The South Hamilton Hawks return to the friendly confines of Bill Taylor Field on Friday night to host the South Central Calhoun Titans in what has become a de-facto district title game in Class 1A, District 2 on Friday. The Hawks enter with a 4-1 overall record and 2-0 in the district, while the Titans enter with a 3-2 overall record, but a similar 2-0 district record.
The Titans 2022 season has been more of a rollercoaster ride than the folks in Lake City have become accustomed to. Blowout losses to Pocahontas Area and Emmetsburg are not something that happens often to the Titans, but fortunately they were non-district losses for Bryan Case’s squad. An offense that normally operates on the ground has been dominated by junior quarterback Gavin Batta, who has thrown for 879 yards and 11 touchdowns and is averaging 19.5 yards per completion. Batta’s favorite target has been junior receiver Keegan Soard, who’s caught 20 passes for 532 yards and 8 touchdowns. Senior Dominik Kistler leads the team in rushing with 29 carries for 165 yards and 4 touchdowns.
Defensively, the Titans have still seen strong individual performances, especially since the start of district play. South Central Calhoun has 34 tackles for loss on the season, with the leader in linebacker Zach Trott, who has 6 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks and 21 tackles overall. The Titans have forced turnovers at an efficient clip as well, as Brock Natress has returned one of the Titans 5 fumble recoveries 91 yards for a touchdown, as the Titans have also picked off 5 passes.
South Hamilton looks to continue to build on their balanced rushing attack they’ve carried this season. The Hawks have 6 running backs that have over 100 yards rushing on the season, led by sophomore Nick Seversieke who has over 300 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Junior fullback Noah Gunderson leads the team with 9 touchdowns. Defensively, it’s going to be up to the Hawks secondary to force South Central Calhoun to keep the ball on the ground, as corner Landon Greufe leads the team with 3 interceptions.
Kickoff is slated for 7 PM at Bill Taylor Field in Jewell on Friday night.