An injury to Kelly’s starting running back in the first quarter of the season opener last week presented freshman Evan Urhahn with an opportunity to show what he can do.
Tonight (Aug. 25) at Dr. J.J. Commerford Stadium, that was more than enough to power the Hawks past Crystal City.
Listed at just 5-8, 150 pounds, Urhahn rushed for 232 yards on 20 carries and four touchdowns, leading Kelly to its first win of the season 27-6. Crystal City fell to 0-2.
“We know Evan is a special kid, a special player, but we didn’t want to expose him too much as a freshman,” Kelly head coach Lance Powers said. “We need to put some more weight on him obviously, but he ran really hard for us tonight, the offensive line blocked well, they did their job, and he just got behind them and scooted down the field.”
It didn’t take Urhahn long to announce his presence. Crystal City received the opening kickoff but on the second play from scrimmage, Jason Loveless mishandled the handoff from quarterback Chris Eisenbeis, giving the Hawks the ball at the Hornets 35-yard line. On the next play, Urhahn ran off right tackle, hesitated for a moment, then burst through the hole and raced in for the touchdown to make it 7-0.
“Coach told me to set the tone, and that’s what I had to do,” Urhahn said.
Urhahn would score on a 93-yard run midway through the second quarter. Then after Eisenbeis capped a 61-yard drive with a 4-yard touchdown run to cut the lead to 14-6, Urhahn gave the Hawks a 21-6 halftime lead, scoring from 20 yards with 37.2 seconds remaining in the half.
“That was big,” Powers said. “When Evan found that backside door open, he ran right through it, and that was huge.”
Urhahn added a 48-yard scoring run on the final play of the third quarter for his fourth TD of the game.
“I’m proud of these kids,” Crystal City head coach Terry Crump said. “A lot of them haven’t been through these types of adversities before, and they’re handling it real well. My kids don’t give up. We play hard right until the end, but we’re just outmatched.”
Herky comes out flat in second half, loses to Fredericktown
Fredericktown turned a six-point game at halftime at Herculaneum into a rout by scoring four touchdowns in the first 7:15 of the third quarter in tonight's (Aug. 25) game.
Herky senior running back James Moloney scored two TDs in the fourth quarter but it wasn’t enough to make up for the meltdown in the third as Fredericktown won the non-conference game 56-28.
“I’m disappointed. I felt like we came out flat in the third quarter and we let them take it to us,” Herculaneum head coach Dave Cook said. “We always tell these guys you’ve got to play for four quarters. Adversity and penalties happen. We didn’t do a good job of overcoming adversity.”
After Herky – both teams are nicknamed the Blackcats – marched to the Fredericktown 32-yard line in 11 plays to start the game, junior quarterback Colton Rehkop gave the visitors a 6-0 lead with a 4-yard run with 5:48 left in the first quarter. Colten Jordan made the first of his six extra points to make it 7-0.
Herky came right back with an 80-yard drive of its own to tie the game. After Moloney received the bulk of the carries on the first drive, senior Nick Grass carried the load on the TD drive and capped it with a two-yard plunge. Sophomore Austin Huson, who had a breakout night running the ball, booted the PAT to tie the game 7-7 with 2:44 left in the opening quarter.
Herky took its only lead of the game after senior Chandler Jansen intercepted Rehkop at midfield. This time it was Huson’s turn to tote the rock and on third-and-6, he scampered 23 yards to give Herky a 14-7 lead with 11:29 left in the half.
“Huson is one of the hardest-working kids in the weight room,” Cook said. “He’s going to be a good football player for this program for four years.”
That lead was short-lived however as Herky was called for pass interference on Fredericktown’s next series and Mike Parrish tied the game with a 44-yard burst.
Herky punted on its next series but Braeden Stockmann muffed the catch and Jansen was on the spot to recover the fumble and set up his team at the Fredericktown 38.
After turning the ball over on downs, Herky stopped Fredericktown in its tracks on third-and-11 when Drew Gibson sacked Rehkop.
Fredericktown took the lead for good with 1:22 left in the half when Herky punter (and QB) Jason Harden didn’t get the punt off cleanly and the ball was at his own 13. One play later, wide receiver Noah Korokis scored on a 13-yard run and it was 20-14 after the PAT failed. Korokis gained 40 yards on Fredericktown’s first play of the game and scored on a 62-yard gallop the first play of the second half.
Hawks fall in four-OT heartbreaker
Hillsboro couldn’t overcome penalties and a cold field-goal unit in a 53-52 quadruple overtime loss to Oakville tonight (Aug. 25) at home.
The Hawks (1-1) were flagged for roughing the passer and pass interference during the overtime periods, and they couldn’t convert on a field goal in the second overtime to put the Tigers (1-1) away.
“Some of those things are kids are playing hard and with great effort, sometimes you make mistakes like that,” Hillsboro head coach Lee Freeman said.
Hillsboro and Oakville entered overtime knotted at 30, and the Hawks scored on their first OT possession on a 5-yard touchdown run by Micheal Keller, who also converted the 2-point conversion.
Oakville was on the ropes facing third-and-7 from 10 yards out when quarterback Jordan Jost’s pass fell incomplete, but Hillsboro was whistled for roughing the passer. Jost responded with a 5-yard touchdown run and 2-point conversion.
Hillsboro’s Chase Green intercepted Jost’s first pass attempt in the second overtime, but the home team stalled after three plays and couldn’t get the snap down for a 40-yard field goal attempt.
“Putting the field goal unit out there at that particular time is a little unfair to them,” Freeman said of his team’s first field-goal attempt of the game. “We had a high snap, and that resulted in the kick not getting off.”
The teams exchanged touchdowns again in the third overtime with Hillsboro scoring first then Oakville responded with a TD to give the Hawks a 46-44 edge.
The Tigers’ first attempt at a 2-point conversion fell incomplete, but the Hawks were flagged for pass interference and Jost ran in the second attempt from the 1-yard line to tie the game at 46.
Hillsboro responded with a touchdown in the fourth overtime on a 2-yard run from Luke Skaggs, but the Hawks failed to get in on the 2-point conversion.
Oakville took advantage of the opening with a 5-yard touchdown run by Jost, and Ryan Gallagher converted the point-after attempt to seal the victory.
“It’s a heartbreaker,” Hillsboro quarterback Tyler Isaacson said. “We fought long and hard. We did a lot of things right and a lot of things wrong. It is going to make us stronger. We are going to bounce back next week.”
Keller finished with 145 yards rushing with touchdown runs of 75, 24 and 5 to go along with a 25-yard touchdown reception, and senior Joe Garner had 99 yards rushing with a 42-yard TD run. Isaacson ran for 62 yards with a 14-yard touchdown, and Skaggs ran for 43 yards with a 2-yard touchdown.
Other county football scores from Friday night
East Prairie 46, Jefferson 45; Sullivan 21, Festus 20; De Soto 38, Bishop DuBourg 0; St. Charles 42, Windsor 35; Perryville 7, St. Pius X 0