Foss, Cyclone defense shine in rout of Creston

One year after allowing 70 points vs. Panthers, HCHS nearly pitches a shutout in dominant 42-7 win

 HARLAN -- It would be a stretch to say that Harlan Community’s defense is 10 times better than a year ago, but sometimes the simple mathematics are just too much fun to ignore.
 Last September, HCHS was outscored by Creston/Orient-Macksburg 70-49 in an unforgettable offensive shootout at Creston. The Cyclones set a school record with 657 total yards and still lost by three touchdowns as Chase Shiltz scored eight times for the Panthers.
 Twelve months later, the rematch at Merrill Field was all HCHS.
 Led by 231 rushing yards and five touchdowns from Nick Foss, the Cyclones overcame the injury loss of another quarterback and the defense took a shutout into the fourth quarter of Friday night’s 42-7 home win over Creston/O-M.
 In the District 7 opener for both teams, HCHS improved to 2-1 overall while the Shiltz-less Panthers dropped to 1-2 - their yardage total cut by 342 from last year’s game vs. Harlan (542 to 200) and their point total divided by 10.
 Cyclone head coach Curt Bladt, who recorded victory number 399 on the night, felt that his linemen won the battle in the trenches going up against a Creston group including four players between 270 and 320 pounds, led by 6-5, 285-pound Iowa State recruit Trevor Downing.
 “The kids spent a lot of time in the weight room this summer,” Bladt said. “Those big [Creston] guys up front last year just mowed us down and there was nothing we could do about it, so we knew we had to go to work and get a little bigger, a little faster and a little stronger. I think we’ve done that and I think that it’s starting to pay off for us.”
 HCHS outgained the Panthers 450-200 overall (329-152 on the ground), converted 23 first downs, won the turnover battle 3-0, committed only two penalities (after 11 last week) and never punted.
 The Cyclones, who faced third down just five times all night, did line up to punt once - in the opening minute of the third quarter - but Foss took off to his right on a fake and found plenty of open turf en route to a 49-yard touchdown.
 All told, HCHS executed 18 plays from scrimmage of 10 or more yards, plus four plays of nine yards. Foss was involved in 11 of those big plays and averaged exactly 11 yards on his 21 carries.

 
 

 

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