Huge first half propels Hornets over S/C
TOO TOUGH TO TACKLE - Ivan Haemer, left, and Gavin Voss, right, slipped through the grasp of would-be Rocket tacklers last Friday night. The pair of Hornet running backs proved to be too much for Spencer/Columbus to handle, totaling over 200 yards and five touchdowns. STAFF PHOTOS/SAMANTHA YOCIUS
The Colby Hornet football team won its first game in front of the home crowd in the 2023 season on Friday, defeating Hwy. 13 rival Spencer/Columbus 46-14 in non-conference play.
Behind the big guys up front, the Hornets built out a lead in the opening quarter and never looked back.
After holding the Rockets to a threeand- out opening drive, a Colby running back gashed the left side of the line for a 16-yard scamper on the opening offensive play for the Hornets. After breaking away for another big run, Haemer punched it in from the one yard line to get the scoring rolling and put the Hornets up 6-0 with over seven minutes to play in the opening frame. Brody Viegut then capitalized on the two point conversion to make it an 8-0 advantage for the Hornets.
The ensuing Rocket drive went backwards as the Hornet defense dropped Spencer running back Landon Behselich for a loss of four yards on first down. The Hornets stood tall again on third down as they snuffed out a screen pass for a net loss of six yards. After the punt, the Hornets had a short field as they began the drive on the Spencer/Columbus 40-yard line.
Haemer broke his biggest run of the night as he stiff armed a duo of Spencer/ Columbus defenders on his way to a 35-yard touchdown run. The successful two-point conversion made it 16-0, with just over three and a half minutes to play in the first quarter.
The Hornet pass defense was put to the test as Rocket quarterback Devlin Timmler unleashed a couple of passes down field during Spencer/Columbus’s next possession. The Hornet secondary was up to the task as both passes fell incomplete and the Rockets were forced to give the ball back after taking just a minute off the clock on offense. Caden Kleparski returned the Rocket punt to the Spencer/Columbus part of the field where the Hornet offense once again took over with good field position.
Haemer again capped off the drive with a touchdown as he punched in a six-yard score to make it 24-0 with 33 seconds to play in the first quarter. During the opening minutes of the second quarter, the Rockets once again went backwards as the Hornet defense held strong. Hunter Reynolds broke through the line during the Spencer punt and got a paw on the ball, giving Colby possession at the Rocket 29-yard line. Two plays later, Gavin Voss found a crease off the right side to put Colby back in the end zone. The score after 14 minutes of play was 32-0 in favor of the Hornets.
The opening half was dominated by the Hornet defense as it held the Rockets to -39 yards rushing in the first half. Haemer punched in yet another touch- down as he tiptoed the sideline for a 12yard score with 7:17 to play in the second quarter. This drove the lead up to 38 and initiated the running clock for the Hornets.
Viegut capped off the Hornet scoring as he ran for a 12-yard touchdown with 4:43 to play in the first half. The two-point conversion was good as Voss punched in the try to make it 46-0, Colby.
Spencer/Columbus got on the scoreboard late in the first half as Timmler connected with Behselich on a 68-yard touchdown pass. The score held at 46-6 heading into the halftime break.
Both teams subbed in younger players for the second half as Spencer/Columbus freshman Jack Hoeper ran in the lone score of the second half from 24 yards out and the Hornets moved to 2-0 in the young 2023 season by a final score of 46-14.
Haemer led the team in rushing as he piled on 126 yards on the ground and scored four rushing touchdowns on carries. Voss punched the ball in two more times and ran for 75 yards on 12 carries. The Hornets only attempted two passes on the night, both of which fell incomplete.
In total, the Hornets out-gained the Rockets by a total of 295 yards to 156 yards for Spencer/Columbus.
Colby Head Coach Jim Hagen said the team did well playing at home for the first time this season.
“It was an absolutely beautiful night for football and it is always an exciting night to have Parent’s Night,” Hagen said.
He credited his linemen for controlling the line of scrimmage on offense and defense.
“Our players came out and played with great effort and we played physically on the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball,” Hagen said. “Give credit to our line for controlling the line of scrimmage and giving our running backs plenty of room to run. We didn’t allow much running room for Spencer/Columbus’s ground game limiting them to just 59 yards on the ground.”
Voss led the team in tackles as he recorded three of the team’s 10 tacklesfor-loss and four tackles overall. Hagen said he was happy that the younger players had a chance to see what the varsity game felt like in the second half.
“It was also nice to see that the majority of our players who suited up got in the game at some point and contributed to this victory,” Hagen said.
The Hornets will play another game in Colby on Friday, Sept. 1 as the Iola-Scandinavia Thunderbirds will travel to Colby coming off a loss to the Wittenberg- Birnamwood Chargers. The game will begin at 7 p.m.
