The Hawks’ offense looked like it was running on caffeine and jet fuel Wednesday night. Hermantown blistered North Branch 56-26 in a Senior Night regular season finale that felt less like a football game and more like a highlight reel.
Junior running back Martin Sleen was unstoppable — 242 yards and four touchdowns on just 12 carries, a cartoon-like 20.2 yards per tote. Junior quarterback Sawyer Senst added balance and swagger, completing 6 of 9 passes for 143 yards and a touchdown while adding one on the ground.
Coach Mike Zagelmeyer couldn’t have drawn it up much better.
“I am extremely happy for our seniors who got a convincing win on Senior Night,” he said. “I thought we played one of our best wire-to-wire games of the season.”
From the opening kickoff, the Hawks looked like a team possessed. They scored 22 first-quarter points, rolled up 456 yards on just 34 plays, and averaged 13.5 yards per snap.
“I thought we were the most physical we have been to date,” Zagelmeyer said. “We did a pretty darn good job bottling up that power-T offense that North Branch runs — which has notoriously caused us problems in the past. We rallied to the football, and I could definitely hear the shoulder pads popping.”
North Branch wasn’t bad; they just ran into a buzzsaw. The Vikings piled up 405 rushing yards — 123 from quarterback Logan Hammel, 83 from Nolan Bahr and 78 from Logan Raine — but Hermantown’s defense forced two fumbles and picked off a pass to kill rallies.
Zagelmeyer pointed to senior captain Grant Johnson as the heartbeat.
“Grant had a phenomenal game for us,” he said. “His interception was remarkably athletic, and he also chased down two of their ball carriers on touchdown-saving tackles. Offensively, he came up big again with a couple of huge receptions. Grant is a true leader for this team and does everything a captain should.”
Sleen’s runs defied physics. One went 66 yards untouched up the right sideline. Another, 45 yards on a counter, left defenders tackling shadows. His final score — a straight-up middle blast — made it 56-20 midway through the third quarter.
“Once again, Martin was truly unbelievable,” Zagelmeyer said. “He had his signature long touchdown runs, but the one that really impressed me was when he took a big hit, bounced off it, kept his balance, and accelerated into the end zone. A lot of people have come to expect him to perform at this level, but I can tell you one thing — I don’t take him for granted. I’m just as much a fan as anyone when I watch him run. In my 29 years of coaching football, I’ve never seen anyone quite like him. He’s the best I’ve ever seen — period.”
Senior Bode Madill continued his emergence as Senst’s go-to receiver, catching two balls for 57 yards, including a 49-yard touchdown down the seam. Bryson Eischen added 56 rushing yards and a score on five touches, including a 28-yard blast.
“Bryson continues to do an excellent job at fullback, keeping defenses honest,” Zagelmeyer said. “He had a huge 28-yard touchdown run, and with all the attention Martin draws, it really opens opportunities for others.”
Madill’s touchdown came off one of the night’s prettiest plays.
“Bode found the end zone on a 49-yard touchdown catch after North Branch bit hard on the fake handoff to Martin,” Zagelmeyer said. “Coach Aker called a great play there — Sawyer bootlegged perfectly, and Bode was wide open with no one near him.”
On defense, Fletcher Wrazidlo put on a clinic.
“Fletcher played outstanding at linebacker,” Zagelmeyer said. “Sometimes he gets too close to the line of scrimmage and gets caught in the wash, but on Wednesday he did a great job staying patient, reading plays, and then attacking. Nineteen solo tackles is pretty incredible for a high school player.”
The Hawks’ front line deserved a hand, too.
“Our defensive line also deserves credit for keeping their O-line off our backers,” the coach said. “Out of our 53 solo tackles, our linebackers accounted for 35 of them — a stat Coach Homstad will be proud to see.”
And in the record books, Madill made history.
“Bode tied the state all-time record for career extra points on Wednesday night,” Zagelmeyer said. “We hope to see him break it next Saturday at 6 p.m. when we play the winner of Rock Ridge and North Branch.”
For Hermantown, everything now points to the postseason.
“Our plan is to take a couple of days off and let the other teams beat each other up on Tuesday,” Zagelmeyer said, “then have a great week of practice and get after it on Saturday.”
If Wednesday was any indication, they’re ready.
