East Mills locks up playoff berth with road win

Three weeks ago, East Mills soundly defeated Sidney 63-22
Friday, the Wolverines downed the same Cowboys 46-14.

The 40 point margin of victory is about the only thing the two games had in common, said East Mills coach Kevin Schafer following Friday’s win in Eight-man football in Sidney.

“The last time we played them, most of their points were in the first quarter and it was kind of nerve wracking and we pulled away in the second half,” said Schafer, whose team re-matched with the Cowboys to fill a hole in their schedule. “This time, we had a continuous clock (due to mercy rules) with four minutes to go in the second quarter.”

The Wolverines (7-2) wasted little time jumping on the Cowboys, leading 36-0 at halftime.

“We jumped out early, which I was really hoping we would,” Schafer said. “We needed that because we’d gone a week without a game and we didn’t want our starters to have to play a whole game. We were able to get both those things.”

The Wolverine compiled 274 total yards with 150 of those coming through the air on Michael Schafer’s 11-of-17 passing and four touchdown tosses. Duysen hauled in five catches for 75 yards and two TDs with Davis McGrew and Jackson Wray also grabbing TD scores.

Michael Schafer connected with Nic Duysen for a second time on a touchdown pass on the opening drive after halftime to extend the lead to 43-0. The Wolverines finished the game with their junior varsity.

“Their best player, Tommy Wilson, did not play,” Schafer said of the Cowboy’s lineman and Northern Iowa recruit. “It definitely affected them. Their run game wasn’t nearly as effective  and their defensive plan they ran against  us was different because he wasn’t there.”

The Wolverine defense limited Sidney to 187 total yards and forced two turnovers.

Schafer suspected his team was already in the Eight-man playoffs prior to the game and began the second half hoping to avoid any injuries and rest his starters.

“We wanted to get one more touchdown after halftime, get the starters out and make sure nobody got hurt if we got a playoff game.”

The No. 9 seeded Wolverines will open post-season play Friday on the road at No. 4 seeded Remsen St. Mary’s (9-0).

Schafer was surprised to see Remsen on the Wolverines’ opponent line. For one, Remsen is over a two and a half hour drive and the coach thought a match up with Lamoni or a rematch with Audubon was a more likely opponent.

“We knew we’d get a district champ and we liked the idea of playing those two, we’d played them before so it’d have been an easier prep if not an easier game,” he said. “Remsen is the only team to beat Audubon and they have a very good line and a really good quarterback who can run it and pass it.”

The Hawks are indeed led by quarterback Blaine Harpenau. The 6-foot junior signal caller has passed for 1,241 yards and 24 TDs and run for another 766 yards and 20 TDs.

“We’re definitely going to have our hands full,” Schafer said. “We’re going to have to play our best game of the year, there’s no doubt about it. We have to be efficient, move the chains and keep the ball out of their hands. We need to get first downs and we need to get touchdowns when we get in the red zone.”

Kick off is set for 7 p.m. in Remsen Friday.