Cyclones hammer Heelan in playoff opener

 HARLAN (Oct. 27) -- Deren Schmitz and his Harlan Community teammates had never faced Sioux City Bishop Heelan on the football field before, but they knew all about the rivalry.
 Many of them watched from the stands four years ago as Heelan shut out the Cyclones 31-0 in a Class 3A quarterfinal - the sixth playoff matchup in a seven-year span between the two schools.
 On Friday night at Merrill Field, Schmitz and the sixth-ranked Cyclones wrote their own chapter in the Harlan/Heelan history book, and this time the story was more uplifting.
 Schmitz passed for 232 yards and three first-half touchdowns and Nick Foss added 94 rushing yards and three total scores as HCHS routed the Crusaders 42-7 on a cold and windy opening night of the 3A playoffs.
 The Cyclones already led 35-0 at halftime, allowing the entire second half to be played with the 35-point running clock rule in effect. Heelan was held scoreless until Hunter Hope broke free for a 40-yard touchdown run with :03 left in the game.
 The winning margin of 42-7 was the Cyclones’ largest in 11 all-time games vs. Heelan and their most lopsided playoff win since beating Carroll by the same score in the 2009 semifinals.
 “This week we’ve heard a lot of people that have played (Heelan) in the past say, ‘Good luck,’... and it feels really good to be able to do this for them,” Schmitz said. “(They) obviously can’t play anymore because they’re out of high school and they kind of go to the games and watch it through us.”
 HCHS improved to 9-1 overall and will host fourth-ranked Sergeant Bluff-Luton (10-0) in a 7 p.m. quarterfinal game here Friday night. The Warriors pulled away in the second half to beat Glenwood 47-25 in another first-round matchup.
 With the victory, HCHS now holds a 6-5 advantage in the all-time series vs. Heelan but still trails 4-3 in playoff matchups -- all since 2007.
 The Cyclones have met Sergeant Bluff-Luton just once before, beating the Warriors 21-7 in the first round of the 2010 playoffs. SB-L is led by tailback Britton Delperdang, who rushed for 171 yards and three TDs against Glenwood Friday and has totaled 1,542 yards on the season.
 Quarterback Daniel Wright, meanwhile, has thrown 20 touchdown passes and just one interception.
 “It’s going to be tough. They’re obviously a really good team,” Schmitz said of SB-L. “They’re fast, they’re physical and we’ll have to bring our ‘A’ game to that one.”

Harlan Community 42, Bishop Heelan 7

                1    2    3    4       F
Heelan    0    0    0    7       7
HCHS    14    21    0    7     42
    HCHS: Nick Foss 21-yd. run (Kyle Knudson kick) - 1st qt., 4:32.
 HCHS: Foss 35-yd. pass from Deren Schmitz (Knudson kick) - 1st qt., 1:35.
 HCHS: Eli Boldan 26-yd. pass from Schmitz (Knudson kick) - 2nd qt., 4:13.
 HCHS: Jon Owens 43-yd. INT return (Knudson kick) - 2nd qt., 3:27.
 HCHS: Johnathan Monson 21-yd. pass from Schmitz (Knudson kick) - 2nd qt., 0:19.
 HCHS: Foss 1-yd. run (Knudson kick) - 4th qt., 11:10.
 Heelan: Hunter Hope 40-yd. run (Andres Salcedo kick) - 4th qt., 0:03.
HCHS Individual Statistics
    Rushing -- Nick Foss 16-94, Caleb Bieker 2-5, Deren Schmitz 3-4, Alex Schechinger 1-0, Hunter Manz 2-0.
    Passing -- Schmitz 10-17-1, 232.
    Receiving -- Kevin Campbell 2-71, Eli Boldan 2-56, Johnathan Monson 3-55, Foss 2-38, Derec Weyer 1-12.
    Punt return -- Foss 1-0.
    Kickoff returns -- Foss 1-63, CJ Schechinger 1-0.
    Punting -- Schmitz 2-46 (23.0).
    Kickoffs -- Kyle Knudson 7-277 (39.6).
    Tackles -- Jacob Bartley 9 (3s/6a), Foss 9 (3s/6a), Jon Owens 8 (3s/5a), Wyatt Schaben 7 (2s/5a), Caleb Brouse 7 (2s/5a), Schmitz 3 (1s/2a), Jared Moser 3 (1s/2a), Jake McLaughlin 3 (3a), Drase Klindt 2 (1s/1a), Monson 2 (1s/1a), Thomas Fah 2 (1s/1a), CJ Schechinger 2 (1s/1a), Levi Culp 2 (2a), Weyer 2 (2a), Brady Wagner 2 (2a), Manz 2 (2a), Campbell 1 (1s), Tanner Fink 1 (1a), Bieker 1 (1a).
    Tackles for loss -- Owens 2 (2s), Foss 1 (1s).
 Interception-return yards -- Owens 1-43 (TD).
 Fumble recovery -- Moser.