The South Hamilton Hawks football team returns to action on Friday night, as they host the Woodward-Granger Hawks in Class 1A, District 7 action at Bill Taylor Field in Jewell on senior night. South Hamilton enters with a record of 5-1 and 3-0 in district play, while Woodward-Granger enters at 3-3 and a similar 3-0 district record. South Hamilton won last year’s meeting 38-14 in Jewell.
South Hamilton enters looking for their 2nd consecutive district title, which would be clinched with a win over W-G. The Hawks still possess the top-ranked rushing offense in 11-man football in the state of Iowa, with 2,397 yards on the ground, as well as the most rushing touchdowns in 11-man football with 34. Nick Severseike remains the Hawks leading rusher with 703 yards and 12 touchdowns, while Kolby Hodnefield is their 2nd-leading usher with 432 yards and 4 touchdowns. Defensively, South Hamilton has seen a huge jump in production from senior Owen Duns up front, as he sits 2nd on the team in tackles with 27, along with 5.5 TFL and 3.5 sacks, while fellow defensive lineman Carter Stolee has 24.5 tackles and 4.5 TFL.
Woodward-Granger enters riding a roller coaster of a 2023 season, as the Hawks started the year 0-3, that included a pair of one-point losses to Madrid and Interstate 35. District play saw Hawks coach Cory Crnkovich make the switch at quarterback to sophomore Talan Fuson, which allowed the W-G spread offense to open up. Fuson has thrown for 408 yards and 4 touchdowns, while rushing for another 321 yards and 5 touchdowns in the 3 games his started at quarterback. The favorite target of the W-G passing attack has been junior Max Dalton, who’s caught 18 passes for 309 yards and 3 touchdowns, while sophomore Kane Mahler-Moreno has 187 yards off 14 catches and 2 touchdowns. The explosive threat has been junior Chandler Drake, who has 6 catches for 162 yards and 3 touchdowns. The rushing attack has been spearheaded by senior Oliver Potter, who has 943 yards and 12 touchdowns on the season, adding an explosive offensive arsenal to his high-volume defense production, as Potter also has a 95-yard touchdown reception under his belt.
Defenisvely, the aforementioned Potter is the bell cow at linebacker, as he’s tallied 61 tackles, 10 tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks. Kainen Schirman and Dylan Major have led the charge on the defensive line with Schirman at 15.5 tackles, 5 tackles for loss and 2 sacks, while Major has 13 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss and 2 sacks. The defensive backfield has seen good production, as Talan Fuson leads the secondary with 23 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss and 3 interceptions. His counterpart at corner in CJ Petersen has 23 tackles as well, along with interception. Safety Max Dalton has 19.5 tackles on the season as well.
Kickoff is slated for 7 PM from Bill Taylor Field on Friday night between South Hamilton and Woodward-Granger, the game can be heard on 95.7 KQWC or online at kqradio.com.