Line Domination Leads Cyclone FB to Win over Denison-Schleswig, 49-7

Harlan Community's Lukas Francis (9-6-24)

Courtesy of Mike Wohlhutter

Line Domination Leads Cyclone FB to Win over Denison-Schleswig, 49-7 -

(9-6-24) – After a week where most everything went wrong, most everything went right for the Cyclones.

Harlan Community used an attacking defense to give their offense great field position, then ran the ball with Lukas Francis and company to earn a 49-7 win over Denison-Schleswig on Friday.

Francis rushed for 128 yards and 3 TD’s. He gave credit to his offensive line for opening the holes he needed for his successful outing.

“Our O-line does an amazing job. I don't think I have any touchdowns if it weren't for like our old line. No, I got to give them a lot of credit. Like, they do a lot and it sucks they don’t get much credit, but our o-line’s amazing. They’re doing a great job so far.”

Francis got the scoring going with a 48yd run on the Cyclones opening drive of the game. He then added a 9yd run on the next series. He says offseason workouts have been a great benefit to his play this season.

“Honestly, I think just doing a lot of Wod Squad the past couple of years with all the upper classmen is helping make me like a tougher runner and just a stronger runner and just more confident like out there.”

Gabe Arkfeld than hit Dallas McDowell on 25yd pass, the first TD for each in their varsity careers, to give Harlan Community a 21-0 lead over Denison-Schleswig after 1 qtr.

Defensively, Harlan Community shutdown Denison-Schleswig with ruthless pressure on quarterback Blaine Grady. THAT is what Cyclone Coach Todd Bladt wants to see.

“When you look at the stat line and you only see 71 yards of offense (allowed), that's kudos to the defense was flying around.”

Twelve more tackles for Bryce Van Baale, who led the charge for the Cyclone defense to dominate allowing the Monarchs to have just 12 plays on their first 5 drives of the game, forcing 2 turnovers over that time.

“We had a lot of guys play really well,” said Bladt. “But one thing when you look at a stat sheet and you see somebody with 12 and then the next best is five tackles with Shane Cooper and then it’s, you know, 3-4-2. When it’s spread out that much, that's when you're playing good defense, because when your numbers called, you're being opportunistic.”

VanBaale also had an impact on offense, scoring on a reverse from 34yds out in the 2nd qtr.

Arkfeld and McDowell would hook up with a 1:16 left in the first half to give the Cyclones a 35-0 lead at the break. Arkfeld had 135yds passing with 2 TD while McDowell, in his first start at tight end, had 49yds with those 2 scores.

Francis would score his 3rd TD of the game on the opening drive of the 2nd half from 9yds out.

The Monarchs got on the board with a 9-play, 77yd drive that ended in a 1yd run by Cole Caster. But the Cyclones would answer back with a 49yd run from Ayden Redmon-Stevenson, his 2nd TD of the year.

The defensive line for Harlan Community of Hayden Soma, Jaysper Nielsen, and Alex Heithoff, who really impressed Bladt with his performance.

“You know, I think Alex Heithoff raised the bar a little bit for himself and this week he got after it. He had 4 unassisted tackles. That's a big deal and you can start having those from your D line making plays like that, getting a few sacks and forcing fumbles.”

Some areas Bladt plans to work on with his team will be penalties, where they had 8 for 115 yds, including 5 personal fouls in the 2nd half, and holding on to the football after committing 3 fumbles.

“We got to carry the pumpkin a little bit better. We can't put that baby on the ground. Hate seeing that oblong ball roll around when you're on offense and, you know, that's going to be a point of emphasis for the offense this week.”

Francis says getting this win will be a shot in the arm for the whole team.

“Our confidence after this big one is great. Not going to lie was low down after last week. This big one is definitely what we needed just to kind of boost our confidence and look forward to next week facing Glenwood.”

Harlan Community is now 1-1 and will prepare for their first road test of the season when they travel to Glenwood on Friday. (KNOD 105.3FM)

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