Hermantown's final 2023 regular-season football game, against once-beaten Duluth Denfeld at beautiful Centricity Stadium on Wednesday, was a down-to-the-wire classic featuring two of the top three teams in the balanced Northeast Red.
Certainly, the 31-29 shootout loss wasn't what the Hawks had hoped for, but the overflow crowd was treated with perhaps the most entertaining game played in the Northland this fall.
Hermantown (5-3) led 22-15 at the half and had a chance to close the gap, even tie or win the game with a score and a successful one- or two-point conversion on a final drive late in the game.
"It was a hard fought game (against Denfeld), both teams played hard and the team that made the fewest mistakes won," said legendary Hawks coach Mike Zagelmeyer. "I didn't think we rushed the ball very well and we left some plays on the field. Our defense needed to be better on the perimeter, as that is where Denfeld did most of their damage. Give credit to Denfeld, they did what they needed to do to win the game."
As a result, the Hawks drew the No. 3 seed in the upcoming Section 7AAA playoffs, behind top-seeded North Branch (7-1) and No. 2 Denfeld (7-1).
Hermantown will play host to Rock Ridge (2-6) in a 7AAAA quarterfinal at 7 p.m. Tuesday. The winner advances to face the Hunters on Saturday, Oct. 28 at Marv Heikkinen Field in Duluth.
"The playoffs should be interesting, and we sure can't look past Rock Ridge on Tuesday," said Zagelmeyer. "They believe that they can beat us, no question about it. We have to respond to the Denfeld loss with a great effort or we will be putting the equipment away extremely early. We need to have players step up on Tuesday and make plays. It will be all hands on deck the rest of the season."
Hermantown has a host to elite playmakers, including senior wide receiver Peyton Menzel, a Minnesota Duluth recruit. Junior Alex Schott is arguably the top quarterback in the region, and senior linebacker Connor Fure is a top college division prospect.
Junior halfback-linebacker River Freeman and senior linebacker Ryder Wrazidlo are also elite players to watch.