Hinton redeems district play with win over SOS

(Sentinel photo by Roy Tucker) Hinton's Craig Brown makes a run for the Blackhawks during Friday's 44-0 win over South O'Brien. The freshman boosted Hinton's offense with a two-point conversion run in the fourth quarter. [Click to enlarge]

After a rough loss on the road at West Lyon last week, Hinton co-coaches Steve Diediker and Bruce Held challenged their Blackhawk squad to play inspired football in what Held called "Redemption Week."

Unfortunately for South O'Brien, the Blackhawks took the challenge to heart and proceeded to cruise by the Wolverines 44-0 in district action.

"Well, we kind of challenged the kids to get out the blocks a little faster than they did last week," said Diediker. "We scored on our first three possessions so we're very happy with the way they responded. They came out and played well right off the bat."

"I'm proud of the effort. We called it 'Redemption Week' after last week and we challenged the kids to see what we're made of. We were really pleased with the week of practice," said Held. "We did well and it was a nice way to start. Everything we laid out worked and it was a really satisfying effort."

Hinton's first possession, a seven play drive that covered 59 yards, was capped by Aaron Book's 28-yard touchdown run. The point after attempt was no good.

A three and out by the Wolverines gave the Blackhawks the ball at the SOS 37 yard line. It only took three plays for the visitors to double their lead as Tim Youtzy got loose for a 20-yard touchdown run to make it 12-0.

After an interception by Nick Becker, Hinton drove down the field into field goal range where kicker Ricky Vander Kooi booted a field goal from 33 yards to make it a 15-0 game early in the second quarter.

In the third play of the second half, Tanner Knop and Kevin Huggenberger sacked the Wolverine's quarterback in the end-zone for a safety to make it 17-0.

The Blackhawks got the ball back after the safety and drove 53 yards in six plays for another score. Quarterback Jordan Sitzmann plunged in from one yard out to make it a 23-0 Hinton lead.

A fumble recovery at the SOS 30 yard line led to another score as Brady Schindel scooted 11 yards for the touchdown as the Blackhawks went up by 29.

The defense came up big on the next drive, forcing the Wolverines to punt again and the visitors took over on the 42 yard line. Five plays later, Tim Youtzy was in the end-zone with his second touchdown of the day, this time from seven yards out.

In the fourth quarter, Becker notched his second interception of the night to help set up another touchdown. Kole Vondrak finished the scoring with a two-yard run and Hinton capped the touchdown with a two-point conversion by Craig Brown as the Blackhawks rolled 44-0.

Youtzy rushed 18 times for 132 yards and two scores as Hinton put up 322 yards on the ground. Book finished with five carries for 62 yards and a score while Zach Yoerger had 47 yards on four carries. Vondrak finished with 19 yards on his four carries and Jordan Sitzmann carried twice for two yards and a touchdown.

Brady Schindel contributed 40 yards on seven attempts and a score.

Quarterback Joe Popken completed two of his five passes for 18 yards. Dale Timmerman was on the receiving end of both of Popken's passes.

Adam Struve was the team's leading tackler with six total stops while Alex Vondrak and Stephen Koithan each had five. Schindel, Kole Vondrak and Huggenberger each had four.

Becker had two interceptions to go with his two tackles and Youtzy had an interception and a fumble recovery.

Vander Kooi was 1-4 on point after attempts and made his only field attempt from 33 yards.

"On the night, we didn't really have to throw the ball too much. The only thing that really didn't go our way was the point after attempt kicking," said Diediker. "We had two bad snaps and they got a hand on the other one and that left a little to be desired. But other than that, the kids responded well on offense and defense."

The Blackhawks will be in action again on Friday hosting Westwood in Hinton's final regular season home game. The Rebels come in at 2-3 in the district - 3-4 - overall after a 25-7 loss to Sioux Central, Sioux Rapids.

"At times, they play very well. Their top 11 is as good as most teams can put on a field," said Held. "They're not very deep but it'll be a challenge. It's the senior's last home game so I hope everyone can keep their focus and have a really good effort."

"If we can win, we'll get a 10th game," said Diediker. "But we need to take care of business. The kids responded well last week and we're going to have the same challenge this week. If we win, we'll be one step closer to our goal."