Hermantown football's season within a season rolls on.
The Hawks improved to 5-1 overall and 4-1 in the Northeast Red with an overpowering 56-12 victory over Duluth East at beautiful Centricity Stadium on Friday night.
"I thought we played our best offensive half of football of the season against Duluth East," said Hermantown head coach Mike Zagelmeyer afterward.
The Hawks raced to a 48-6 halftime lead, as super-sophomore halfback Martin Sleen exploded for three of his four rushing touchdowns and Landon Burg returned an interception 80 yards for another score before the break, and coasted to the running-time victory.
"Our offense started fast out of the gate," said Zagelmeyer. "I thought our line did a nice job of blocking it up. Martin Sleen(9 carries, 152 yards, 4 TDs) was tremendous in the run game and
Aidan Adamski (6 carries, 31 yards, 1 TD) added a nice change of pace. But to see Evan Senst,
Andre Morton, Mason Humphreys, Kyle LaValley and Adan Sandoval-Luna block was the story of the game. Their work allowed Coach (Greg) Aker to run a balanced attack and give Alex Schott (11-13, 181 yards, 2 TDs) the time needed in the pass game. Grant Johnson (4 receptions, 104 yards, 1 TD) continues to be a real weapon in the passing game."
Simply put, the Hawks' offense, defense and special teams were firing on all cylinders against the Greyhounds.
"It was fun to be a part of as a coach," Zagelmeyer admitted. "I thought our defense was very opportunistic and physical. Landon Burg's pick-6 was just a tremendous effort on his part. I thought Andre Morton had his best performance as a Hawk. We have always seen glimpses of it, but due to injury he has never really been able to be a consistent force for us. Friday night was really what we had hoped and believed he could give us defensively. Overall, we seem to be figuring out what having a 'team' defense means."
Burg and Johnson had seven tackles each.
The large halftime lead allowed Hermantown coaches to give some much-needed experience to younger, less-experienced players while giving starters some valuable rest and time off.
"The season has now entered 'the grind' portion of the year, and it is important to keep everyone healthy and fresh," Zagelmeyer said. "This is/was important for both depth and health."
Hermantown will next visit nonconference Esko (3-3) at 5 p.m. Thursday.
"We will have to adjust our schedule accordingly," Zagelmeyer said of the early start. "Our focus has to be entirely on Esko as they have a tough offense to defend and playmakers to go along with it."