Cyclones outlast Huskies in rain-soaked thriller

Knudson PAT the difference maker as HCHS holds Winterset to 21 second-half yards in 7-6 victory

 WINTERSET -- It wasn’t all that pretty, but the Harlan Community football team will take it.
 Held scoreless for the final three quarters on a slick, rain-soaked field, the 8th-ranked (3A) Cyclones overcame a third-quarter downpour and tenacious opponent to escape Winterset with a 7-6 victory Friday night.
 A sixth straight win improved HCHS to 6-1 overall and 5-0 in District 7, good enough for sole possession of first place. Winterset (5-2, 4-1) and Glenwood (6-1, 4-1) are both one game back with two regular-season games remaining. The Cyclones can clinch a district title by winning this week’s home game vs. Denison-Schleswig.
 “We’re in control of our own destiny now. That’s kind of the way I like to have that,” said HCHS coach Curt Bladt. “Winterset had a good football team. They played hard. As a (defensive) back, (Casey Kleemeier) is outstanding and he’s an outstanding quarterback. He’s just a good athlete and he caused us some consternation during the course of the night.”
 Kleemeier’s 6-yard touchdown pass to Nick Baur with :06 left in the first half made it a 7-6 game and capped a 16-play, 97-yard scoring drive for Winterset. On the ensuing extra point try, however, Andrew Nicholl slipped on the wet grass and kicked the ball into the line after the PAT was moved back five yards due to a penalty.
 At the time, few would have expected a scoreless second half but conditions quickly deteriorated as a steady - sometimes heavy - rain fell straight down throughout the third quarter. The rain subsided for most of the fourth, but the field remained slick and favored the defenses.
 Winterset, which never crossed midfield in the second half while totaling just 21 yards and one first down, had its final hopes dashed with 1:21 left when Kleemeier was sacked on fourth down-and-four by HCHS linebacker Jon Owens at the Huskies’ 20-yard line. The Cyclones converted a first down and took a knee at the 5 to end the game.
 HCHS scored its only touchdown on Johnathan Monson’s one-yard quarterback sneak with no time left in the first quarter. Kyle Knudson added the PAT kick which proved to be the final difference on the scoreboard.
 Outgained 156-103 in first-half yardage, the Cyclones finished with a 217-177 advantage overall.
 Friday marked the lowest combined point total in a Harlan football game since JSPC beat the Cyclones 6-0 in the 1999 playoffs.

 
 

 

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