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Mike Zagelmeyer has good reason to like his Hermantown football team, and the reasons extend well beyond an unbeaten record and a running back who turned homecoming into a personal highlight film.
Martin Sleen supplied the extraordinary Friday night. The homecoming king returned the opening kickoff 94 yards for a touchdown, rushed for 248 yards on 15 carries and scored four times in a 35-6 victory over Cloquet at Centricity Stadium. The Hawks improved to 4-0 overall and 3-0 in the Northeast Red, earning an unbeaten showdown Friday at Grand Rapids (4-0, 3-0).
There will be plenty of time this week to consider that assignment. First, understand what pleased Zagelmeyer about the way his team handled this one: With every reason to get caught up in the homecoming celebration, Hermantown took care of the football.
“Just an unbelievable environment to be a high school football player on Friday night,” Zagelmeyer said. “We had a beautiful night for football and it was our Homecoming, we had a Hall of Fame induction ceremony with Darin Illikainen and Dale Mundle being inducted, we had flag football going on at halftime, and we had a packed house, all while going up against one of our long time rivals, and a very good football team, in Cloquet.”
That is a full Friday night in a community where the football field can become the gathering place for several generations. The players’ responsibility was considerably narrower, and Zagelmeyer appreciated that they understood it.
“It was a tremendous night for Hermantown football, we just had to make sure we did our part and win the football game and we were able to do that,” he said.
They did their part emphatically. Hermantown gained 294 yards on 24 rushing attempts, an average of 12.3 yards per carry, and produced 316 yards of offense in only 31 plays. The Hawks led 21-6 at halftime and scored in every quarter, leaving Cloquet (2-2, 1-2) to spend much of the evening trying to recover from damage that happened quickly.
Sleen averaged 16.5 yards per carry, with a long run of 77 yards. Those are remarkable numbers against a conference rival, although a running back does not reach them without considerable work being done before he gets to the opening.
“I thought we played well offensively,” Zagelmeyer said. “I really liked the way our offensive line opened up holes for our run game and then obviously Martin was spectacular and seemed to have even a little extra juice in his acceleration on Friday.”
The line deserves its share of this start. Hermantown has scored 194 points through four games, following victories over Duluth Denfeld, Proctor and Duluth East with Friday’s performance against Cloquet. Sleen’s speed makes the offense dangerous, but the room to use that speed is being created up front.
Quarterback Sawyer Senst supplied the other rushing touchdown against Cloquet, finishing with 12 yards on three carries. Owen Simonson added 18 yards on three attempts, contributing to a ground game that allowed the Hawks to accomplish a great deal without running many plays.
Ask a coach what he remembers, though, and the answer will not always be the kickoff return or the longest touchdown. Zagelmeyer made a point of bringing up Ayden Make’s catch, a play that helped leave Hermantown with a manageable fourth down.
“I thought Ayden Make came up with a huge catch to make for a manageable 4th down conversion, and sometimes those kinds of plays get lost in the big picture,” he said. “I really like that our offense is not turning the ball over and limiting the penalties, mistake free football is vital if teams want to win championships.”
There is the strongest endorsement of the Hawks’ opening month. Zagelmeyer likes the production, certainly, but he also likes the discipline behind it. Hermantown committed no turnovers Friday, making Cloquet earn its opportunities rather than handing the Lumberjacks extra possessions.
That matters because the defense had a substantial workload. Cloquet ran 57 offensive plays, converted six of 12 third downs and held the ball for nearly three times as long as Hermantown, according to Zagelmeyer. The final score was comfortable; the work required to keep it that way was considerable.
“Defensively we still need to be better, but in fairness to those guys, they were on the field for a very long time as Cloquet won the time of possession battle almost 3:1,” Zagelmeyer said. “Now, we need to do a better job of getting off the field on third down, and we still need to tighten up our pass defense, but I thought we rallied to the football and made the tackles we needed to make.”
That is a useful assessment from a coach whose team just won by 29 points. A strong start should establish confidence, and this one has. It should also give a staff a clear understanding of what must improve before the schedule becomes less forgiving.
Cloquet finished with 243 net yards. Keith Diver III scored the Lumberjacks’ touchdown and completed 11 of 15 passes for 97 yards, while Jack Horvat rushed for 66 yards on 13 carries. Quinn Waters caught six passes for 58 yards, helping Cloquet sustain possessions even as the scoring margin widened.
What the Lumberjacks could not do was consistently get behind the defense or finish those possessions. Hermantown recorded two sacks, intercepted a pass and recovered two fumbles. A stop on downs deep in the Hawks’ end also drew Zagelmeyer’s attention as a significant momentum shift.
“Cloquet's longest play was one 25 yard gain, so while we might have bent a little, we didn't do much for breaking, and we limited their big play ability,” he said. “It is hard in high school football to have to go 12-13 play drives consistently to score, and we forced them to do that.”
There is value in making an opponent keep executing. Every additional snap requires another clean exchange, another sound block and another good decision. Cloquet moved the ball, but Hermantown repeatedly made the Lumberjacks start the process again, and three possessions ended with the Hawks taking it away.
Grand Rapids will test how well that formula travels. Both teams arrive unbeaten, and Zagelmeyer recognizes the quality of the program waiting for his Hawks.
“Now on to Grand Rapids, two undefeated teams going at it, and we are tremendously excited for the opportunity,” he said. “A lot of people have been pointing to this game for awhile. Rapids is a tremendous program and are very well coached.”
The excitement is earned. Hermantown has an explosive runner, an offensive line producing room to run and an offense that is giving its possessions a chance to count. Zagelmeyer can ask for more defensively while being pleased with the way his players tackle, pursue and capitalize on opportunities.
“We know there are certain elements we need to improve upon defensively to be successful against their offense,” he said. “We also need to be able to continue to execute our offense as we have been doing up to this point. We need to have a physical and mistake free game to be successful on Friday night.”
Four victories have given the Hawks something substantial to take to Grand Rapids. The next measure is whether they can sustain that blocking, ball security and timely defensive work against another unbeaten team. Zagelmeyer sounds pleased with the group accepting that challenge, and his satisfaction is grounded in more than the standings.
