Hornets keep playoff drive alive, defeat Aggies

The HWC Hornets' football playoff dreams remain alive, albeit small, but still alive after the Hornets defeated the Park River Area Aggies, 28-12, at A.G. Strand Field in Park River on Friday, September 16.

The Aggies and Hornets had a rough start, as far as turnovers, in this Region 2 battle. The Aggies started the night going to the passing game, and Jadyn Vollmer made sure that that part of their game would not get a solid start as the junior had an interception on the first play of the game.

The Hornets would punt away the ball six plays later giving the Aggies another possession. This opportunity for Park River ended on their second play of the drive as Keaton Keller recovered an Aggie fumble. On the second play for HWC, Zachary Zikmund intercepted a HWC pass, as the two teams traded turnovers early.

The Hornets would start their first scoring drive late in the first quarter. HWC used 15 plays and went 70 yards, scoring on a Kayl Sieg six-yard run early in quarter two. Quarterback Tallen Thorson found Keller twice for 35 yards on the drive, and had a huge nine yard pass to Alex Smith for a fourth down conversion during the drive.

Park River put together a nice nine-play drive that stalled at the HWC 46 following the HWC score. The two teams traded quick possessions, as the defenses held their own in the second quarter.

Following a muffed HWC punt, the Aggies found themselves in great field position at the HWC 19 yard line. Quarterback Avery Rosinski ran four straight times and scored from five yards out on the fourth attempt to give Park River their first score. The PAT pass was incomplete, and the Hornets had a slim 8-6 lead at halftime.

HWC's initial drive of the second quarter was a good one. Thorson found Brock Fike for 11 yards, and then had a 26-yard scramble, helping to set up a 13-yard score from the sophomore quarterback. The PAT failed, and the Hornets led, 14-6.

The Aggies only got one possession in the third quarter, as the Hornet offense moved the ball on the ground and ran time off the clock resulting in a lead of eight after three quarters.

The Hornets' second drive of the second half was another long sustained drive starting at their own 20 yard line. HWC used passes of 18 and nine yards to Jaxon Feist to help set up a 22-yard reverse and score from Keaton Keller early in the fourth. The PAT was incomplete but the Hornets had score separation at 20-6.

Another quick drive for Park River set up their second score of the night. Andrew Zikmund's 71-yard scamper was the only play the Aggies needed on the drive, but the ever important PAT was missed and HWC still held an eight- point advantage.

The Hornets got separation again later in the fourth as Keller broke loose for a 40-yard scoring strike from Thorson. The PAT pass from Thorson to Gabe Allmaras was good, and ended the scoring for the game at 28-12.

Sieg led the Hornet offense, rushing the ball 23 times for 106 yards, while Thorson completed 19-of-34 passes for 211 yards. Keller had a huge game, as the junior had eight catches for 111 yards and a score to go along with two rushes for 34 yards and a score. Keller also had 2.5 sacks and recovered a fumble.

Senior Dawson Noyes led the defense with eight tackles and an interception, while Allmaras added seven tackles and Harrison Lies and Brock Fike chipped in with five tackles each. Jadyn Vollmer had two interceptions to bring his season total to five.

The win moved HWC to 2-3 on the season, and they faced Hillsboro-Central Valley as their homecoming opponent on Friday, September 23.

Class 11B Region 2 Football

HWC 28, Park River Area 12

HWC 0 8 6 14 - 28

PRA 0 6 0 6 - 12

Second Quarter

HWC: Kayl Sieg 6 yard run (Gabe Allmaras pass from Tallen Thorson)

Park River: Avery Rosinski 5 yard run (pass failed)

Third Quarter

HWC: Thorson 13 yard run (run failed)

Fourth Quarter

HWC: Keaton Keller 22 yard run (pass failed)

Park River: Andrew Zikmund 71 yard run (run failed)

HWC: Keller 40 yard pass from Thorson (Allmaras pass from Thorson)

HWC Statistics

Offense

Passing: Thorson 19-34-211 yards-TD

Rushing: Sieg 23-106-TD; Thorson 7-51-TD; Keller 2-34-TD

Receiving: Keller 8-111-TD; Allmaras 4-52; Jaxon Feist 2-26; Brock Fike 1-11; Alex Smith 1-9; Sieg 2-3

Defense

Tackles (unassisted/assisted): Dawson Noyes (4-4), Allmaras (3-4), Harrison Lies (3-2), Fike (2-3), Jadyn Vollmer (2-2), Sieg (2-2), Grant Anderson (2-0), Keller (2-1), Izaak Richter (1-2), Gavyn Schuh (1-2), Smith (1-1), Andrew Fry (1-1), Quinton Deede (1-0)

Sacks: Keller 2.5, Lies 2

Tackles for Loss: Allmaras, Lies, Richter and Schuh one each, Sieg 0.5

Interceptions: Vollmer 2, Noyes

Fumble Recovery: Keller