Proctor Regains the Hammer with a 7-0 Victory

Wes Vork-NSO

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Sept 10

Wes Vork-NSO

HERMANTOWN – When Hermantown and Proctor get together for football, it can best be compared to old fashioned NFC North football. That is lots of running the ball, a pass here and there, but mostly lots of hard-hitting smash-mouth type football. Friday’s game fit the mold to a tee with Proctor reclaiming the
traveling “hammer”
with a 7-0 road win before a standing room only crowd in Hermantown.

The Hawks go the first bite at the apple, but after moving the ball from their own 28yd line to Proctor’s 26, they came up a yard short on 4th and 5, turning the ball over on downs.

After the stop Proctor went to work with a 12 play 74 yard drive, capped by a 22yd pass from quarterback Alex Oachs to Griffin Swanson. After a point after kick by Tyler Schubert the Rails led 7-0.

Little did anyone know at the time, but after 3 additional quarters of play, that first Proctor drive produced all of the points for the evening.

Proctor Head Coach Derek Parendo was not at all surprised by the style of Friday night’s game, commenting to NSO. “This was a classic Proctor vs. Hermantown game; you can throw the records out the window. These kids play each other tough and, it typically comes down to the last play of the game.”

Running was the order of the night, but yards were hard to come by for both teams. Proctor ran the ball 36 times for 81 yards, just a bit over 2yds per carry average. Through the air, Oachs was 5-8 for 57 yards with one touchdown and one interception.

The Hawks also used the ground game effectively, racking up 171 yards on 48 attempts. True to the hard hitting style of game, this worked out to only a 3-1/2 yd per carry average. Cody Baker was 3-7 passing for 33 yards with one interception. The Hawks also had a halfback pass intercepted.

Although no points were scored in the second half, it wasn’t without excitement. The Rails drove down to Hermantown’s 7yd line in the third quarter only to come up empty when
their field goal attempt was plenty long, but just wide to the right.

Tough defense kept Hermantown in the game also, where they had chances in the fourth quarter. After a three and out the Hawks were forced to punt, however they recovered a mishandled ball on the punt and were back in business at their own 39yd line. Facing a 4th and 4yds to go at the 45 and with the clock running down, Steven Spencer made a nice catch for a 20yd gain and kept the Hawks alive.

The Hawks worked the ball down to the Proctor 10yd line but faced a 4th and 7yds to go. That’s where the Rails defense stepped up big with Tyler Pionk making a big hit on Baker, forcing the turnover on downs. Parendo had high praise for Pionk and
the entire defense. “We had a cover zero on the play, which allowed Pionk to roam. The line
got a nice pass rush and forced him (Baker) out of the pocket where Tyler came up and made the play. He’s not the biggest one out there, but he can really hit.”

After a kneel down, the only thing left was for the exuberant group of Rails to claim the hammer for first time in Parendo’s tenure and celebrate with the Proctor fans. With the win Proctor is now 1-1 on the season and will travel to International Falls next Friday to take on the Broncos.

The Hawks are now 0-2 on the year and will be looking for their first win when they travel to Coleraine to take on Greenway-Nashwauk/Keewatin next Friday.

Wes Vork can be reached at wes@northlandsportsonline.com