Pierz trips up Hawley

HAWLEY -- Hawley just couldn't hang on Saturday and, afterward, Greg Martodam couldn't bring himself to let go.

The senior stood bare-armed and alone in a bitter wind on a muddy 50-yard line until everyone else wearing pads had disappeared following a 27-21 overtime loss against Pierz in the Section 8, Class 2A semifinals.

"They love the game," Nuggets football coach Peder Naatz said of a senior class that included 12 three-year starters. "They love the mud, they love the stink of the locker room, they love everything about it and they don't want it to end."

But what an ending it was.

No. 3-ranked Pierz versus No. 4 Hawley might have been No. 1 against No. 2. And which team belonged next to which of those numbers changed several times until the extra period. Pioneers senior Nick Gruber scored on a 6-yard touchdown run after the Nuggets missed a field goal try.

"We felt like it was up for grabs the whole time," said Gruber, who finished with three carries for 14 yards. "Anybody could have had the game at any time."

The in between was a mix of cold, mud and defense.

Hawley limited defending section champion Pierz, which had been averaging 40 points per game, to 224 yards and forced three turnovers. The Pioneers held the Nuggets and their 41-points-per-game offense scoreless for more than three quarters. Hawley snapped that streak by driving 74 yards to tie the score at 21-all with 30 seconds left in regulation in a drive made of "blood and guts and tears," according to Naatz.

"We were the two top teams in the state we were figuring," said Hawley junior tailback Cory Mattson, who ran for 210 yards on 40 carries to surpass 1,000 yards for the season. "We knew we were in for a dogfight."

Then, the fight ended.

After Grant Aakre's 1-yard scoring run in the final half minute, the Nuggets elected to kick the extra-point rather than try for a two-point conversion for the win, because "we had the momentum for overtime," Mattson said.

However, their overtime possession netted zero yards and a 27-yard field goal try by Andrew VanHavermaet missed short and left.

Two plays later, the Pioneers, who will meet Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton in the section final at 8 p.m. Thursday in the Fargodome, broke the goal line and the hearts of the home team.

"Our offense couldn't keep it together," Mattson said of the overtime. "We had so much emotion going we weren't thinking."

Hawley did plenty of that afterward.

Martodam finally left the field after sharing a tearful hug with his coach.

Pierz 7 0 0 14 6 -- 27

Hawley 14 0 0 7 0 -- 21

First quarter

H-Muscatel 1 run (VanHavermaet kick)

H-Muscatel 1 run (VanHavermaet kick)

P-Happke 28 pass from Pohlkamp (Monson kick)

Fourth quarter

P-Happke 13 pass from Pohlkamp (pass failed)

P-Gall 4 run (Happke from Pohlkamp)

H-Aakre 1 run (VanHavermaet kick)0

Overtime

P-Gruber 6 run

Individual statistics

RUSHING: Pierz, Even 13-51,Gall 10-41, Pohlkamp 2-(-4), Gruber 3-23, Loidolt 3-14. Hawley, Mattson 40-210, Aakre 10-29, Muscatel 10-12, Paur 4-16.

PASSING: Pierz, Pohlkamp 6-12-1 99 yards. Hawley, Muscatel 1-8-2 21, VanHavermaet 1-1-0 -18.

RECEIVING: Pierz, Happke 2-59, Korf 3-30, Gall 1-10. Hawley, A. Hinrichs 1-21, Muscatel 1-(-18).

Terry Vandrovec, Fargo Forum sports writer, can be reached at (701) 241-5548