After overcoming near-disaster early in Friday night's Homecoming game with Lawton-Bronson, Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn pulled away for a convincing 46-20 win at Peterson Field.

"We definitely came to play," Hawk coach Tyler Horkey observed. "The kids played great. They needed to see everything come together and be successful at it."

Lawton-Bronson had a golden opportunity to get on the scoreboard first, recovering a fumble at the Hawk 2. But the defense rose to the occasion and stopped the Eagles short of the goal line on four running plays.

"When you fumble on the first play you think, 'Is this what the night is going to be like?'" Horkey said. "But when you stop them at the 2, you think 'This is what the night is going to be like."

After a scoreless first quarter, back-to-back sacks forced Lawton-Bronson to punt. The Hawks advanced the ball into Eagle territory and quarterback Kooper Ebel did the rest, scoring on a 49-yard run.

Lawton-Bronson answered with a 14-yard scoring pass and added the 2-point conversion to give them an 8-6 lead.

The Hawks struck quickly on their next series, with Ebel connecting with Noah Adams for a 64-yard touchdown pass. Ebel ran the conversion to put H-M-S back in front, 14-8.

Special teams got into the scoring act when Lance Berends blocked an Eagle punt out of the end zone for a safety. After receiving the free kick, H-M-S extended its lead on a two-yard run by Travis Kamradt to make the halftime score 22-8.

The defense took its turn to score early in the third quarter, when Kayl Jacobsma and Gabe Bronstad combined for a tackle in the end zone for another safety. H-M-S then took advantage of great field position, with Kamradt scoring on a five-yard run. Connor Dodd added the conversion to make the score 32-8.

Lawton-Bronson came back to score a 24-yard pass late in the third quarter. After recovering a fumble, the Eagles cut the deficit to 32-20 with the third touchdown reception by Hayden Dahlhauser.

Following an interception by Dodd and a subsequent fumble, the Eagles turned the ball over on downs deep in their territory. Ebel immediately connected with a wide-open Dawson Schiphoff for the score.

A fumble recovery by Kamradt gave the ball back to H-M-S. After runs by Keaton Graves advanced the ball to the 8, Ebel scored the final touchdown to seal the 46-20 win.

Offensively, H-M-S ground out 329 rushing yards, led by Ebel with 184 yards on 18 carries. Kamradt ran for 68 yards and Graves added 57.

"When we blocked it (the triple option) correctly, we gained a lot of yards," Horkey said.

Ebel completed 3-of-5 passes, with the 64-yarder to Adams and two completions to Schiphoff for 54 yards.

One concern for Horkey was the three lost fumbles.

"We have to take care of fumbling," he said. "We have to fix those errors, and work on what we do as an offense and as a defense."

MIKE PETERSEN/SENTINEL-NEWS

A Lawton-Bronson defender would need more than a piece of jersey to bring down Keaton Graves on this rushing attempt Friday night.

H-M-S's defense held the Eagles to negative rushing yardage, but they did gain 254 yards through the air.

Defensive leaders (solos/assists) included: Berends, 6/1 (1.5 for loss); Ebel, 5/2; Kamradt, 5/2 (2.0 for loss); Adams, 5/1; DJ Doyle, 4/0 (2.0 for loss); Graves 3/2 (2.5 for loss); Schiphoff, 3/2 (3.0 for loss); Bronstad, 3/1 (1.5 for loss); Dodd, 3/1; Kayl Jacobsma, 2/1 (1.5 for loss). Kamradt and Schiphoff each recovered a fumble.

Friday's game was the final game of the regular season. South O'Brien and H-M-S finished with 4-1 records in Class A District 1 play. However, the Wolverines won the head-to-head matchup, giving them the tie-breaker.