IPSWICH – The Tigers were on the loose Thursday night in Ipswich during the first round of the Class 9A football playoffs.
Ipswich racked up more than 400 yards rushing, produced seven turnovers, and rolled past Harding County-Bison 58-8 in a game that ended with 1:57 remaining in the third quarter.
“We came out to begin (and) we got some good runs up the middle,” said Ipswich senior Kyle Hettich. “It really flushed them in and allowed me to take the outside and make it a track meet.”
Hettich, who is a standout sprinter in track and field, displayed his breakaway speed the entire night, rushing for 214 yards on just 10 carries and scoring six total touchdowns.
“The adrenaline feels really good,” Hettich said. “It feels so good getting around the outside, knowing I’m going to score.”
Hettich is a threat to go the distance every time he touches the ball, and he produced scoring runs of 58 and 78 yards against the Ranchers.
“His speed helps out a ton. Between Kyle and Casey (Geditz) we’ve got a lot of it out there. Those two guys do such a great job,” said Ipswich coach Brian Hogie. “And out front I thought our kids did a great job of getting on blocks. Our pullers were great tonight. That really just opened up gaps for us. We saw them flying to where they wanted to get to, so we were able to counter a couple of things off of them, so they did a great job.”
Geditz was a major threat in his own right, rushing a dozen times for 129 yards.
“When you have speed like we have, between those two,” Hogie said, “those two back there together really complement each other really well.”
It always takes solid line play to be able to run the ball and the Tigers had that in their playoff debut.
“I have to give lots of props to our linemen,” Hettich said. “They really get it done. Give a shoutout to them.”
A staple on the line is senior Matthew Severson. He said the Tigers were prepared and ready to go from the opening whistle.
“We just came mentally locked in,” Severson said. “We knew what we needed to get done here, and we got that done.”
It helps to have backs that don’t need huge holes to get out in space.
“A crease and they’re gone,” Severson said.
Ipswich scored on its first four possessions to build a 30-0 lead just one play into the second quarter.
The Ranchers scored their only touchdown on a fake punt that resulted in a pass play that covered 70 yards.
However, the visitors were plagued by turnovers the entire game. Ipswich recovered four fumbles and had three interceptions. Hettich forced one fumble and recovered another.
“Can’t really take much credit for that,” Hettich said. “Hogie prepared us really well for their offense and I think we all kind of came out and got it done.”
The Tigers got off to a fast start and the Ranchers were never able to slow them down.
“From the get go, I thought our kids offensively we did a great job,” Hogie said. “Even defensively, they flew around all night long.”
Quarterback Hayden Schlosser threw a TD pass to Hettich and also ran for a score. The Tigers also received a touchdown from Shay Knust.
Ipswich, 8-1 on the season, now heads to Philip next Thursday for a quarterfinal contest.
“We really have to get tough; dig in,” Hettich said. “I know driving to Philip’s a long drive, but we have to stay locked in, prepare through the week.”
Severson said the line will need to play well again next week against the Scotties.
“I think the line needs to keep applying pressure, so the DBs can get the picks and turnovers,” Severson said.
The fifth-seeded Tigers are no strangers to postseason success and will try to keep advancing as far as they can.
“The games will get tougher as you go along and we know that, too. We understand that part of it. We got to the second round last year,” Hogie said. “These kids have experience over the last couple of years playing in the playoffs. We’re excited to still be playing. That’s always the goal. You always want to keep going, because every time it’s one game, and all it takes is one game for us to do something really good.”
Harding County-Bison (5-4) 0 8 0 – 8
Ipswich (8-1) 22 20 16 – 58
I – Kyle Hettich 58 run (Matthew Severson pass from Hayden Schlosser).
I – Schlosser 16 run (Hettich run).
I – Shay Knust 17 run.
I – Hettich 78 run (Schlosser run).
HCB – Tyrel Koan 70 pass from Hayden Pihl (Koan run).
I – Hettich 23 pass from Schlosser.
I – Hettich 30 run.
I – Hettich 25 run (Seth DeRaad pass from Schlosser).
I – Hettich 8 run (Jaxon Holt pass from Schlosser).
OFFENSE: Harding County-Bison, rushing 21-81 (Elim Simmons 16-110), passing 11-17-3 for 187 (Pihl 11-17-3 for 187), receiving (Koan 6-149, Simmons 2-19), first downs 7; Ipswich, rushing 25-403 (Hettich 10-214, Casey Geditz 12-129), passing 6-10-0 for 76 (Schlosser 6-10 for 76), receiving (Hettich 5-66, Geditz 1-10), first downs 15.
DEFENSE: Harding County-Bison, Revyn Floyd 8.5 tackles, Shay Smith 4 tackles, Shawn Glines 4 tackles; Ipswich, Stetson Weigel 7.5 tackles, Geditz 5.5 tackles, Hettich 5 tackles).
