(Harlan) Defending Class 3A champion Harlan hosts MOC-Floyd Valley Friday night in a 1st round playoff matchup.
The Cyclones are top ranked and 8-1 on the season. The Dutchmen have a record of 6-3, but their three losses have been by four total points. Harlan coach Todd Bladt previews the matchup. “They are very consistent. They like to do what they like to do and they get after it. One thing I’ve noticed is they are a very physical football team. They like to come downhill. Their offensive line really gets off the ball. It really reminds me of old school, downhill, two back runs. Defensive line wise they aren’t real big, but they play real hard and fly around on the field. Obviously they are well coached. They are lined up really well and trust their system.”
MOC-Floyd Valley has four shutouts on the season and is allowing 9.4 points per game, but they’ll be facing an elite Harlan offense. The Cyclones average 380 yards per game. Harlan is riding an eight game win streak. “What it really comes down to is our guys have wanted to improve and get better every week. Even last week they were really focused and goal driven.”
Harlan polished off an undefeated district slate with a 49-0 win over Knoxville last Friday. They led 35-0 after one quarter.
The offense for Harlan sometimes overshadows the defense. Lewis Central in Week 1 is the only team that scored more than 14 points against the Cyclones. “I think our defensive coaches are just really big brained and really understand what’s going on out there. They put a ton of time into this and their preparation is paramount to the defensive success. Our guys believe in it and fly around. They trust each other. That’s really a hard thing to do out there on the football field is to go where you are supposed even though it might not be making the play and forcing that back to another guy so he can make the play. That’s unselfish play. That’s what our coaches try to instill in the guys and that’s what they put out there every Friday. We have some really, really good players over there and they are doing their job at a high level. That’s why it’s spread out. You see our stat sheet and nobody has 13-18 tackles or anything like that. We get those tackles spread out because guys are doing their job.”
Matthew Sorfonden leads the team in tackles with 44 while Garrett Assmann has 35 stops. Gunner Schmitz has a team best 16.5 tackles for loss with 7 sacks. Zane Bendorf has 10 tackles for loss. The group has forced 16 turnovers.
Harlan coach Todd Bladt:
