Holton Football vs. Hiawatha

With a 47-0 victory over Big Seven League foe Hiawatha on Friday night, the Holton Wildcats improved their record to 3-1 and also posted their first district win of the season.

The opening kick off for the game was moved up one hour to 6 p.m., instead of 7 p.m., due to a stormy weather forecast. The game was played out without any weather delays.

Following an interception and 30-yard return by sophomore Connor Collins (No. 34), the Wildcats scored all the points they would need for the victory on their first offensive possession with 8:28 left in the first quarter on a four-yard touchdown run by junior Konnor Tannahill (No. 22).

The Wildcats also scored a touchdown on their second offensive possession – a 26-yard TD run by junior Canon Karn (No. 32) about two minutes later.

The Wildcats also scored a TD on their fourth offensive possession on a five-yard run by Karn, capping a nine-play, 80-yard drive and led 21-0 at halftime.

In the second half, Holton scored 19 points in the third quarter and seven in the fourth while preventing the visitors from scoring.

With Hiawatha kicking off to Holton to start the third quarter, it only took the Wildcats four plays to score on a 44-yard run by Tannahill.

An interception by Holton senior Kolby Roush (No. 27) then stopped the Red Hawks at the Wildcats’ 30-yard line.

From there, it only took the Wildcats three plays to score on a 68-yard TD run by Karn with 6:54 left in the third quarter.

Holton’s next score came with 3:50 left in the third quarter on a 50-yard TD run by senior Trey Wright (No. 9).

At the end of the third quarter, Hiawatha fumbled the ball away to Holton at their own 10-yard line, with Jack Gilliland (No. 88) recovering to set up the Wildcats’ final touchdown – a 12-yard run by senior fullback Keegan Purcell (No. 28).

When Holton reached 47 points, the running clock rule kicked in for the rest of the game, with the game clock only stopping for timeouts and injuries. The running clock rule kicks in when one team or the other takes a 45-point lead.

Holton junior kicker Guillermo Ruiz (No. 19) was 5 for 5 with point after kicks in the game and is 9 for 9 on the season now.

The fourth quarter highlights includes lots of varsity play by Wildcat reserves and an interception by sophomore Jake Zeller (No. 8) with 1:10 left in the game.

Holton rushed 41 times for 396 yards in the game and completed one pass for 12 yards to Wright for a total of 408 yards of offense in the game.

Hiawatha rushed 40 times for 108 yards and completed three passes for 68 yards, including a 52-yarder at the end of the game, for a total of 176 yards.

Holton had nine first downs, no turnovers and seven penalties for 65 yards.

Hiawatha had eight first downs, four turnovers (a lost fumble and three interceptions) and two penalties for 10 yards.

Wright led Holton in rushing with 141 yards on 13 carries. Karn had 125 yards on six carries, Tannahill 86 on seven carries, senior Taygen Fletcher (No. 10) seven on three carries.

Senior Michael Moreno (No. 6) rushed 65 yards on 18 carries to lead Hiawatha. Sophomore Nelson King (No. 33) rushed 21 yards on 13 carries and sophomore Tyler Davis (No. 30) rushed 12 yards on seven carries.

Hiawatha senior quarterback Tyler Brockhoff (No. 12) did not play in the game versus Holton. Junior Alex Rockey (No. 3) was the starting quarterback and early in the game he gave way to Moreno who ran a single-wing “wildcat’’ type offense for the Red Hawks.

“I think we had a good week of practice and a good week in the weight room (leading up to the game),’’ said HHS head coach Brooks Barta. “Both are very important to our improvement. We may have been a little sluggish to start the game, but I thought we executed pretty well on offense.’’

Coach Barta said the Wildcats prepared for Hiawatha with QB Brockhoff possibly not playing.

“We knew their quarterback was injured and suspected that they would move their best athlete to the position,’’ Barta said. “We struggled with our tackling, however we knew he was an elusive player and would give any defense some problems. We made some adjustments on the defensive line and it helped us to contain him a little better.  It was good for our defense to see that kind of ball carrier. We will see more like him down the road. Overall, our focus was on our own improvement that will be necessary for us to compete in the toughest district in the state. I am happy with their efforts and attitude. We will have to make strides on a daily basis.’’

Hiawatha’s Moreno had a 36-yard kick return, a 20-yard kick return and a 24-yard kick return for Hiawatha, plus a 24-yard run from scrimmage and a 15-yard run from scrimmage.

Junior Addison Hundley (No. 31) led Holton with 18 defensive points, including 11 tackles and one for loss. Tannahill had 17 defensive points, including a sack, a knocked down pass and two tackles for loss. Roush had 17 defensive points, including an interception and a tackle for loss. Collins had 15 defensive points, including an interception and two tackles for loss.

The Holton Recorder

109 W. Fourth St.
Holton, KS 66436
Phone: 785-364-3141
 

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