The defending state champs in class eight-player, Remsen St. Mary’s ran away with a 46-6 victory at home over Kingsley-Pierson in the playoff round of 16.
The first half did not appear that Remsen St. Mary’s was going to run away with the game. Kingsley-Pierson kept the Hawks from scoring thanks to some turnover on downs in the first quarter. The Hawks led 12-6 at half thanks to those defensive stands. Kingsley-Pierson Head Coach, Geoff Olson, says that he was also able to get his ground game going with some quarterback runs up the middle of the field.
Kingsley-Pierson quarterback, Jackson Howe, finished the game with 84 rushing yards and a rushing touchdown. His counterpart, Remsen St. Mary’s quarterback Cael Ortmann, ran the ball 28 times for 210 yards and four touchdowns. Three of his touchdowns came in the third quarter where the Hawks scored 20 of their 46 points on the night. Remsen St. Mary’s Head Coach, Tim Osterman, says that Ortmann was able to be successful running the ball due to his athleticism and the play of his offensive line.
Kingsley-Pierson struggled to move the ball after the halftime break finishing with only 43 yards of offense in the second half. Coach Olson says that mistakes kept adding up in the second half.
Coach Osterman was pleased with how aggressive his defense was in the second half when it came to pressuring Kingsley-Pierson.
The Hawks scored 34 unanswered points in the second half to run away with the win in the round of 16. Kingsley-Pierson’s season ends with a record of 5-5. It’s a bittersweet moment for Coach Olson as he will miss the seniors on this year’s team, but he also knows the future is bright for the Panthers that stick around.
Remsen St. Mary’s advances to the quarterfinals and will play in Gilbertville at Don Bosco on Thursday next week. Towards the end of the game, Remsen St. Mary’s senior lineman, Wes Galles, had to be taken off the field and later transported by ambulance to seek medical attention following a hard collision. Coach Osterman says that his team will need to fight through the tough emotional toll that this injury will have on his team.
Remsen St. Mary’s and Don Bosco will kick off the quarterfinal at 7:00 on Thursday night from Gilbertville, Iowa.
