Cyclones football earns first road win over Rams
The HCHS Cyclones football team responded to their first road test Friday against the Glenwood Rams winning 38-22 and moved to 2-1 on the season.
The Cyclones took the early lead when Junior quarterback Gabe Arkfeld handed off to Senior running back Lukas Francis, who managed to bulldoze his way through the Rams defense going for a 36-yard touchdown run on 3rd and 7. Senior Nolan Schwery kicked the extra point to give the Cyclones a 7-0 lead.
“Our guys up front, we ran the ball pretty effectively early, and as the game went on, they kind of started shooting gaps on us and up front, we were not getting our job in the run game, so we had to lean on them a little bit,” said Cyclone Head Coach Todd Bladt.
The remainder of the quarter was quiet. However, the Cyclone offense came alive in the back end of the second quarter when on a 2nd and 9, Arkfeld threw a missile to Senior Jozef Reisz who caught the ball, got around the Rams defense making his way into the end zone for a touchdown to put his team up 13-0. Schwery kicked the extra point.
The Rams punched right back when on a 2nd & 10, Senior quarterback Cole Staudt threw to Junior Kaden Crouch who caught the ball at and out ran the Cyclone defense get his team right back in the game with a touchdown. But the Cyclones responded quickly.
With under 45 seconds remaining in the first half on a 3rd and 13, Arkfeld found Jozef Reisz in the end zone for a 13-yard touchdown pass, as Reisz went up to catch the pass giving his team a 20-7 lead. Schwery kicked the extra point.
“The big thing I told them looking at the close game they [Glenwood] were in the week before, there was no doubt, they were going to try and stay within striking distance,” Bladt said. “We never really blew it up. They never really got out of it completely because they got it back to 16 there at the end.”
It didn’t take long for the Cyclones to score out of the gate in third quarter when on a 1st & 15, Arkfeld found Reisz once again for a 19-yard touchdown catch and run expanding their lead to 27-7. Schwery kicked the extra point.
The Rams proved they were not going down without a fight and stayed within striking distance of the Cyclones as a few minutes later, approaching the midway point of the quarter on a 3rd & goal, Sophomore Chase Razor had a 6-yard touchdown run making it a 28-13 game.
Arkfeld and Reisz continued to have great chemistry throughout the game as Arkfeld again found Reisz who was wide open for a touchdown catch and run where Reisz easily got into the end zone expanding the Cyclone lead to 34-14. Schwery kicked the extra point.
“He had a big night,” Bladt said of Arkfeld. “He’s starting to grow and he’s starting to see some things a little bit better.
In the fourth quarter with just over eight minutes remaining on the clock, the Cyclones got their final points of the game when they were unable to score a touchdown, but settled for a field goal from Schwery, who put his team up 38-14.
The Rams had one last fight in the them that came on a 1st & 10, Staudt took matters into his own hands, faking a handoff, going for an 11-yard touchdown run to put his team back within 18 points of the Cyclones. The Rams final points of the night would come on a 2-point conversion from Junior Pierce Dalton following Staudt’s touchdown, but the Cyclones hung on for the 38-22 victory.
“At one point we were up 24, but they were able to score and convert a 2-point conversion, and that leaves you within two scores,” Bladt said. “We were up three scores, possibly four there if they don’t convert on that 2-point conversion.”
The Cyclones move to 2-1 on the season and will be back in action on the road Friday night at 7 p.m. taking on the 3-0 Sergeant Bluff-Luton Warriors. Offensively, the Warriors are led by Isaiah Jervik with 204 passing yards, Zayvion Ellington with 274 rushing yards, Gavin Merrill with 70 receiving yards. Defensively, Kaleb Pendergast has 13.5 tackles.
“I don’t particularly like the way they play because they play really, really hard,” Bladt added. “They’re going to be a tough team. There’s no doubt. They’re 3-0, ranked #2 in the state. They get after it offensively. They have a unique offense. When you have the right guys, which they do to run it, it hits pretty well. I look for that to be a tough battle in northern country.”
