(Harlan) It’s Harlan against Boyden-Hull/Rock Valley in the Class 3A state championship football game on Friday. The contest will kick off at 1:00 p.m. and air on KSOM.
Harlan has maintained their focus throughout the season and taken care of business every week, but there’s not doubt that a state championship has been their goal. Now they are 48:00 of good football away from making that a reality. The pressure may be on them, but coach Todd Bladt is okay with that. “Pressure is privilege. You set your sights real high, you earn the opportunity to be pressured. I think if you can kind of understand that and understand that this is what you worked for. Everyone is going to have butterflies, I don’t care who you are. Heck I have butterflies just thinking about it, but it’s who can take that and turn it into a positive and use that nervous energy in a positive way.”
The Cyclones face a Boyden-Hull/Rock Valley squad that is coming off of a 42-0 win over Solon in the semifinals. “They have a lot of athletes out there. There’s not doubt about that. They are real disciplined and do things real well. Their offensive line is very disciplined and their defense is very stout to say the least. Holding Solon to no points they played very well in the semifinals. It was a very impressive win for them.”
Harlan is in the state championship game for the 22nd time in school history. They’ve won 12 of them and lost nine including their runner-up finish last year. Coach Bladt has been involved in games of this magnitude as a player, assistant coach, and now for the second time as a head coach. “It’s always fun. Every title game has different memories.” He says, “It gets solidified in your brain. We’d like to make some lasting memories and hopefully they can be positive ones.”
Both teams are undefeated. The Nighthawks average 46.5 points per game and allow 9.2. Harlan scores 50.9 points per contest and give up 11.
Harlan coach Todd Bladt:
