The Gehlen Catholic football team opened the season on Friday night with a 20-12 win in Hinton over the Blackhawks.
Hinton and Gehlen have opened the season in each of the last three seasons prior to this year, and Hinton has won all three of those meetings. Gehlen Catholic head coach Jeremy Schindler says getting off to a good start was an emphasis this year in the offseason.
This was a very typical week one type of game with many mistakes that added up for both team. For Hinton, the penalties took a toll on the offense’s ability to move the ball. Hinton head coach Kadrian Hardersen says it was disappointing after the great start the offense had.
With the Blackhawks taking the lead in the first couple of minutes, it put Gehlen on their heels early. Coach Schindler says the defense did a great job of buying some time before the offense came around.
The Jays put a touchdown on the board right before half which gave them some much-needed momentum going into the second half. Coach Hardersen says that touchdown was tough to swallow after it felt like his offense picked up some steam.
Gehlen’s offense really cruised behind Wyatt Konz’s 180 yards rushing and two touchdowns. Coach Schindler says Konz runs the ball with a lot of grit.
The game flipped momentum seemingly for good on a defensive play with Drake Kneip intercepting an option pitch and running it back for a touchdown. Coach Schindler says that paired with some great tackling made Kneip an asset on defense.
After Gehlen went up two scores, Hinton kicked it into high gear getting another score on the board and having a realistic chance at tying the game. Head coach Kadrian Hardersen says he saw a lot of fight in his team.
The Blackhawks fall to 0-1 with the loss. It is the first time they have started 0-1 since 2022. Coach Hardersen says his team has to use this as a learning lesson before playing a good MMCRU team in week two.
Gehlen is 1-0 for the first time since 2022 as well. The Jays will host Sibley-Ocheyedan who handed Gehlen one of their worst losses in 2025. Coach Schindler says he is looking to rely on his senior leaders to make sure that does not happen this year.
Hinton’s matchup with MMCRU is at 7:00 PM on Friday in Marcus. Gehlen plays Sibley-Ocheyedan in Le Mars on Friday night with a kickoff time of 7:00 as well.
