thorson ran in from 27 yards out. The PAT pass failed, and the lead grew to 20-0.

Two more scores from the Hornets in the second quarter may have been averted with some time-consuming measures, but HWC took complete advantage of the time they got. Jaxon Feist was the recipient of both scoring passes, as they came from 10 and 27 yards out. Laber kicked both PATs, and the score at the half was 41-0. Tyler Swang had two sacks, one leading to a turnover, and HWC blocked a punt to set up short fields for the Hornets as the half ended.

With a running clock, the second half whizzed by. Grafton got on the board midway through the third as a long pass from Brody Lillemoen to Kyler Droog set up a four-yard score from Shaiden Thomas. The PAT from Lillemoen to Droog made the score 41-8.

The Hornets answered with a 30-yard run from Kyson Zerr to set up a one- yard plunge from Laber to move the lead back to 47-8. HWC scored once more in the fourth on a six-yard scamper from Zerr to push the HWC lead to 53-8.

The Spoilers got on the board once again with 20 seconds remaining in the game on a 14 yard pass from Easton Hansel to Alexzander Galarza, which ended the game at 53-14.

Statistically, Sieg led the team in rushing with his fourth 100-yard game of the season as he amassed 117 yards on 11 carries. Thorson and Zerr both had nice games on the ground with 71 and 78 yards, respectively. Feist led HWC with 59 yards receiving on three receptions.

Defensively, HWC was solid once again. Wyatt Lies led the team with five tackles, but Tyler Swang solidified the defense in the first half with three sacks. The Hornets collected three fumble recoveries and also had an interception. Thorson led a group of five Hornets who had tackles for losses against the Spoilers.

Class A - Region 2 Football

HWC 53, Grafton 14

Grafton 0 0 8 6 14

HWC 6 35 6 6 53

First Quarter

HWC: Tallen Thorson 37 yard run (kick failed)

Second Quarter

HWC: Kayl Sieg 1 yard run (Christian Mertz run)

HWC: Thorson 27 yard run (pass failed)

HWC: Jaxon Feist 10 yard pass from Thorson (Carter Laber kick)

HWC: Feist 30 yard pass from Thorson (Laber kick)

HWC: Avery Williams 19 yard pass from Thorson (Laber kick)

Third Quarter

Grafton: Shaiden Thomas 4 yard run (Kyler Droog pass from Brody Lillemoen)

HWC: Laber 1 yard run (pass failed)

Fourth Quarter

HWC: Kyson Zerr 6 yard run (kick failed)

Grafton: Alexzander Galarza 14 yard pass from Easton Hansel (PAT not attempted)

HWC Statistics

Offense

Passing: Thorson 4-7-78 yards-3 TD; Laber 0-2-0

Rushing: Sieg 11-117-TD; Zerr 7-81-TD; Thorson 4-71-2 TD; Mertz 3-20; Feist 2-9; Easton Schuh 2-1; Laber 1-1-TD; Tyler Swang 1-1

Receiving: Feist 3-59-2 TD; Williams 1-19-TD

Defense

Tackles (unassisted/assisted): Wyatt Lies (3-2); Zerr (3-1); Andrew Williams (2-2); Rylend Whetzel (2-2); Sieg (2-2); Feist (2-1); Schuh (3-0); Swang (3-0); Thorson (3-0); Brody Hanson (3-0); Nixon Buchmiller (3-0); Dominik Hoffart (1-2); Porter Johnson (0-2); Wyatt Korb (1-1); Mertz (1-1); Jacob Anderson (0-1); Kiefer Finley (0-1); Laber (1-0); Tyler Eckart (1-0); Cameron Feakes (1-0)

Sacks: Swang 3

Tackles for Loss: Thorson 2, Eckart, Lies, Mertz, Whetzel

Fumble Recovery: Finley, Hoffart, Swang

Interception: Christopher Marchand

Blocked Punts: Mertz, Swang