Bloomfield manages to stop Hartington-Newcastle’s upset bid
BLOOMFIELD — Bloomfield may be one of the top-rated teams in the State this year, but the Hartington-Newcastle Wildcats didn’t let that bother them.
The Wildcats challenged the Bees from start to finish, even taking the lead in the final frame before falling
The Wildcats had their hands full trying to keep the Bees big defensive line at bay.
“Bloomfield used their size and strength up front to rush the ball effectively the entire game,” Wildcat Coach Corey Uldrich said.
The Bees got on the board first when Braden Eisenhauer completed a 25-yard pass to Dade Davis just three minutes into the game.
The Bees then closed out the first frame with another Eisenhauer TD pass — this one a four-yarder.
The Wildcats got on the board early in the second frame when Kobe Heitman finished off a nice drive with a 4-yard TD run. Shaye Morten connected with Sam Harms in the endzone for the 2-point conversion to make the score 14-8.
With just over two minutes left in the opening half, the Bees extended their lead to 22-8 on a 45-yard Cody Bruegman run. The Cats responded with a big play of their own, as Shaye Morten found an open Jake Peitz and hit him for what turned out to be a 47-yard TD play to make it 22-14 going into the break.
The two teams traded back-to-back scores in the third quarter. The Bees found paydirt on an Eisenhauer 1-yard plunge.
Shaye Morten opened the ensuing drive with a 70-yard TD run. He then found Jake Peitz in the endzone to make it 28-22.
The Cats took the lead two minutes later when Morten broke free on a 61-yard TD scamper. He then found Sam Harms in the endzone to give the Cats the 30-28 lead heading into the final frame. The Bees offense just kept plowing away, scoring again to open the final frame. this time Eisenhauer bulled over from two yards out to give his team a 34-30 lead.
HNS responded with a solid drive ending in a Morten to Peitz 9-yard TD pass to regain the lead.
Bloomfield regained the lead with 4:47 left on an Eisenhauer dive. With just a few ticks left on the clock Eisenhauer punched one more over to make it 46-36.
“Bloomfield’s quarterback rushed the ball nearly 60 times for over 300 yards, using the other seven players as blockers for him. We were able to answer them most of the night, using big plays to keep us in the game,” Uldrich said.
HNS was able to use a quick-strike offense to surprise Bloomfield.
“We had three one-play drives, including a touchdown pass from Shaye Morten to Jake Peitz that covered 47 yards, and two Shaye Morten touchdown runs for 61 and 70 yards,” Uldrich said.
Shaye Morten led the team in rushing and with his passing.
Kobe Heitman led the Wildcat defense with 21 tackles.
Despite the loss, the Wildcats still earn the right to host and will now entertain Mead at Russ Hochstein Field Thursday night.
Bloomfield 14 8 6 18— 46 HNS 0 14 16 6 —36
HNS Bloomfield Rushing 23-174 Passing 9-23-100 4-6-54 Total 46-274 84 First Downs 11 31 Penalties 19-91 11-86
PASSING
HNS - Shaye Morten, 9-23-100. Bloomfield -
RUSHING
HNS - Shaye Morten, 12-151; Kobe Heitman, 8-16; Carson Sudbeck, 3-7.
RECEIVING
HNS - Jake Peitz, 6-87; Kobe Heitman, 1-7; Sam Harms, 2-6.
TACKLES
HNS - Kobe Heitman, 21; Dillan Dendinger, 16; Matthew Meisenheimer, 16; Carson Sudbeck, 14; Shaye Morten, 13; S. Dickes, 10; Jake Peitz, 9;