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Underdog Hawks ready for brawl vs. No. 4 Titans

Low-scoring contest gives SH best chance at upset

South Hamilton halfback DJ Klonglan (22) plows ahead for yards against Madrid last Friday night in Jewell. Klonglan is fourth in Class 1A District 2 with 374 rushing yards. DFJ photo/Tracy Runneberg

JEWELL — South Hamilton head football coach Corey Klemp won’t say it. Heck, he won’t even think it. But there’s a real possibility that the Class 1A District 2 championship could be decided tonight at Taylor Field.

Yes, it’s that big of a game. And South Hamilton will be a decided underdog.

The Hawks (4-1, 1-0) will play host to fourth-ranked South Central Calhoun (5-0, 1-0) in a district showdown at 7 p.m. The winner will own a leg up in the race for the district’s only automatic berth into the playoffs.

The Titans have dominated up to this point in the season. They score 43.2 points per game on average. They allow just 3.6 points with two shutouts and three outings with just 18 points total allowed.

In other words, South Hamilton will have its hands full. But Klemp remains optimistic that the Hawks can compete with a team that is regarded as one of the state’s best.

“They’re a tremendous program and they’re off to another great year,” Klemp said. “They’re as fundamentally sound as anybody I’ve seen in a while. But if we’re at our best, we’re definitely looking at this as a game we can go in to compete and win.”

South Central Calhoun has an array of weapons and can beat teams in numerous ways. Quarterback Josh Henkenius has thrown for 399 yards, and the Titans boast two of the district’s top nine rushers in Keagan Meyer (395 yards) and Landon Schleisman (252 yards). And then there’s Chase McAlister, a versatile talent who has the ability to break games open with one play.

“(McAlister) is a tremendous athlete and from what I’ve seen on film he’s very fast,” Klemp said. “They’ve got a lot of different guys that can do things to hurt you. They find a lot of balance so you can’t just shut down one area. If you do, they’re going to hurt you in another way.”

Team defense and flocking to the ball have been a strength of South Hamilton’s all season. The Hawks allow just 10.8 points per game and yet another low-scoring battle tonight would seem to be their best chance of pulling the upset.

“I don’t see it as a high-scoring affair that we want to be in,” Klemp said. “We’re built to be in a slugfest, so a low-scoring game would suit us better. But we’ll line them up and play and see what happens.”

Long, sustained drives that result in points would be the perfect scenario for South Hamilton, which has its own punishing running game with halfbacks DJ Klonglan (374 yards) and Sam Lewis (370 yards), who rank fourth and fifth in the district. Quarterback Cole Berg could also be called on to make plays through the air; he’s completed 13 of 28 passes for 231 yards in his first season under center.

STANDINGS

Class 1A District 2

District Overall

S. Central Calhoun 1-0 5-0

South Hamilton 1-0 4-1

Pocahontas Area 1-0 2-3

Ogden 0-1 3-2

Madrid 0-1 0-5

Eagle Grove 0-1 0-5

Friday’s Games

S. Central Calhoun at S. Hamilton

Pocahontas Area at Ogden

Eagle Grove at Madrid (forfeit)

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