Cyclones’ Homecoming guest, ADM, brings 3-1 record into district opener
HARLAN (Sept. 27) -- The Harlan Community football team will open district play Friday night with a tough Homecoming contest against Adel-DeSoto-Minburn. Both teams bring a 3-1 non-district record to the table.
For HCHS, it’s the start of a challenging three-week grind in Class 3A, District 9 as the Cyclones will face ADM (3-1), Glenwood (3-1) and fourth-ranked Lewis Central (4-0) in succession.
Following a season-opening 28-21 loss to Bondurant-Farrar, the Tigers have responded with three straight wins over Perry (71-0), Grinnell (36-26) and Boone (31-0). Cyclone interim head coach Todd Bladt says that his team must build on last week’s 49-13 win at Atlantic and raise the intensity level another notch now that district play is here.
“We’ve been talking about district play and it’s not like the other (games) don’t matter anymore, but if you win your district you’re an automatic (playoff qualifier),” Bladt said. “You don’t have to worry about how another team does or if this team beat this team or any of that. If you win your district you’re in, so your fate is in your hands to start with and we’d kind of like to keep it there.”
Having success on offense Friday night starts with finding a way to either slow down or avoid ADM senior defensive lineman Kaden Sutton, who has already posted 21 tackles for loss (19 of them solos) and four sacks in the first four games. The 246-pound Sutton made his presence felt in last year’s 28-10 loss to the Cyclones and has repeatedly caught the eye of Harlan coaches on film so far in 2019.
Another returning ADM player to watch is junior quarterback Tate Stine-Smith (5’11”, 170), a dual-threat weapon who hides the ball well on read-option plays. Stine-Smith has completed 67 percent of his passes this season (73-for-109), throwing for 893 yards (fifth in 3A) and nine touchdowns while being intercepted four times. He also leads the team with 300 rushing yards and six TDs on the ground, although tailback Justice Paulsen’s numbers (277 yards, 4.9 per carry, two TDs) are nearly identical.
ADM (3-1, 0-0) at Harlan Community (3-1, 0-0) • Friday, Sept. 27 • 7:00 p.m.
Series History
HCHS leads all-time, 10-1.
at Harlan: HCHS leads, 6-0; at Adel: HCHS leads, 4-1; Playoffs: HCHS leads, 2-0.
Last 4 Meetings
2015: HCHS won 49-7 (at Harlan)
2016: HCHS won 58-34 (at Adel)
2017: HCHS won 55-7 (at Harlan)
2018: HCHS won 28-10 (at Adel)