PREP FOOTBALL: H-LP remains perfect

LAKE PARK, Iowa — Junior quarterback Colin Brons racked up 395 yards passing on a 20-for-27 performance and tossed five touchdown strikes to four different receivers Friday night, sparking the Harris-Lake Park Wolves to an impressive 31-6 victory over the Remsen St. Mary’s Hawks in an Iowa 8-Man high school football game.

H-LP, which improves to 3-0 this season, scored 31 unanswered points following an early first-quarter touchdown by the Hawks — building quarter leads of 13-6 and 25-6 in the first half to take command.

“This was a great team effort, and I’m really proud of our guys,” H-LP head coach Lane Gunderson said after the game. “Offensively, we took what the defense gave us and Colin had an outstanding game passing the ball. And on the other side of the ball, our defense played really hard and came up with some big stops — the only score that we allowed came on a short field following a turnover on the game’s first play from scrimmage.”

The Hawks (0-2) did indeed take advantage of an early mistake by H-LP, recovering a Wolves’ fumble just 11 seconds into the game. RSM’s Tyler Nielsen retrieved the ball to give the Hawks a first-and-10 at H-LP’s 13-yard line.

Five plays later, Nielsen again pounced on a loose ball — recovering a fumble by teammate Beau Pick in the end zone for a Hawks’ touchdown. The PAT kick was no good, as RSM led 6-0 with 9:27 remaining in the first quarter.

Brons connects with Heikens, Ihnen for long TDs

The rest of the game was dominated by Brons and the Wolves’ receivers, along with a solid group effort from H-LP’s offensive line.

“I’m so happy with the way our offensive line played and protected Colin,” Gunderson said. “Those guys communicated well with each other and picked up a lot of blitzes, giving Colin plenty of time to make good throws to our receivers. Everyone did their job tonight, and we ended up with a good result at the end of the game.”

The Wolves’ first touchdown came on their third possession, following a key sack by Eli Ihnen on the previous Hawks’ series. Ihnen topped H-LP’s defense with 11 tackles and was also the team’s leading receiver with 10 catches for 181 yards and a touchdown.

Kade Heikens (107 yards receiving on two catches, both touchdowns) got the Wolves on the board first, reeling in a pass from Brons on a crossing pattern and sprinting down the left sideline for a 57-yard touchdown at the 6:11 mark of the first quarter. The PAT kick was no good, as H-LP knotted the score at six apiece.

H-LP’s next drive featured a pair of big plays by Ihnen — including a 27-yard gain on a shovel pass from Brons and aided by a lead block from Tanner Hiveley. Two plays later, Brons rolled to his right and hit Ihnen in the end zone for a 12-yard touchdown connection.

Nathan Kyle booted the extra point, lifting the Wolves to a 13-6 lead with 3:54 showing on the first-quarter clock.

H-LP, after forcing its fourth straight three-and-out defensively, increased the margin to 19-6 on its first possession of the second quarter. It was Brons and Heikens who hooked up again for the touchdown on nearly the same exact play as the Wolves’ first score.

Heikens broke wide open on a similar route across the middle of the field and hauled in an aerial from Brons, streaking down the left sideline for a 50-yard touchdown. The PAT failed, as the Wolves took a 19-6 lead at the 10:05 mark.

“Our receivers ran really good routes and did a great job of getting open,” Gunderson said. “Their defense was taking away the run, as they limited us to just 25 total yards on the ground. So we took what they gave us and found great success in our passing game, with Colin making nice throws to our receivers all night.”

RSM was driving on the ensuing possession, but Hiveley intercepted a pass to stop the Hawks inside H-LP’s 10-yard line.

A 23-yard reception by Ihnen then kept the Wolves’ offense moving, but H-LP was forced to punt for just the second time.

The Wolves, though, got another defensive stop and struck quickly for their fourth score of the night. Brons launched a long pass to Ryan Mann deep down the left sideline for a 45-yard touchdown, increasing H-LP’s lead to 25-6 (PAT no good) with 1:25 left in the first half.

Neither team scored in the third quarter, as two potential touchdown drives by the Hawks were thwarted inside H-LP’s 10-yard line.

RSM found some running room with Pick and Cody Colling gaining yards on the ground and twice drove deep into Wolves’ territory.

But H-LP’s Connor Gunderson recovered a fumble at the seven-yard line to halt the first scoring chance, and teammate Brady Nissen broke up a pass on fourth-and-three from the seven on the second opportunity.

“Those were two key stops by our defense,” Coach Gunderson said. “If Remsen would have scored once or twice in that third quarter, it might have been a different ballgame down the stretch. But we stopped them and kept the momentum on our side.”

With their defense coming through time after time and limiting RSM to 163 total yards (113 rushing, 50 passing), the Wolves padded their lead with another touchdown on the second play of the fourth quarter.

Brons capped a 10-play, 73-yard scoring drive with an 11-yard touchdown pass to Gunderson, who made a diving catch in the back of the end zone. The PAT was no good, completing the game’s scoring with H-LP leading 31-6 and 11:15 remaining on the clock.

Nissen gained a team-best 23 yards rushing on 13 carries and added a trio of receptions for 21 yards. Gunderson finished with three catches for 34 yards.

Heikens charted 10 tackles, while Nissen and Sam Bosma each had nine tackles for H-LP.

The Wolves are on the road next week, traveling to take on West Bend-Mallard on Friday.

RSM 6 0 0 0 — 6

H-LP 13 12 0 6 — 31

Tags: harris-lake park, sports, prep, football