(Harlan) Harlan rolls into the final week of the regular season with an 8-0 record and an average margin of victory at 36.9 points per game.
Following a 42-0 win against Creston last week, Harlan coach Todd Bladt says his team can still play a cleaner game. Penalties on defense and a turnover on offense meant the Cyclone offense only ran three plays the entire first quarter. “We have to eliminate penalties. That’s a big point of emphasis this week. We have to play smarter and within ourselves and eliminate turnovers. We have to take care of the ball, especially going into the playoffs we can’t have that turnover margin going the wrong way.”
Coach Bladt believes his team is a deeper group than they were when they started the year. 1-7 Knoxville has had a mid-season coaching change which makes them tougher to prepare for. “Execution on offense and lining up correctly on ‘D’ those are the big keys to being a successful football team and I think you could say that every week, but that’s what we are working on this week. They started doing some new formations there with a different head coach. We’ll have to be on our toes and expect a lot of anything.”
The Cyclones have outscored district opponents 219-37. Harlan is averaging 50.9 points per game on the season. According to statistician Jim Stessman the school record is 45 points per game, set in 2003. Teagon Kasperbauer is #1 in the state in passing yardage with 2,039 and #1 in passing touchdowns with 29. Connor Frame is #2 in Class 3A for receiving touchdowns with 12.
Harlan coach Todd Bladt:
