THE BIG FOUR-OH-OH
GLENWOOD -- Perhaps it was only fitting that Curt Bladt’s 400th career coaching win came in a low-scoring, old-fashioned slobberknocker of a game with a share of the district lead up for grabs.
Harlan Community and Glenwood butted heads for 48 physical minutes here Friday night, and when it was all said and done these new-school Cyclones made an old-school football coach proud, outlasting the 10th-ranked (Class 3A) Rams 17-14.
HCHS improved to 3-1 overall and 2-0 in District 7, where they now share first place with Winterset and Denison-Schleswig. Glenwood dropped to 3-1 overall and 1-1 in the district.
Bladt, in his 40th season as the Cyclones’ head coach, joined Dick Tighe (432) and Jerry Pezzetti (405) as the only Iowa prep coaches with 400 wins, improving his incredible career mark to 400-59.
“It’s one more than 399,” Bladt said with a laugh, then added, “I’m proud of the guys that have been here and done it. A lot of the old guys are probably looking at that going, ‘Yeah, I’m part of that,’ and that’s good.”
Bladt referred to Harlan Community football as a “time-honored tradition” and said his longevity has a lot to do with reaching 400 wins, somewhat ignoring his .871 winning percentage.
“It’s good to get (this) over with and now we can get on about the business and not have to worry about it,” he said.
As for Friday’s game, Bladt called it a “war” and credited the Cyclone defense for making key stops the whole way. Last year, Glenwood outscored HCHS 49-41 at Merrill Field. This year, the Rams didn’t score until the 4:14 mark of the fourth quarter after requiring 19 plays and nearly eight minutes to drive 88 yards.
“Defensively up front I thought we played really well. We didn’t give up as many rushing yards as it would seem... (less than) they’re used to, and that’s the good news,” Bladt said. “We made them go a long way (and use) lots of clock.”
Outgained 327-258 in total offense, HCHS was able to overcome eight penalties (mostly pre-snap infractions) and improve to 24-0 all-time on Glenwood’s home field. The Cyclones recovered two onside kicks down the stretch and went ahead 17-7 on a Nick Foss 33-yard TD run with 1:46 to go.
When it was over, Bladt was presented the game ball by his players and received a few extra handshakes and hugs from his coaching staff. The Cyclone cheerleaders designed a special banner for the occasion and also signed a congratulatory football for the coach.
After posing for pictures with a large group of family members in attendance, Bladt reflected on many of his assistant coaches over the years, including “the old standbys” like Bill Hosack, Ken Carstens, Russ Gallinger and Al Simdorn that were together for most of the program’s 12 state titles. There have been many others along the way as well.
“There’s a lot of guys,” he said, “that have got a chunk of that 400.”