Hiawatha 28, Sabetha 7

The Redhawks defeated their Big 7 League rival Bluejays for the second straight year to earn a Class 3A District 1 Championship and first round home playoff game on Thursday night.  Brendan Steele intercepted a Sabetha pass on the opening possession of the night and capped an 11-play Redhawks drive with a one-yard touchdown run to put Hiawatha ahead to stay 7-0.  Both teams punted the rest of the speedy first half.

After driving and missing a 37 yard field goal to start the third quarter, the Redhawks held Sabetha then went on a 7 play 62 yard drive and on 4th down and 7, Ryker Smith found his favorite target, Conner Bigham for a 19 yard touchdown pass to make it 14-0 with 2:13 to play in the stanza.  The Redhawks then were stripped of the football for their only turnover on the night on their next drive and the Bluejays capatalized with a short 40 yard drive as Gaven Schumann found Keegan Schumann on a 4th down and 7 screen pass then went for a 10 yard score.  The Bluejays momentum was short lived as three plays later, Steele broke free on a 50 yard touchdown for the Redhawks to make it 21-7 and they later tacked on a 20 yard TD pass from Smith to Peyton Newell for the final 28-7 margin.  

Sabetha was 11-15 passing in the first half, but Hiawatha made adjustments and got more pressure on the quarterback limiting the Bluejays to just 74 total yards in the second half and only 3 of 16 passing.  Sabetha ran for 84 total yards on the night led by Michael Baumgartner with 38 yards on 9 carries and Jacob Frey had 7 receptions for 68 yards before the Jays finished the regular season with a 4-5 record and district runner-up for a sixth consecutive season.  Sabetha will get a chance to avenge a 28-21 loss to Nemaha Valley when they visit the Raiders (8-1) on Tuesday in a rematch and final meeting against their county NV Raider rivals.  

Hiawatha had a terrific night from quarterback, Smith, who was 11 of 14 passing for 162 yards and a pair of TDs while Bigham had 9 catches for 129 and a score.  Pla"yer to Bank On" honors Sponsored by Citizens State Bank and Trust Company of Hiawatha however, went to the Man of Steele as Brendan carried a huge load for the third straight week.  Steele finished with 34 carries for 164 yards and 2 touchdowns plus added a defensive interception for Hiawatha's 22nd takeaway of the year.  The Redhawks, who are 8 points away from a 9-0 record, start their third straight post-season with a home game against Riley County on Tuesday.  That game will be broadcast live on KNZA 103.9 FM.