Hart runs wild in win over White Cloud

By Brendan Samuels
LocalSportsJournal.com

HART – Hart football and head coach Joe Tanis love to run the football. That became apparent in its 52-28 victory over White Cloud on Thursday.

The Pirates racked up a whopping 557 yards on the ground in their victory over the Indians, with five different guys toting the rock. What’s better is that they punched every one of their seven touchdowns in with the run game.

“Our offense came out and played well tonight, other than the penalties,” Tanis said. “I felt like we were able to move the ball. We rotated a ton of guys tonight and a lot of different guys carried the ball for us tonight. We’re early in the year and we’re just trying to find our gel and our pieces and how they best fit together.”

The pieces seemed to be universal for Hart. No matter who ended up with the ball in their hands, they were liable to take it to the house.

Photo/Brendan Samuels

Hart senior Joseluis Anaverde served as the workhorse, taking 27 carries for 259 yards and a touchdown on the ground. Junior Eman Hertzler was the Pirates’ big play guy, taking 10 carries for 163 yards and three touchdowns. Hertzler’s shortest touchdown run came from 30 yards out.

When the night started, it was those two – Anaverde and Hertzler – who got things working right away. The Pirates led 14-0 at the end of the first quarter thanks to a touchdown from each.

White Cloud responded two minutes into the second quarter when senior Lloyd Sebright-Johnson walked in from 3 yards out. That touchdown sparked something for the Indians as their drives started getting longer and longer throughout the evening.

Hart’s Alex Hicks punched in his own short yardage touchdown just over a minute after the Indians. With less than five minutes remaining in the half, the Indians’ pass game came alive. White Cloud senior quarterback Jayson Reuther dropped back, rolled to his right and let go of a deep shot to Nathan Campeau. That play ended 66 yards later with White Cloud back in reach at a 20-13 deficit heading into halftime.

Photo/Brendan Samuels

“We knew going into this game that (White Cloud) had two or three receivers that were legit,” Tanis said. “You had guys catching balls in double coverage and tipping it to themselves tonight. Really there’s no defense for that. We made some adjustments and did our best, but their quarterback had some big plays throwing the ball.”

The Pirates had it working again in the second half, though it took more than five minutes for them to score. When they did, it was Austin Martinez who had the honor of crossing the goal line. Their defense also did their job, forcing the Indians to give the ball up on a turnover on downs on the ensuing drive.

Fortunately for the Indians, they got a bit of relief when Anaverde fumbled at his own 49-yard line. The Indians took over and turned to the air once more, connecting on a 42-yard touchdown pass from Landyn McGowen to David Higgs.

The two teams traded blows back and forth heading down the stretch, but the Indians were only able to put one more score on the board. That came on a pass play from McGowan to Noah Robinson. Hart turned in two more successful drives, ending in rushing touchdowns for Connor Edwards and Hertzler.

Photo/Brendan Samuels

Hart’s defense came up big in crunch time as they walked away with two interceptions late in the fourth quarter from Edwards and Chase Gale. For Edwards, that makes three interceptions in only the first two weeks of the season.

“Connor Edwards is a dude. He’s worked his butt off this offseason and really brought the standard of what the work ethic should look like to us,” Tanis said. “It’s great to see a kid who works so hard have that success, he’s earned it.”

The Pirates now head into one of their most anticipated games of every season, the rivalry matchup with Shelby. They’re ready for it and Tanis won’t be satisfied unless they walk away holding the jug.

That game is at 7 p.m. Friday at Shelby.

“Shelby has improved,” he said. We watched their first game against White Cloud and we got to see that. They’ve got a lot of good skill players much like White Cloud. We’re looking forward to that game, it’s a big one. I think we’ll have a great week of practice and we’ll be locked in.”

For White Cloud, it’ll be another road trip as they travel to Hesperia to take on the Panthers.