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Today's Column
Plante brothers bring a lifetime of hockey together on one Bulldogs lineThree Hermantown brothers who once battled in the basement, three NHL draft picks who traveled different developmental paths and three Bulldogs now beginning the season shoulder to shoulder at AMSOIL Arena.
HowieHanson.com Section
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
Hermantown’s unbeaten start has been powered by explosive plays, increasingly physical defense and the return of an experienced quarterback. Yet coach Mike Zagelmeyer understands that a 3-0 record guarantees his Hawks nothing when Northeast Red rival Cloquet arrives for Friday night’s homecoming game. Kickoff is scheduled for
Mike Zagelmeyer has coached enough football to recognize the difference between a productive August and a successful November. He likes what he has seen from Hermantown through the opening week of preseason practice, but he also understands that effort, conditioning and enthusiasm have yet to win the Hawks a game.
The question is whether the senior class can transform potential into production, close the gap on Grand Rapids and bring a Section 7, Class 4A championship trophy back to Centricity Stadium.
Hermantown’s 2025 football season came full circle Friday night — ending against the same team that handed the Hawks their first loss of the fall. Grand Rapids, physical and efficient from the start, again proved too much, defeating Hermantown 41-0 in the Section 7, Class 4A championship game to
Hermantown led 14-8 at halftime and 28-16 after three quarters before Sleen’s third touchdown in the fourth extended the margin to 35-20.
“Holding Martin (Sleen, Minnesota's leading rusher) out allowed some of our younger guys to get valuable experience, especially since our JV game was canceled this past week. It was great to see some of them step up and contribute.” -- Hermantown coach Mike Zagelmeyer
Howie's column is powered by Lyric Kitchen · Bar Hermantown spent the first month of the season feeling a little out of sorts, like a team searching for itself. Flash one week, finesse the next, but not that old Hermantown brand that used to make opponents wince. On Friday
“Gary Bowen was more than a coach. He was the patriarch of Hermantown football.” -- Hawks head football coach Mike Zagelmeyer
"I think we have some real playmakers this year who are excited for the challenge ahead. We graduated only eight seniors, although several were major contributors. For the first time in a long time, I like our depth." -- Hermantown Hawks football coach Mike Zagelmeyer
"I like a lot of it. I love the Jones resigning, love all the interior offensive line adds and the bulking up of the defensive side with Hargrave and Allen. The cornerback re-signings were good." -- Kelly Grgas Wheeler
“He is a special back who is already starting to draw comparisons to some of the greatest running backs that have come through Hermantown. And we have had a ton of them." -- Hermantown football coach Mike Zagelmeyer on sophomore halfback Martin Sleen
“To say a section championship is a goal is one thing, but we must go out and achieve it now. No more words, just actions.” -- Hawks coach Mike Zagelmeyer
Hermantown (6-1) will visit Duluth Denfeld (6-1) in the Northeast Red Game of the Week on Wednesday night, as both teams wrap up regular-season play.
Note: Quote Me, Howie is powered by Perrault Construction, the trusted roofing, siding and window company in Duluth. Nate Hanson, girls soccer – "I can't believe we're already halfway through the season. Eleven games into the season and the girls find themselves at 4-6-1.
We have won many great games in the past at Hermantown, but we have also lost our share of those great games. This one has to rate close to the top, if not at the top, as one of the toughest regular season losses I can remember in my 28-year tenure here. -- Mike Zagelmeyer