Nighthawks Take District Title Against The Lions

Date posted - October 19, 2012

The #1 ranked Boyden Hull Rock Valley Nighthawks beat the Central Lyon George Little Rock Lions 28-7 in Rock Rapids on Friday Night.

Both squads played solid defense throughout the first half. The only scoring drive in the first half was in the beginning of the 2nd quarter when Brandt Van Roekel found Jerod Hansen for a 24 yard touchdown pass. That pass capped a 46 yard drive that lasted 1:42. With the extra point the Nighthawks took a 7-0 with 10:59 left in the 2nd quarter.

In the first half there were a combined 7 punts, and 4 interceptions with that one scoring drive. The halftime score was 7-0 in favor of the Nighthawks.

Fast forwarding to the 3rd quarter, the Nighthawks added 14 more points to the lead. Boyden Hull Rock Valley was able to score on the 2nd drive of the 2nd half on a 2 play 41 yard drive that lasted 35 seconds. Jerod Hansen scored on a 37 yard touchdown run making the score 14-0 with 4:21 left in the 3rd quarter.

The 2nd touchdown came when Luke Keeble of the Nighthawks intercepted a Jesse Markus pass. Keeble returned the interception (his 2nd of the night) to the 2 yard line. Miguel Alvarado punched in the score 3 plays later making the tally 21-0 with 48 seconds left in the 3rd quarter.

Central Lyon George Little Rock showed some signs of life midway through the 4th quarter when running back Jesse Henrichs took a 4th and inches dive play 56 yards for the score. His run finished a 65 yard drive taking 1:35 off the clock for the Lions.

With momentum on the side of the Lions, the defense was able to force a punt by the Nighthawks. On the punt play however, Central Lyon George Little Rock was called for encroachment giving the Nighthawks a first down. Brandt Van Roekel wasted no time as he took advantage on the next play running 40 yards to the 6. Boyden Hull Rock Valley scored a few plays later when Van Roekel found Colin Bolkema for a 6 yard touchdown pass. Van Roekel’s touchdown pass occurred with 4:24 left in the contest, and took 3:29 off the game clock.

The final score of the game was 28-7, the Nighthawks finished off the regular season with an undefeated record going into the first round of the playoffs, and the win put the district 1 pieces into place. Central Lyon George Little Rock fell to 3rd in the district with there second loss. Sheldon was idle in district play but clinched 2nd in the district, meanwhile MOC-FV beat Sioux Center to earn a trip to Spirit Lake.

Next week the Nighthawks (9-0, 6-0 in District) will face Clarion Goldfield in Hull. The Lions (6-3, 4-2 in District) will have an away game versus Garner Hayfield/Ventura.