Hermantown football coach Mike Zagelmeyer admits that his team’s 35-28 loss at Grand Rapids on Friday night “was probably one of the more disappointing performances I've had as a football coach.”
The Hawks led 28-21 midway through the fourth quarter, but the defense couldn’t stop the Thunderhawks from scoring two short running touchdowns down the stretch. Turnovers also cost No. 1-ranked Hermantown from starting the season 2-0 and 1-0 in the Northeastern Red.
“I didn't think we played very well at all,” the fifth-year Hermantown head coach, who has been with the program for 25 years, said Monday morning. “Right from the opening kickoff, we made too many mistakes -- from turning the ball over four times to the undisciplined penalties we had, to not executing what we wanted to do defensively.
“Offensively, there were some good things we did, but then we shot ourselves in the foot with turnovers. Defensively, I never really felt we stopped Grand Rapids, and we needed to be able to get off the field defensively and didn't. I also think they chunked us pretty good with yards per carry.”
Josh Muelbauer rushed for 129 yards and two touchdowns, and Ryder Wrazidlo had a team-high 10 solo tackles for Hermantown.
Hermantown (1-1) will host Duluth East (1-1) at 7 p.m. Friday at Corey Veech Field at Centricity Field.
“Duluth East has turned into a nice little rivalry for us,” said Zagelmeyer. “Obviously, everyone will want to talk about the game last year we had with them, but we need to focus on this year. Both of us are coming off tough losses and want to get back on track this week. The key to beating East is to stop (Austan) Overdahl. He is a very special player, but in the game of football you can't let one guy beat you. I'm excited to see how our team responds this week.”
📷 Shawna Jokinen | Freeway North Photography