(Harlan) Harlan rode a stout defensive effort into state semifinal on Friday night. The undefeated and top ranked Cyclones downed #6 Nevada 38-0.
A heavy dose of fullback William Kenkel and a four TD night from quarterback Teagon Kasperbauer did the trick for Harlan’s offense. Kenkel carried 17 times for 72 yards. “Making fullbacks great again, fantastic.” Coach Todd Bladt says, “He definitely earned his keep tonight. He was a bruiser in there and made some plays and allowed us to chew some clock in the 2nd half and get some run game going in the first half as well.”
Kasperbauer threw TD passes to Connor Frame, Joey Moser, and Jacob Birch. He was 12/22 for 198 yards and becomes the 8th player in Iowa 11-player history with 40 TD passes in a single season. Bladt says, “He’s a tough competitor. A bull rider so he’s a tough kid. He just wants to get better. He understands in the game of football if you aren’t getting better you are getting worse. He wants to improve. He wants to get better every practice and that’s what he’s doing.”
Aidan Hall caught four passes for 65 yards and ran nine times for 48 and a score. Joey Moser tallied 80 yards on three catches and Frame had three grabs for 39 yards.
The Cyclones led 14-0 at half, notched two TD’s in the third quarter, and added ten points in the 4th with a Stephen Leinen 47 yard field goal and Kasperbauer one yard sneak.
Harlan has outscored their last four opponents 201-0. Nevada was limited to under 75 yards rushing and less than 40 yards passing. Harlan’s last points allowed were in Week 7. The Cyclones improve to 98-27 all-time in the playoffs.
Up next is #5 Humboldt at 7:00 p.m. on Saturday, November 13th. KSOM/KS95.7 Sports will provide coverage of the Cyclones in the dome. The other semifinal has #3 Boyden-Hull/Rock Valley against #4 Solon. All four remaining teams in 3A are undefeated.
