Wildcat miscues lead to Elkhorn Valley win

HARTINGTON — Things went sideways Friday for the Hartington-Newcastle Wildcat football team.

While the official stat book is heavily in favor of the Wildcats, the scoreboard favored the visiting Elkhorn Valley Falcons.

The Wildcats fell 46-18 at Russ Hochstein Field to 1-4 overall and 0-3 in district action.

The Purple and White looked solid in the first half, scoring 18 points in the first 24 minutes. The home team trailed 8-6 after the first frame and 22-14 at the halftime break.

“I thought we dominated play in the first half, but some really big mistakes allowed Elkhorn Valley to have three scores and lead at the half,” Uldrich said. “We never really got anything going in the second half. John Lauer played a tremendous defensive game, registering five tackles for losses on the night.”

Riley Sudbeck threw for 145 yards with a touchdown and also ran for 46 yards on 14 carries and another score.

Kobe Heitman added 68 yards rushing on 17 carries and a touchdown for the Wildcats who trailed 22-18 at the break but would not score again.

State-rated Wakefield won’t make things much easier this week.

“Wakefield is a big, physical football team that is going to run the ball at you with two strong backs in Justin Erb and Blake Brown,” Uldrich said. “They are not a team eligible for the playoffs, so they will be focused in ready to go, hoping to finish their year with an 8-0 record.”

It’s been a rough season with games canceled due to COVID-19 and the consistent uncertainty of the season for the Wildcats who have managed to make things work in a positive direction.

“We have come a long way in the last few weeks, but unfortunate mistakes, penalties and turnovers cost us a game this past week,” Uldrich said.

Hartington-Newcastle 6 12 0 0—18

Elkhorn Valley 8 14 16 8— 46

HNS EV

Rushing 41-154 41-169

Passing 9-22-158 10-16-130

Total off 63 -312 61-299

First Downs 20 17

Penalties 8=54 11-100

PASSING

HNS - Riley Sudbeck, 8-20-145; Lane Heimes, 1-2-13;

RUSHING

HNS - Kobe Heitman, 17-68; Riley Sudbeck, 14-46; Lane Heimes, 8-30; K Korth, 2-12. EV - B Ollendick, 22-85; Reed Bennett, 6-84; Adam Miller, 5-17.

RECEIVING

HNS - Jake Peitz, 4-96; Kobe Heitman, 3-40; Riley Sudbeck, 1-13; Shay Dickes, 1-9. EV - Adam Miller, 5-98; Nate Decker, 3-20; Conner Larson, 1-3.

TACKLES

HNS - John Lauer, 11; Carson Sudbeck, 9; Kobe Heitman, 9; Jake Peitz, 5; Turner Dendinger, 4; D. Steffen, 4; Shay Dickes, 1; K Korth, 2; Lane Heimes, 1.

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