Story by Sean McNamara
Gallery by Craig Allison
RACHEL – In a matchup of Class AA No. 2 North Marion and No. 9 Herbert Hoover on Friday in Rachel at North Marion High School, it was the NMHS Huskies who knocked off the HHHS Huskies, 21-14 on a soggy evening at Woodcutter Stadium in Marion County.
Quarterback Casey Minor, who has been banged up throughout the season, set the tone on both sides of the ball for No. 2 North Marion on Friday, collecting 103 rushing yards and 101 passing yards in the win while having a hand in all three touchdowns.
“He looked pretty close to 100 percent tonight,” NM coach Daran Hays said of his quarterback and top linebacker, Minor. “I thought on both sides of the ball Casey played pretty well. I think he’s probably about 95 percent, but tonight he was pretty good.”
Minor’s counterpart at quarterback was Herbert Hoover’s Dane Hatfield, who served as the catalyst for his team all night, rushing for 190 yards and two touchdowns on 29 carries while passing for 46 yards and committing zero turnovers.
Coming into Friday’s game, Herbert Hoover coach Joey Fields expected big things out of both signal callers, and each of them delivered on the rain-soaked field.
“There’s no question who’s going to have the ball in crucial times, and that’s your best player,” Fields said. “For both of these teams, it’s the quarterback. (Minor’s) tough. They both play a different way – both on the ground – but a different type of way on the ground.”
It was a disastrous start for the North Marion Huskies as an Aaron Hoffman fumble on the opening drive was recovered by Herbert Hoover’s Alek Harrison, and a Casey Minor pass on NMHS’s second drive was intercepted by HHHS’s Avery Pannell.
Sandwiched in between the two North Marion turnovers was a 30-yard touchdown run by Hatfield, which gave the visitors from Herbert Hoover a 7-0 lead after a Voss Duernberger PAT.
That 7-0 score would hold until the second quarter when Minor and the NMHS offense began to find its rhythm.
Early in the second period, Minor took a run up the middle, got blocks from his receivers, Dylan Higgins and Brock Martin, and raced 46 yards to the end zone to tie the game at 7 after Brady Anderson’s PAT.
After a stop of Herbert Hoover, the home team struck again, this time with Minor racing to the left pylon and diving in for a 6-yard scoring run, putting NMHS up, 14-7.
Herbert Hoover answered immediately, as on its next offensive play Hatfield broke contain and sprinted 75 yards for a touchdown, tying the game at 14.
After forcing an NMHS punt, the Herbert Hoover Huskies took over and got inside the North Marion 10, but a fumbled snap led to a 39-yard field goal attempt from Duernberger, which hit the upright and bounced back into the field of play as time expired, leaving the game tied at 14 at the break.
To open the third quarter, Herbert Hoover took a long drive into North Marion territory, but the NM Huskies tightened up and got a stop, giving the offense the ball back.
Once North Marion got the ball back, two key passes from Minor to Martin keyed a touchdown drive as a 35-yard pass on third down set up a 22-yard touchdown pass a few plays later, making the score 21-14, North Marion.
That same score held until the fourth as each defense hung tough and didn’t allow the opponent to find the end zone.
As the fourth quarter neared the close, Herbert Hoover took over deep in its own territory and used two 15-yard penalties against North Marion to cross midfield as it attempted to tie the game.
An offensive holding call on fourth and seven wiped out a would-be first down, and a sack by Quinton Harbert on fourth down helped seal the win for North Marion as Herbert Hoover was unable to move the chains and keep the drive alive.
A 33-yard run by Hoffman and a pair of kneel downs by Minor sealed the win for the Huskies, 21-14, and improved North Marion to 7-1 on the season.
“It was a good win,” Hays said. “They’re a quality opponent. They’re awesome. Joey’s a great football coach. They did a good job defensively of disguising some stuff and giving us some trouble.”
In addition to Minor’s efforts, Hoffman eclipsed 100 yards in the game, rushing for 114 yards on 14 carries.
Martin was Minor’s top receiver, catching five passes for 95 yards and a touchdown in the win.
For Herbert Hoover, Hatfield accounted for nearly all of his team’s 234 total yards with 190 on the ground and 46 through the air.
Jaylen Symns and Avery Pannell had 21 and 20 receiving yards, respectively, while Blake Fisher ran for 21 yards in the loss.
The loss snapped a five-game Herbert Hoover winning streak as the Huskies prepare for a home game Friday against Poca.
“This was good for us,” Fields said. “Coming up here and battling against a top-three team and maybe even better, that’s good for us with what’s coming up here in three weeks.”
As for the North Marion Huskies, next up is a road trip to top-ranked Roane County, a team that shutout Mingo Central in Week 9.
NORTH MARION 21 HERBERT HOOVER 14
NM;HH
First Downs; 14;12
Rushing Yards; 218;188
Passing Yards; 101;46
Total Yards; 319;234
Passing; 6-11-1;4-11-0
Fumbles; 4;2
Fumbles Lost; 1;0
Penalties; 7-80; 8-65
Individual Stats
Rushing: NM: Aaron Hoffman 14-114, Casey Minor 13-103 2 TD, Trevor Mullett 4-10, TEAM 3-(-9). Totals 34-218. HH: Dane Hatfield 29-190 2 TD, Blake Fisher 3-21, Jaylen Symns 1-(-3), TEAM 2-(-20), Totals 35-188.
Passing: NM: Casey Minor 6-11-1 101 1 TD. HH: Dane Hatfield 4-11-0 46.
Receiving: NM: Brock Martin 5-95 1 TD, Landon Frey 1-6. HH: Blake Fisher 2-5, Jaylen Symns 1-21, Avery Pannell 1-20.
NM;0;14;7;0;;21
HH;7;7;0;0;;00
Scoring plays
First Quarter
HH – Dane Hatfield 30-yard run (Voss Duernberger kick)
Second Quarter
NM – Casey Minor 46-yard run (Brady Anderson kick)
NM – Minor 6-yard run (Anderson kick)
HH – Hatfield 75-yard run (Duernberger kick)
Third Quarter
NM – Brock Martin 22-yard pass from Minor (Anderson kick)
