By Dean Backes
MaxPreps.com
Following Friday’s 28-21 win over four-time Kansas 6A state football champion Hutchinson, Rockhurst quarterback Nathan Scheelhaase was itching to text Illinois quarterback Juice Williams.
But before Scheelhaase, who has given the Fighting Illini a verbal commitment, could contact his friend and future mentor, he had to give credit where credit was due.
“They were a great team,” Scheelhaase said. “No doubt about it. They brought the intensity out of us. This was one of the toughest games we’ve played. It’s easy to see why they’re four-time defending champions.”
Scheelhaase’s comments say a lot considering the Hawklets are perennial powers themselves, not only in Missouri, but on a national basis as well. And they play the schedule to back it up.
After dispatching 2006 Missouri Class 6 champion Blue Springs South 42-14 during opening week action, and now the Salt Hawks, the Hawklets have showdowns remaining with Class 6 powers No. 2 Blue Springs (Friday) and No. 3 Jefferson City.
Throw in Colorado and Minnesota powers Mullen and Minnetonka, respectively, and you have a high school slate that has a playoff feel almost every Friday night.
That’s exactly why Hutchinson coach Randy Dreiling, whose team drops to Class 5A for the 2008 and 2009 seasons, wanted to schedule a game against Rockhurst. He wanted to see where his team stood regionally after dominating Kansas’ biggest class over the last four seasons.
“We felt a need to upgrade our schedule,” Dreiling said. “We felt it would be a great way to see where we’re at on a regional level. Who is there better than Rockhurst to compare ourselves to?”
And where does Dreiling see his team regionally now that he’s faced the Hawklets?
“We’re 0-1 so I can’t really say too much,” Dreiling said following the Salt Hawks' first loss in 37 games. “Our kids played real hard. If we can get rid of the dumb mistakes, I think we’ll have a pretty good football team.”
Despite the multitude of errors Dreiling mentioned, Hutchinson (ranked 166th by MaxPreps going into the contest) was able to stay with No. 15 Rockhurst.
The Salt Hawks were flagged for 105 yards in penalties for the game, but stopped their own possible scoring possessions in other manners as well.
Two Hutchinson errors thwarted Salt Hawk scores on back-to-back possessions in the third quarter.
The first coming when Salt Hawk fullback Josh Smith, who rushed for 122 yards and a touchdown, appeared to tie the score with a touchdown run. But officials ruled the junior fumbled the ball before crossing the goal line.
Hawklet senior Jake Doller was there to pounce on the loose ball and preserve Rockhurst’s 21-14 advantage.
Then, Hutchinson forced the Hawklets to punt on their ensuing possession and running back Deveon Dinwiddie, who scorched the Hawklet defense for 130 rushing yards, returned the boot 50 yards for what was believed to be another game tying touchdown.
This time the Salt Hawks were called for a block in the back and eventually punted.
While first-game miscues were hounding the Salt Hawks, Rockhurst was relying on big plays to set up its scores. Twice Rockhurst’s aerial duo of Scheelhaase and Keith Langtry put the Hawklets in prime scoring territory.
The first such occurred on Rockhurst’s initial possession of the game when Scheelhaase hit Langtry for a 43-yard gain.
Two plays later Hawklet senior tight end Brett Kreikemeier latched on to a 15-yard Scheelhaase pass for a 7-0 Hawklet lead with 6:07 left in the opening quarter.
The tandem hooked up again in the third quarter when Langtry latched on to a Scheelhaase pass for a 61-yard gain to the Hutchinson three-yard line.
Three plays later Scheelhaase, who passed for 199 yards and rushed for 92 more in the game, ran around the left end for a five yard score that gave the Hawklets a 21-14 advantage.
“They were doing a great job of double covering him (Langtry),” Scheelhaase said. “But the great ones find a way to get open. And he did that. We were just trying to make plays.”
The running abilities of Smith and Dinwiddie were on display for all to see as Hutchinson looked to take control on its second possession of the game.
The running tandem weaved in and out of Rockhurst traffic in advancing the ball to the Hawklet 29-yard line on Hutchinson’s first scoring drive.
From there Salt Hawk quarterback Todd Schultz hooked up with senior Tyler Heeney for a 29-yard score to pull Hutchinson within 7-6.
Schultz then gave the Salt Hawks their first lead at 9-6 on Hutchinson’s next possession when he kicked a 31-yard field goal with 11:58 remaining in the first half.
The visitors upped their advantage to 11-7 when the Salt Hawks forced Rockhurst to punt following their next possession, and the snap sailed high over Hawklet punter Grant LaTerza’s head and out of the back of the end zone.
The defending Missouri Class 6 champions regained the lead with 1:47 left in the first half when Scheelhaase took the Hawklets on a 13-play, 80-yard drive that was capped by his one yard plunge. The senior signal caller highlighted the drive with a 31-yard run to the Salt Hawk 20-yard line.
Following a 43-yard run by Dinwiddie, Schultz knotted the score at 14-14 with a 35-yard field goal as time expired in the first half.
Trailing 21-14 early in the fourth quarter, Hutchinson gained possession at the Hawklet 28-yard line after blocking a Rockhurst punt. Smith then tied the game after pounding the ball over the Hawklet goal line from two yards out.
Just two plays into Rockhurst’s next possession, however, running back Chris Castelluccio sealed the game when he reeled in a Scheelhaase pass from 51-yards out with 8:30 left in the contest.
Hutchinson did drive to the Hawklet 30 yard line late in the game, but a screen pass to Smith came up four yards short on fourth-and-17. Scheelhaase and company were able to run out the final 2:38 of the clock and began the celebrating.
“This was a huge win for us,” Scheelhaase said. “For one night I think the rest of Missouri was cheering for Rockhurst.”
