For the fourth year in a row and the fifth time in the last six years, the Remsen St. Mary’s football team has advanced to play at the UNI-Dome in Cedar Falls. The Hawks got the job done in last night’s quarterfinal game with G-T/R-A by a final of 63-14.
In true Remsen St. Mary’s fashion, the Hawks did not waste any time in taking a lead. The Hawks forced the Titans to punt on their first drive then marched down the field on their own and scored a touchdown. The ensuing kickoff was recovered by the Hawks who then scored on their next play from scrimmage. G-T/R-A’s next play from scrimmage resulted in a pick six from Alex Schroeder. After all of that, the Hawks had scored 20 points in the span of 24 game seconds. Remsen St. Mary’s head coach Tim Osterman says that run gave him all the confidence in the world because he knew his defense would not give up 20 points that quickly.
The interception for Schroeder was his fifth of the year and the second he’s returned to the end zone. He says he read the pass well and made the play that he needed to make.
A quick three-possession lead could allow some teams to go into coast mode for the rest of the game. That didn’t happen with Remsen St. Mary’s. The Hawks stayed hungry and scored another 22 points in the second quarter. Coach Osterman says the seniors stepped up and made sure they didn’t let up at all.
The offense really had everything clicking in the win. The Hawks ran the ball for 264 yards and passed for 169. Cael Ortmann went 9-10 passing for 158 passing yards and four passing touchdowns. He says the number of weapons he has combined with a great gameplan made things easy for him.
The Hawk defense came to play in the win. The Titans put together three drives in the first half that got them into Hawk territory at some point. They ended in an interception, a touchdown, and a turnover on downs. Coach Osterman says his team just never quits even when put in scenarios that seem tricky.
The Hawks were up 42-6 at the break and could allow the younger players to get the opportunity to get some quality playoff reps. Coach Osterman says getting these guys the snaps now will separate them from their competition later.
The win sends Remsen St. Mary’s back to the UNI-Dome where they’ve gotten very familiar with how things work. Ortmann says they don’t want to have the feeling they had last year when things were said and done.
The Hawks enter the semifinal round as the top-team in eight-player football. Coach Osterman says that means nothing to him. What matters is the Hawks getting the job done in Cedar Falls next week.
The Hawks now match with the Lenox Tigers in the semifinal round. For Ortmann, every team is a threat when you get this far, and they should be treated as such.
Kickoff between the Hawks and Tigers will be at 4:00 on Wednesday, November ninth. KLEM Radio will broadcast the game live from Cedar Falls with pregame coverage beginning at 3:30.
