Allen wins battle in the trenches to top Wildcats

ALLEN - Father takes the win over son in family bragging rights game. Allen topped Hartington-Newcastle 28-12 on Friday night as head coach Dave Uldrich earned a win against his son, Corey, in the duos first matchup against each other.

The noise leading up to the game was high. The Huskerland Prep Report had this as the game of the year during the preseason. Dave Uldrich says he and Corey emphasized to their teams to just focus on the opponent and not the noise though.

“The experience was a great game to coach in, but we told our kids all week this isn’t about me and Corey. It is about Hartington-Newcastle and Allen between the white lines.”

Allen responded to that with a strong start. The team took a lead in the first half with putting eight points up on the board.

The Eagles defense responded by protecting the lead with some key stops on fourth down early on, including a fourth and inches situation in Allen territory.

“It’s what we talked about all this week,” said Corey Uldrich. “Same scenario from Randolph, same scenario now, and we are going to have to keep practicing it. It is one of those things we are going to have to spend time doing situational things in practice.”

The loss marks two straight for the Wildcats as the team struggled for momentum on Uldrich’s former stomping ground. Corey Uldrich is from Allen and said the visitor's sideline felt different compared to his other times at the field.

“It was different,” said Corey. “The thing I can always say about the Allen fans is they are very passionate and they love football. Whether winning or losing they show up and they love it. It is just weird being over here. It is a-whole-nother view of a place you know so well, so it was just weird.”

Kyle Smith got it going early for Allen and was a workhorse for most of the night. He ran for 154 yards on 24 carries for two scores, while also throwing a completion for 12 yards. He also caught a pass for 22 yards and had nine tackles on defense.

Allen rushed for a team total of 219 yards to contribute to the team’s 278 yards of total offense. The Eagles defense meanwhile held the Wildcats to exactly 200 yards of total offense.

The Wildcats scored one touchdown on offense, an 11 yard run by Ethan Koch in the second quarter. HNS would not score again until the final quarter. Allen scored in the fourth quarter on a sack-fumble that was recovered in the end zone for a touchdown by Devin Twohig to put eight more points on the board. HNS immediately responded with a kickoff return for a touchdown by Kobe Heitman.

The loss for Hartington-Newcastle marks an 0-2 start in the District and a 3-2 overall record, while Allen improves 1-1 in the District and 4-1 on the year.

“We have to get to the drawing board pretty quick We can’t lose any more or else we are at risk of not extending our season,” said Corey Uldrich. “It is playoff mode.”

Hartington-Newcastle travels to Wynot this week, while Allen hosts Wausa.

HNS 0 6 0 6 — 12

Allen 8 6 6 8 — 28

Team Stats H A

Total Off. 200 278

Passing Yds 58 59

Rushing Yds 142 219

Penalty Yds 0-0 1-10

First Downs 14 16

PASSING

Hartington-Newcastle - Shaye Morten, 4-10 54 yards; Turner Korth, 1-2 4 yards 1 INT. Allen - Lukas Oswald, 2-2 47 yards; Kyle Smith, 1-1 12 yards.

RUSHING

Hartington-Newcastle - Kobe Heitman, 12-66; Ethan Koch, 16-5 1 TD; Turner Korth, 10-49; Shaye Morten, 4- -25. Allen - Kyle Smith, 24-154 2 TD; Anthony Isom, 8-32; Noah Carr, 9-20; Lukas Oswald, 10-13 1 TD

RECEIVING

Hartington-Newcastle - Lincoln McPhillips, 4-44; Turner Korth, 1-14. Allen - Devin Twohig, 2-47; Kyle Smith, 1-22.

TACKLES

Hartington-Newcastle - Turner Korth, 16; Kobe Heitman, 12; Lincoln McPhillips, 12; Shaye Morten, 10; Ethan Koch, 8; Morgan Koch, 7; Dylan Dendinger, 7; Jake Peitz, 3; Austin Burcham, 2. Allen - Brogan Jones, 16; Devin Hoesing, 11; Josh Grone, 11; Kyle Smith, 9; Devin Twohig, 9; Noah Carr, 9; Isaac Verzani, 7; Anthony Isom, 6; Steven Cooks, 3; Kobe Kumm, 1; Reed Hingst, 1.

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