Big special teams plays lead Cyclones past Denison

Non-District Football: HCHS 27, Denison 22

 DENISON (Aug. 30) -- On a night when nothing came easy for Harlan Community, two game-changing plays on special teams helped pave the way for Friday’s season-opening 27-22 non-district football win at Denison-Schleswig.
 In both cases, a Cyclone player made the most out of a potentially bad situation.
 With HCHS trailing 14-7 midway through the third quarter, junior punter Matt Kloewer chased down a snap that sailed way over his head and managed to boot the ball downfield with a defender on his heels. With the help of a friendly roll the punt netted 35 yards, but the actual gain in field position was 61 yards - the Harlan 20 to the D-S 19 - from where Kloewer could have been tackled to where the ball rolled dead.
 Three plays later, the Monarch punter kicked a low ball into the back of his own blocker and the Cyclones took over at the 19. They tied the game on quarterback Johnathan Monson’s second rushing touchdown of the game from eight yards out.
 An 11-play, 81-yard scoring drive - capped by Brenden Bartley’s six-yard TD run - put HCHS in front with 6:08 remaining, setting the stage for another big moment on special teams.
 After the defense forced a quick three-and-out, sophomore Joey Moser initially muffed the Denison punt inside his own 20 but quickly recovered the ball, side-stepped two tacklers and broke for the right sideline. With a convoy of blockers in tow, Moser jetted 82 yards to the house and put the Cyclones up 27-14 with 4:45 left.
 The Monarchs responded with a quick 75-yard TD drive and got the ball back at their own 34 with 1:29 to go before Bartley sealed the victory with an athletic, juggling interception - his second of the game.
 “Any time you can get a gutty win like that, with some situations where we had to come from behind, [you’re happy],” said HCHS coach Todd Bladt.
 The Monarchs outgained the Cyclones 227-196 in total offense but lost the turnover battle 3-2 (all interceptions) and had two low punts fail to make it past the line of scrimmage. Another punt was returned for six.
 HCHS, meanwhile, struggled to mount a consistent rushing attack outside of Monson’s 95 yards on 18 carries and also dropped about six passes in an apparently contagious bout of opening-game jitters.
 Outside of throwing two interceptions, Monson graded well in his first start at quarterback in two years. His 7-for-22 completion ratio easily could have been over 50 percent without several costly drops. As a runner, Monson converted five times on third or fourth down and showed good vision and bursts of speed on option plays. The Cyclones’ pivotal 81-yard go-ahead drive in the fourth included Monson gains of 12, 17, 9 and 8 yards on the ground as well as a 16-yard completion to Connor Bruck.
 Sophomore Jameson Bieker, who made a big fourth-down sack with HCHS still trailing, finished with a team-high eight solo tackles and five assists. Sophomore Will McLaughlin had four solo stops and 10 assists.

HCHS 27, Denison-Schleswig 22
HCHS: Johnathan Monson 1-yd. run (Matt Kloewer kick) - 1st qt., 4:32.
Denison: Terrance Weah 39-yd. pass from Charlie Wiebers (Kevin Corona kick) - 2nd qt., 11:15.
Denison: Wiebers 60-yd. run (Corona kick) - 3rd qt., 9:24.
HCHS: J. Monson 8-yd. run (Kloewer kick) - 3rd qt., 1:25.
HCHS: Brenden Bartley 6-yd. run (Kloewer kick) - 4th qt., 6:08.
HCHS: Joey Moser 82-yd. punt return (kick failed) - 4th qt., 4:45.
Denison: Weah 19-yd. pass from Wiebers (Austin Korner PAT pass from Wiebers) - 4th qt., 2:27.

 
 

 

Harlan Newspapers

1114 7th Street
P.O. Box 721
Harlan, IA 51537-0721

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