(Remsen) St. Mary’s, Remsen controlled the final 30 minutes of Friday’s 8-Player quarterfinal matchup and advances to the dome with a 42-27 win over the Wheelers.
The Hawks scored three straight touchdowns in the final 6:45 of the first half to secure a 28-27 lead at the break and pitched a shutout in the second half. Jeremy Koenck ran for 163 yards and three scores while Blaine Harpenau ran for 152 yards and two TD’s to lead the Hawks. Harpenau completed 13/21 passes for 142 yards. St. Mary’s, Remsen forced four Audubon turnovers and ran their home win streak to 24 games.
The teams traded blows through the first quarter and a half. Audubon drew first blood with a steady march down the field on their opening possession. Joel Klocke capped the drive with a nine yard TD run to put Audubon in front 7-0 with 6:32 left in the first.
St. Mary’s, Remsen needed less than a minute to respond. They tied it at 7-7 with 5:34 left in the first when Koenck got free for a 45 yard sprint to the end zone on the Hawks initial series.
Audubon’s defense came up with multiple goal line stands in the first fifteen minutes of the contest and it helped the visitors build a double digit lead. After St. Mary’s turned it over on downs inside the Wheeler five, Audubon grabbed a 14-7 lead. Joel Klocke raced 35 yards to the house on a shovel pass for his 2nd score of the opening quarter.
St. Mary’s once again drove deep in Audubon territory, but was turned away. The Hawks went for it on 4th and goal inside the one, but fumbled and Ethan Klocke came up with a big momentum play. Klocke not only recovered the fumble, but outraced everyone 74 yards to the house to give Audubon a 21-7 lead.
The Wheelers kept the hammer down by forcing a rare St. Mary’s three-and-out on the next series. Gavin Smith pushed the lead to 27-7 with 9:41 to go in the half on his 39 yard rushing score. The snap on the PAT was high and Audubon did not convert an improvised two-point try.
The tide turned dramatically in St. Mary’s, Remsen’s favor from there on out. Koenck found the end zone again on a 30 yard carry to get within 27-14 with 6:45 left in the 2nd.
The Hawks drew even closer with 1:50 left in the half on a Harpenau 18 yard run. Audubon had the football back with time ticking down in the first half and St. Mary’s, Remsen used two timeouts to give themselves a chance to get the ball back before intermission. On a third and long Audubon tried to run an option play and fumbled. St. Mary’s pounced on the football for a TD with 1:24 left until halftime and took a 28-27 lead into the break.
Each team moved the ball, but struggled to punch it in after halftime. Koenck’s 3rd rushing TD of the night was a 24-yarder with 3:17 left in the 3rd to build the lead to 35-27. Harpenau gave them their first two score lead of the game with 9:00 left in the 4th when he punched in a ten yard run.
Audubon’s two seniors have unquestionably been the heart and soul of the team this season. Friday was no different. Ethan Klocke finished with 13 tackles, a 74 yard fumble return for a score, and five catches for 63 yards. Joel Klocke had one TD rushing and one TD receiving with a total of 91 yards from scrimmage plus 10 tackles.
Audubon coach Sean Birks on the Klocke tandem afterwards, “Great leaders, phenomenal competitors, fiery kids. They lifted this group up, they were tremendous leaders on and off the field. They are a big part of it…I think people are going to say you only lost two kids, you should be pretty good next year and all that stuff, which there is some truth to it, but those aren’t just any two kids. Those two are phenomenal as far as putting us in the right position on defense. They are big part of what we do. Offensively obviously they are a big part of what we do. Leadership wise, weight room wise, classroom wise those are some big shoes to fill. ”
Other statistical leaders for Audubon in the quarterfinal loss were Gavin Smith going 12/22 passing for 190 yards with 80 rushing yards and 8 tackles, Braden Wessel with two catches for 52 yards and a 35 yard kickoff return, and Gavin Larsen with 12 tackles.
Audubon’s season ends at 8-1. The 10-0 Hawks advance to an 8-Player semifinal against #5 Montezuma next week.
Audubon coach Sean Birks:
