Wolves show early fight in playoff loss at No. 1 Eagles

Trailing by just two points late in first half, IKM-M held scoreless the rest of the way in 38-14 defeat

 BRITT (Nov. 1) -- IKM-Manning wasn’t able to pull off the upset at top-ranked West Hancock last Friday, but the Wolves certainly didn’t go down without a fight.
 Leading just 16-14 late in the second quarter, the Eagles scored two touchdowns in the final 1:22 of the half and pitched a shutout the rest of the way, beating the Wolves 38-14 in the first round of the Class A football playoffs.
 IKM-M was stopped inches from the goal line on a pivotal second quarter series and also turned the ball over on downs inside the 10 in the fourth, preventing the score from being closer.
 West Hancock (10-0), which will host 9-1 South O’Brien in a quarterfinal game November 8, had outscored its previous four opponents 226-15 and won its last seven games by at least 34 points.
 The 13th-ranked (RPI) Wolves, who finished 6-4 after an 0-3 start, were only outgained by 91 yards on the night (372-281) and forced the Eagles to punt for just the sixth and seventh times all season. IKM-Manning punted just once - on its first possession.
 “Overall the kids played really well,” said IKM-M head coach Tom Casey. “We moved the ball pretty consistently through the game... Defensively, we probably could have done a little better job at times. We just had a hard time stopping their sweep. We might stop it a time or two and then they’d pop it."
 Senior halfback Josef Smith did the most damage for the Eagles, netting 184 yards on 11 carries and scoring the game’s final three touchdowns on runs of 11, 22 and 72 yards. Fullback Tate Hagen carried the ball 20 times for 138 yards and broke loose for a 78-yard kickoff return TD after the Wolves had just made it 8-7 midway through the opening quarter.
 Kyler Rasmussen led the Wolves with 110 yards on 21 carries and scored the Wolves’ first touchdown from a yard out. Amos Rasmussen finished with 57 rushing yards (one TD) and 40 receiving yards on three catches.
 Hagen, Smith and Cole Kelly all returned from last year’s Eagle state semifinal team and have combined to rush for 3,646 yards and 53 touchdowns through the first 10 games this season.
 Casey was proud of the way this year’s IKM-M team persevered following an 0-3 start against three quality Class 1A opponents in ACGC, Underwood and South Central Calhoun. The Wolves rattled off six straight wins to finish the regular season and went 5-0 in Class A, District 2.
 The Wolves will lose nine seniors off this year’s team to graduation, many of them linemen on at least one side of the ball.

West Hancock 38, IKM-Manning 14
WH: Cole Kelly 11-yd. run (Josef Smith pass from Brayden Leerar) - 1st qt., 9:12.
IKM-M: Kyler Rasmussen 1-yd. run (Amos Rasmussen kick) - 1st qt., 6:43.
WH: Tate Hagen 78-yd. kickoff return (Kelly run) - 1st qt., 6:30.
IKM-M: A. Rasmussen 4-yd. run (A. Rasmussen kick) - 2nd qt., 5:09.
WH: Smith 11-yd. run (Braden Walk pass from Smith) - 2nd qt., 1:22.
WH: Smith 22-yd. run (Smith run) - 2nd qt., 0:14.
WH: Smith 72-yd. run (run failed) - 3rd qt., 11:09.
IKM-Manning Individual Stat Leaders
    Rushing -- Kyler Rasmussen 21-110, Amos Rasmussen 14-57. Passing -- Nolan Ramsey 8-14-3, 108. Receiving -- A. Rasmussen 3-40, Colten Brandt 3-36, K. Rasmussen 1-20, P. Behrens 1-12.
    Tackles -- Brandt 5s/6a, K. Rasmussen 3s/6a, Cooper Irlmeier 4s/4a, Doyel 5s/1a, Mitchell Kerkhoff 1s/5a, A. Rasmussen 3s/1a, Jackson Johnson 0s/5a, Will Jorgensen 1s/3a. Fumble recovery -- Grant Behrens.

 
 

 

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