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Harlan Trt
Tuesday, October 10 2000
Rain, wind nor Titans keep Cyclones from
By Mike Definer
Sports Editor
HARLAN -- Two weeks after
a hefty loss to Denison-Schleswig,
the fifth-ranked (3-A) Harlan
Community football team re-
turned to Merrill Field like a team
on a mission for the playoffs.
And although the Cyclones' 47-
14 victory over Council Bluffs
Lewis Central Friday didn't offi-
cially qualify HCHS for the
postseason, it took one giant step
closer.
The Cyclones (6-1 overall)
moved into sole possession of sec-
ond place in Class 3-A District 8
with a 4-1 record and dropped
Lewis Central into a three-way tie
for third with Carroll Kuemper
and Atlantic (all at 3-2).
L.C. and Kuemper still have to
face each other in the season fi-
nale while Atlantic hosts top-
ranked D-S (5-0, 7-0) this Friday.
HCHS played arguably its most
well-rounded game of the season
in the worst weather and field con-
ditions of the year vs. the Titans.
Nearly the entire first half was
played under light rain, high winds
and frequent lightning around the
area. The final two minutes of the
halfwere played in a downpour.
But the Cyclones perservered
behind a strong running game, the
kicking of Jamie Martin, includ-
ing a school record 45-yard field
goal, and a stingy defense that
didn't allow a touchdown and
yielded a season-low 102 total
yards to the highest-ranked of-
fense in the district.
L.C.'s only po.ints came off a
kickoff return and a blocked punt
for touchdowns.
Titan quarterback Chris
Pomerleau, the leading passer in
District 8 with 86 completions
comingin didn't mplete his first
pass against the Cyclones until
11:30 remained in the game.
"Defensively, we got right af-
ter (Pomerleau) and got a good
pass rush on him," said HCHS
• head coach Curt Bladt. "The field
conditions weren't great for their
receivers but we took a lot away
from them. We got bumps on their
receivers on the line of scrimmage
and it was probably the best our
defensive secondary has played.
They looked sharp."
The Cyclone offense wasn't too
shabby either, churning out 467
total yards and getting three touch-
down runs from Kyle Murtaugh,
two from Jeremy Schmitz and an-
other from Dominic Leinen.
HCHS has now put up 865 yards
in its last two wins over Carroll
and L.C. while giving up 401.
After one quarter Friday, the
Cyclones had outgained the Titans
165 to 10, mostly via Murtaugh
and Schmitz.
In a rare display of the option
attack for HCHS, Schmitz got
loose on a 6 l-yard touchdown run
with 6:59 left in the first quarter.
The senior quarterback got around
the right side of the line and broke
one tackle before outrunning ev-
erybody down the sideline.
The scoring drive started on the
20-yard-line after L.C.'s Jon
Clan-ton came up well short on a
54-yard field goal attempt.
The Titans immediately tied the
game 7-7 when Ross Shepard
found a wedge and returned the
kickoff 82 yards through the va-
cant middle of the field. It was the
second time this season the Cy-
clone special teams have given up
a kickoff return for a score.
After three-and-out stands by
both defenses, HCHS quickly
drove 92 yards to go up 14-7 with
2:07 left in the quarter. Murtaugh,
who carried the ball 19 times for
209 yards, capped the drive with
a 3 l-yard touchdown. He also had
runs of 17 and 18 yards on the
drive.
Murtaugh also keyed the Cy-
clones' next drive, a five-play, 52-
yarder that ended with Murtaugh's
one-yard dive into the end zone at
the 7:24 mark of the second quar:
ter. He had caught a third down
pass for 20 yards and gained 28
more on a screen pass to set up
the TD.
Bladt said that Murtaugh is still
only about 90 percent in the speed
department because of the knee
brace he's wearing, but he cred-
ited his tailback and offensive line
for handling L.C.'s defense, which
overplayed the run.
"They sat about seven guys on
the line of scrimmage and brought
two more most of the time," he
said.
"Murtaugh gets a lot of extra
things on his own. He might be
dancing just a little too much try-
ing to look for that big play all the
time. We need to get some ram-
rod plays in there occasionally, but
he's doing a great job."
L.C. got its initial first down of
the half less than seven minutes
before halftime, but that drive
ended on a failed fake punt at-
tempt.
Three plays later, HCHS punter
Kyle Gross couldn't find the
HARLAN -- Above, Cyclone tailback Kyle Murtaugh dives into the
end zone for a one-yard TD. Below, Brent Schumacher (32) and Steve
Wegner (64) meet a Titan runner head on. (Photos by Mike Oeffner)
handle on a punt snap and even-
tually got his punt attempt
blocked. L.C.'s Blake Jensen
picked up the football and went 28
yards to cut the Cyckmes' lead to
21-14.
HCHS struck back quickly in
the final minute of the half when
Schmitz hit Cameron Kiersch on
a 43-yard run-and-catch play that
moved the ball to the 10. An of-
fensive holding penalty moved the
ball backward, but with 18 ticks
on the clock, Martin drilled a 40-
yard field goal with a wind and
driving rain at his back.
He would add a school-record
45-yard field goal early in the
fourth quarter that put HCHS up
33-14. The kick broke Chris
Hogzetrs record 44-yarder in
1990 against Red Oak.
"Jamie came up with a couple
key field goals and that put the
game out of reach," Bladt said.
With its passing game
grounded, Lewis Central contin-
ued to sputter offensively in the
second halt, even as the rains came
to a halt.
HCHS continued to tear up the
Titans on the ground, getting a 74-
yard touchdown run from
Murtaugh in the third quarter and
a 21 -yard score from Leinen in the
fourth.
Schmitz scored from one-yard
out only 12 seconds after Leinen's
touchdown to make it 47-14.
Linebacker Bryan Schwartz set
up the TD when he intercepted a
Pomerleau pass and returned it 24
yards to the 1 -yard-line. Schwartz
led the Cyclones with 17 tackles,
marking the seventh time in seven
games he has either led or been
tied for the team-lead in tackles.
He now has 79 total tackles on the
year.
"He's just, an old plugger in
there," Bladt said of his senior co-
captain. "I'd like to get him over
and use him on offense more (at
fullback) but he's doing such a
great job on defense I don't want
to bother him."
Defensive end John Petsche ( 13
tackles, one forced fumble) also
had another high-caliber perfor-
HARLAN -- Lewis Central's Blake Anderson (33) is
wall of Cyclone defense, including Derek Monson (76) Karl
Heath Schechinger (30) and Steve Wegner (64). (Photo
Oeffner)
Cyclones have
three giveaways the last
mance for the Cyclone defense, as
did D-tackle Steve Wegner (11
tackles, three tackles for loss).
Fellow linemen Brent
Schumacher and Derek Monson
combined for 17 tackles and two
sacks and Heath Schechinger and
Monty Boltinghouse combined
for 13 tackles.
As the fourth quarter winded
down, the Cyclones were able to
find playing time for numerous
junior varsity players off the
bench.
HCHS plays at home again this
Friday against Red Oak (0-7).
PLAYOFF SCENARIO: If HCHS
defeats Red Oak on Friday and At-
lantic loses to Denison-Schleswig, the
Cyclones will clinch a playoff spot. If
either or both of those games should
go the other way, HCHS must beat At-
lantic on October 27 to clinch aly-
Off berth. ......... " +
JUST ENOUGH: Martin was about
to attempt a 50-yard FG in the fourth
quarter before L.C. jumped offsides.
It turned out Martin needed all five of
those extra yards, because his 45-
yarder skimmed the top of the cross-
bar as it sailed throught the up-rights.
TURNOVER TURNAROUND: Af-
ter losing the turnover battle 12-3 in
their first three district games, the
J
i
t
Lewis Central 7 7 0 0
HCHS 14 10 6 17'
HCHS -- Jeremy
(Jamie Martin kick)
LC -- Shepard 82 kick0t
(Clanton kick)
HCHS -- Kyle Murtaugh 31
kick)
HCHS -- Murtaugh 1 run
LC -- Jensen 28
(Clanton kick)
HCHS -- Martin 40 FG
HCHS -- Murtaugh 74
HCHS -- Martin 45 FG
HCHS -- Dominic Leinen 2
tin kick)
HCHS -- Schmitz 1 run
Lewis Central
6 First Downs
38-84 Rushes/yards
18 Passing yards
102 Total yards
4-13-1 Comp./Att./Int. ,
3-2 Fumbles-lost
8-33.6 Punts-avg. ' ..
3-15 Penalties-yardS'
Rushing --
Jeremy Schmitz 7-57;
47; Dominic Leinen 6-,'
Schumacher 2-12; Jeff Heater
Muller 1-6; David Maxwell
Petersen 1-(-2); Matt Miller
Manz 1 +5).
Passing -- Schmitz 5-15 "0'!
Manz 0-1-1, 0
Receiving
Kiersch 2-51.
Kickoffs - Heath
David Weihs 2-112.
Kickoff returns - Jamie
Petersen 1-15; Leinen 1-15.
Punting - Kyle
1-35.
Punt returns -
Interceptions-return
Schwartz 1-24.
Fumble recoveries -
known) Gross; forced by
Tackles (total-unasl
Schwartz 17-2; Petsche'l
Wegner 11-1; Schumachel',
Monson 8-0; Heath
Monty Boltinghouse 6-2;
Kock 4-2; Jesse S
1; Josh Pedersen 3-2; Andy
2-1; Miller 2-1; Rick
Freml 2-0; Erik Petersen
McDermott 1-0; Ryan
Gross 1-0; Jason Leinen
1-0; Brad Ryan 1-1; Josh
Lauterbach 1-0; Jaime
Tackles for loss (Incl,
Schumacher 3, Wegner
Petsche 2, Schechinger,
Cox, Ohlinger,
QB sacks --
Wegner.
HARLAN -- HCHS's David Maxwell carries the football for the Cy-
clones in the fourth quarter of their win over Lewis Central Friday.
(Photo by Mike Oeffner)
Class 3-A. District 8
District Overall
Denison-Schleswig ....... 5-0 7-0
Harlan Community ........ 4-1 6-1
Carroll Kuemper ........... 3-2 5-2
C.B. Lewis Central ........ 3-2 4-3
Atlantic .......................... 3-2 5-2
Carroll ........................... 2-3 4-3
Glenwood ........ : ............. 0-5 1-6
Red Oak ......... : .............. 0-5 0-7
Friday, Oct. 13 Scores
Hadan Community 47, Lewis Central 14
Denison-Schleswig 37, Glenwood 8
Carroll Kuemper 29, Carroll 6
Atlantic 54, Red Oak 0
Fri-Sat, Oct. 20-21. Schedule
Red Oak at Harlan Community
Denison-Schleswig at Atlantic
Lewis Central at Carroll
Glenwood at Carroll Kuemper (Sat.)
(lass 1-A. District 9
District Overall
C.B. St. Albert ............... 5-0 7-0
Underwood ................... 5-0 7-0
A-H-S-T ......................... 3-2 5-2
Westwood ..................... 2-3 2-5
Tri-Center ...................... 2-3 3-4
West Monona ................ 2-3 4-3
Logan-Magnolia ............ 1-4 2-5
Boyer Valley .................. 0-5 0-7
Friday, Oct. 13 Scores
A-H-S-T 32, Tri-Center 20
Underwood 45, Logan-Magnolia 0
C.B. St. Albert 51, Westwood 0
West Monona 43, Boyer Valley 8
Friday, Oct. 20 Schedule
Boyer Valley at A-H-S-T
Tri-Center at Logan-Magnolia
C.B. St. Albert at Underwood
Westwood at West Monona
Class A. District 10
District Overall
Manning ........................ 5-0 7-0
Irwin-Kirkman-Manilla ... 4-1. 6-1
Odebolt-Arthur .............. 4-1 6-1
West Harrison ............... 2-3 4-3
Woodbine ...................... 2-3 3-4
Glidden-Ralston ............ 2-3 3-4
Coon Rapids-Bayard .... 1-4 2-5
Ar-We-Va ...................... 0-5 0-7
Friday, Oct. 13 Scores
Manning 7, Irwin-Kirkman-Manilla 0
Odebolt-Arthur 29. West Harrison 0
Woodbine 31, Glidden-Ralston 13
Coon Rapids-Bayard 24, Ar-We-Va 6
Friday, Oct. 20 Schedule
Odebolt-Arthur at Irwin-Kirkman-Manilla
Glidden-Ralston at Manning
West Harrison at Coon Rapids-Bayard
Ar-We-Va at Woodbine
8-Man. District 2
District Overall
Elk Horn-Kimballton ...... 6-0 7-0
Adair-Casey .................. 5-1 6-1
Essex ............................ 4-2 4-3
East Greene .................. 4-2 4-3
South Page ................... 3-3 4-3
Exira .............................. 2-4 2-5
Villisca ........................... 0-6 1-6
Walnut ........................... 0-6 0-7
Friday, Oct. 13 Scores
Elk Horn-Kimballton 62, South Page 12
East Greene 56, Walnut 16
Adair-Casey 65, Exira 6
Essex 46, Villisca 6
Friday, Oct. 20 Schedule
Exira at Elk Horn-Kimballton
Villisca at Walnut
East Greene at Adair-Casey
Essex at South Page
ATHLETE of the
Kyle Jensen
Jensen scored five I
touchdowns in EH-
I
K's 62-12 win over
South Page Friday.
He scored on runs
of 5, 65 and 8
yards, caught a 28-
yard TD pass and
returned an INT 28
yards for a score.
Jensen rushed for
86 yards and made
13 tackles as well.
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