In golf, it’s harder to make the longer putts than the shorter putts. The same principle can be said in football. On third down, it’s much harder to get a first down when the yardage is long.

FHC JV football (5-0) showed Northview exactly that principle with a 36-8 victory Thursday night.  FHC was able to get a quick stop after a couple of early first downs for Northview. Once FHC got the ball, they marched down the field, and, on third and long, sophomore quarterback Luke Majick found teammate Cam Dienes. Dienes broke a tackle and raced into the end zone to give FHC the advantage. The Rangers capped off the drive with a successful 2 point conversion. FHC led 8-0 midway through the 1st quarter.

The next time Northview got the ball, they were stuffed by FHC’s defense. Sophomore Tate Hallock made two big plays. One was a big tackle for a loss to set up 3rd and long. In the other, Tate batted the Northview quarterback’s pass down forcing a turnover.

Tate made big plays all game long, but believed a balanced defensive effort was the reason they were so successful.

“We just got after it,” Tate said. “We got out there and executed.”

Luke credited the team’s energy for the defense’s strong showing.

“We were just really motivated,” Luke said. “We wanted to stay undefeated.”

Early on in the 2nd quarter, FHC went for it on 4th down. After a completed pass, they turned the ball over due to a forced fumble by the Northview defense. Yet, the Ranger defense did not flinch or stutter.  With a quick four and out, the Ranger offense was back on the field. Luke got out there and was able to string together a touchdown drive not with his arm, but with his legs. With 2 scrambles to put FHC in scoring position, Luke took a read option himself all the way for a 13 yard touchdown. After another successful 2 point conversion, the Rangers led 16-0. 

“The offensive line was getting good push off the ball,” Luke said. “It really opened up holes for me out there.”

Northview started to put a drive together, but FHC held firm in their own territory, forcing a turnover on downs. With a minute and a half left before halftime, it appeared that the Ranger’s offense had stalled. On fourth down, FHC lined up to punt the ball back to Northview. Instead of kicking it, Tate tucked the ball under his chest and to Northview’s surprise ran with it. By the time he was tackled, FHC was inside the 15 yard line. Two plays later, Luke scored on a quarterback scramble that gave FHC a 23-0 advantage at the half. 

Coach Ty Hallock liked the situation and decided to roll the dice.

“We’ve got a play that we use that the guys are confident with,” Hallock said. “We took a chance. It worked out well for us. Sometimes, they don’t always work out, especially at this age level. I just like getting on the plus side of territory, and then I’m comfortable with our defense.”

The play was perfectly executed, and Tate ran the ball just the way the play is designed.

“My dad just called it,” Tate said. “We had good blocks, I got downfield, and we were able to get the first down.”

The 2nd half did not start well for FHC. With a punt being mishandled by the Rangers, Northview picked it up and scored their lone touchdown of the night. FHC responded however, with a long drive down the field for a touchdown. Once again, Luke ran it in, giving the Rangers a 29-8 advantage. It was smooth sailing the rest of the game for FHC. 

Hallock believes the battle in the trenches is what won this game for FHC.

“Up front our linebackers are aggressive,” Hallock said. “We rotate guys in that are very solid players. I think particularly our defensive linemen are getting off the ball, creating penetration, and any time you get that, good things happen for your football team.”

The JV team now looks ahead to FHN next week, but will first cheer on the FHC varsity football team in their game against Northview Friday night. Senior varsity players Tanner Hallock and Alec Elzinga were confident about the big Friday night game.

“[FHC JV team] ran our schemes really well,” Tanner said. “I think that leads to our success. Our tempo is similar to the JV’s so hopefully we can come out and play with that intensity.”

Alec echoed his teammate’s statements when talking about the defensive side of the football.

“Our defense needs to play better than we did last week,” Alec said. “We’re going to pick it up. We picked it up this week in practice, and we’re going to pick in up in the game.”

Coach Hallock also gave his thoughts about the varsity game taking place the next day.

“I like us by a couple of touchdowns,” Hallock said. “If our guys execute and bring some effort, they should win that football game.”