For the Tomahawk Leader
CRANDON – The Tomahawk Hatchet football team traveled to Crandon on Thursday, Sept. 9, to take on their newest conference rivals in a Northwoods Football Conference game. The game was originally scheduled to be played on Friday, Sept. 10, but due to a lack of officials, it was moved to Thursday night.
After a back-and-forth game most of the night, a 34-yard punt return touchdown by Mason Evans late in the fourth quarter put the Hatchets in front for good to earn their first win on the season, with a final score of 19-14.
The win brings the Hatchets’ overall record to 1-3 and 1-1 in NFC play.
“I was so proud of our football team tonight,” head coach Sam Hernandez said after the game. “After losing close games the past two weeks, it was so rewarding to see them pull out a close game against a quality opponent.”
Following a scoreless first quarter, the Hatchets opened up the scoring with a 22-yard touchdown pass from Tyler Jablonski to Jake Kaminski, followed by an extra point by Dakota Jelinek. The 7-0 score would hold until another Hatchet passing touchdown from Jablonski to Isaiah Stelling from 34 yards out, but a missed extra point kept the score at 13-0.
Two rushing touchdowns from the Cardinals saw the Hatchets’ lead evaporate, as Crandon took a 14-13 lead with seven minutes to go in the game. The Hatchets drove the ball down the field before an abrupt end on an interception at the Cardinal 5 yard line. However, a three and out from the defense set up the play of the game, as Evans caught a punt off one hop and tight roped the sideline into the endzone for the final score of the game.
Statistically, the Hatchets were led in the air by Tyler Jablonski with 207 yards on 13-20 passing with two touchdowns, and receiving by Jake Kaminski, who caught nine passes for 137 yards and one touchdown.
A number of players contributed in both the rushing and passing categories and contributed towards the win.
Hernandez noted that it was the defensive unit that deserved the game ball following their effort last Thursday night.
“Our defense has played good football throughout the season, with many players stepping up and making plays, and tonight was no different,” he said. “Our defensive line did a great job all night long of taking on blockers to free up our linebackers to make tackles. Logan Bishop, Kyle Norman, Cody Cox and the rest of the defensive line deserve a ton of credit for our success tonight.”
This week, the Hatchets return to Hatchet Field to take on the Coleman Cougars in another NFC game. Friday night will also be Parents Night, and that presentation will take place at 6:30 p.m., prior to kickoff at 7 p.m. The JV squad will host Menominee Indian on Monday, Sept. 20, at 5 p.m.