Hermantown will take on once-beaten Cloquet in a Northeast Red high school football game Friday at 7 p.m. at Cloquet High School.
The Hawks (2-2) and Lumberjacks (3-1) are chasing Grand Rapids (4-0) and North Branch (4-0) in the conference standings.
Cloquet defeated host Duluth East 14-8 last Friday.
“Cloquet is one of our favorite games of the year because they always do a tremendous job preparing for us and it is always a back-and-forth battle,” said Hermantown coach Mike Zagelmeyer. “If we are going to get to where we want to go this season, this is the type of game where we need to come out on top and rise to the level of expectations. We have to play four quarters to beat a team like Cloquet -- and especially play our best football in the second half, which has been a thorn in our side in our two losses.”
Hermantown blitzed visiting Denfeld, 54-13, last Friday to cap off Homecoming Week, when the Hawks racked up 424 yards in total offense and limited the Hunters to only 36 rushing and 117 total yards on offense. The Hawks led 41-7 at halftime.
Standout Hermantown halfback Rocco Ericksen had one of his best games of the season, rushing for 69 yards and one touchdown, and quarterback Alex Schott threw for 186 yards and three touchdowns, completing 10 of 12 passes in arguably his best game of the season.
Brody Summers returned a kickoff 41 yards and contributed three tackles for the Hawks.
Hermantown did not turn the ball over and was whistled for only one five-yard penalty.
“I thought we came out very strong against Denfeld,” said Zagelmeyer. “We played fast and smart, didn't turn the ball over and stayed away from the penalties. That is the recipe for success in high school football. We didn't play perfectly by any means, and I thought our special teams were questionable for a good portion of the night. So there are still plenty of things to work on. However, I thought offensively and defensively, that was about as much as the coaching staff could ask for in a football game.”
📷 Shawna Jokinen |Freeway North Photography