Hornets clinch playoff berth

Harvey-Wells County scored early and often racking up 49 first half points en route to a 55-14 victory over Turtle Mountain Community High School (TMCHS) at L.C Loerch Field in Harvey on Friday, October 11.

The Hornets' defense set the tone of the game early on, as they stopped the Braves on a 4th down-and-two at their own 46-yard line to end Turtle Mountain's first drive.

The Braves got a steady dose of Kayl Sieg, as the senior rushed four times for 38 yards and a score to give HWC the quick lead. The extra-point (PAT) kick from Carter Laber was good, and the score was 7-0.

Neither team wasted much time on offense, with both teams using very quick drives for their scores in the opening quarter. TMCHS's second drive ended in a 58- yard interception return for a score from Tallen Thorson, and with Laber's kick, the score was 14-0.

The Braves used just three plays on their ensuing drive, as Tyler Morin broke through for a 56-yard scoring run. The PAT failed as the lead was 14-6. HWC scored again in the first quarter on a one-yard plunge from Christian Mertz on a seven- play drive, and then again on a one-play, 41-yard run for Sieg's second score to give the Hornets a 28-6 lead after 12 minutes.

A fumble recovery by HWC on the next kickoff set up the Hornets for their first score of the second quarter, which was a Sieg one-yard burst, his third score of the game, moving the lead to 35-6 with just 10 seconds gone in the quarter. An interception by Kyson Zerr set up another Hornet score as Thorson ran for 16 yards and a touchdown to make the score 42-6.

HWC used their only sustained drive of the game late in the second half. A nine- play drive for the Hornets saw back-to-back penalties for a loss of 15 yards, but the home team persevered as Thorson found Jaxon Feist for a 32-yard gain and Tyler Swang for eight more yards before Feist scored on a one-yard run with 44 seconds remaining. The PAT moved the score to 49-6 at the half.

With the 43-point advantage, the clock, for the most part, ran continuously in the second half. The Braves got a heavy dose of the freshman Zerr to open the half, as he rushed the ball eight consecutive times for 60 yards and a nine-yard touchdown run, the only HWC score of the half. The PAT failed, and the lead was 55-6.

The Braves found the endz one on their next drive, as TMCHS used a nice 40-yard pass from Kruze LaFountain to Benjamin Dubois to set up a five yard touchdown from Kael Davis. The PAT run from Morin was good, and that was the final scoring of the third quarter and game.

Statistically, Sieg led HWC with 135 yards rushing, all in the first half, and was locked in with six tackles. Thorson threw for 103 yards, while Swang was the leading receiver with two catches for 39 yards. Mertz was the leader defensively with seven tackles, including three more sacks giving him six sacks in the last two games. Mertz was also in on two tackles for loss to lift the Hornets to another great defensive effort.

The win gave the Hornets their fifth consecutive victory, and moved their overall record to 5-3 and their regional record to 5-1 with just one game at Park River remaining on the schedule. The Park River game was set for Saturday, October 19, at 2:00 PM.

Class A - Region 2 Football

HWC 55, Turtle Mountain 14

TMCHS 6 0 8 0 14

HWC 28 21 6 0 55

First Quarter

HWC: Kayl Sieg 8 yard run (Carter Laber kick)

HWC: Tallen Thorson 58 yard interception return (Laber kick)

TMCHS: Tyler Morin 56 yard run (conversion failed)

HWC: Christian Mertz 1 yard run (Laber kick)

HWC: Sieg 41 yard run (Laber kick)

Second Quarter

HWC: Sieg 1 yard run (Laber kick)

HWC: Thorson 13 yard run (Laber kick)

HWC: Jaxon Feist 1 yard run (Laber kick)

Third Quarter

HWC: Kyson Zerr 9 yard run (conversion failed)

TMCHS: Kael Davis 5 yard run (Morin run)

HWC Statistics

Offense

Passing: Thorson 4-7-103 yards; Laber 1-2-1

Rushing: Sieg 10-135-3 TD; Zerr 8-60-TD; Thorson 3-33-TD; Mertz 3-11-TD; Caleb Brock 7-11; Feist 1-2-TD; Dylan Heitmann 1-(-5)

Receiving: Tyler Swang 2-39; Feist 1-32; Nixon Buchmiller 1-32; Brody Hanson 1-1

Defense

Tackles (unassisted/assisted): Mertz (6-1); Sieg (1-5); Dominik Hoffart (3-3); Easton Schuh (3-2); Zerr (1-2); Wyatt Lies (2-1); Kiefer Finley (0-2); Rylend Whetzel (1-1); Buchmiller (2-0); Frank Richter (0-1); Porter Johnson (0-1); Thorson (1-0); Swang (1-0); Andrew Williams (0-1); Luke Heitmann (1-0); Lucas Copenhaver (1-0); Jacob Anderson (0-1); Wyatt Korb (0-1)

Sacks: Mertz 3, Swang 1

Tackles for Loss: Mertz 2, Hoffart and Lies 1, Schuh and Sieg 0.5

Interceptions: Thorson, Zerr

Fumble Recoveries: Schuh, Williams