Hawks fall in season opener
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ST. ANSGAR – The South Hamilton football team went toe-to-toe with a perennial state contender here last Friday in the first game of the head coaching career of Cole Billerbeck.
St. Ansgar, which reached the Class A state championship game last year, earned a 55-7 victory over the Hawks in the season opener for both programs.
"You have to give credit to St. Ansgar," Billerbeck said. "They are a great program and have another great team this year. They are very well-coached.
"I thought we failed to do some of the little things that we've been working on all offseason like getting off the ball, form tackling and making our reads. That hurt us, but they are all fixable things."
Wyatt Gelder rushed 11 times for 69 yards, scoring a touchdown. Kaden Dean had 35 yards on the ground, while Maddux Becker added 23.
On defense, Dean had four tackles and forced a fumble. Garret Rogers recording three stops.
John Sandgren made an extra-point and averaged 31 yards per punt.
"I thought we had a lot of guys who played hard until the very end, which was great to see because you can't coach effort," Billerbeck said. "Everything we need to work on can all be fixed as the season goes on."
South Hamilton will host Panorama on Friday night. The Panthers (0-2) have dropped games to Southwest Valley, 35-18, and ACGC, 53-7, so far this year.