Rocco Ericksen and Josh Muehlbauer scored two rushing touchdowns apiece as Hermantown blitzed visiting Proctor 55-6 in a nonconference high school football game Friday night.
Sophomore quarterback Alex Schott completed nine of 11 passes for 136 yards and two touchdowns for the Hawks, who out-gained the Rails 433-82 in total offense.
“I thought we controlled both sides of the line of scrimmage,” said Hawks coach Mike Zagelmeyer. “Our offensive line has really been playing well as of late which is encouraging as we come to the end of the season and playoffs.”
The Hawks defense also stepped up in one of its best efforts of the season.
“I thought our defense was tremendous at rallying to the football,” Zagelmeyer said. “The defense only allowed 82 yards of total offense, and there is really nothing more a coach could ask for.”
Hermantown (4-2) will play host to North Branch (5-1) in a Northeast Red game Friday night.
“We have a huge game this week against North Branch -- a power running team,” said Zagelmeyer. “It will be a tremendously physical game on Friday and we will have to have our big boy pants on in order to come out on top. We have to make sure each player is doing their job on defense and that no one is freelancing.”
Overall, the Hawks have had some great team wins this year, and “every week someone else is picking up and pulling the rope,” said Zagelmeyer.
“Obviously, everything we do starts with Josh Muehlbauer and then we branch our passing game off of him,” Zagelmeyer added. “Alex Schott is again playing way beyond his years, and I've enjoyed watching him go through his preparation for each game. But in order to have success in the passing game -- or running game for that matter -- we have to be able to block up front, and then we need receivers who not only run great routes, but have the ability to catch the ball and make plays with their feet after they do. And while Peyton Menzel gets a lot of attention, Blake Schmitz and Brody Summers have been really nice compliments to him and have been some really big plays for us.”
Looking further ahead, Hermantown appears to have the weapons on both sides of the ball and on special teams to make a strong run at a Section 7AAAA championship.
“The playoffs are going to be wide open in this section,” said Zagelmeyer. “Every coach in the section knows it, and it will come down to who executes better when it matters, who gets a few breaks here and there, who doesn't turn the ball over, and who stays away from the yellow flags. I like our chances, but from here on out, but we need to treat each game like it is a playoff game for seeding purposes and make sure we are playing our best football at the end when it matters the most.”
📷 Jordan Deters via Hermantown Football on Facebook