Chuck Vandenberg, Pen City Current Editor
DONNELLSON — Bo Herdrich knew what his team needed, and if it meant surrendering two points, well, so be it.
One minute remained in Central Lee’s season opener against Van Buren County, and with the Hawks up seven points and the ball just three yards from their own end zone, Herdrich, who handles Central Lee’s punting, knew what he could and couldn’t do.
“I know my punting ability,” Herdrich said. “Any punt past the 50-yard line would have been good, but I knew I just didn’t have that tonight.”
So Herdrich suggested to coach Doug Dodds to take a safety, which would lead to a free kick from the Central Lee 20-yard line, which would make Van Buren have to travel a long way to get to the end zone with not a lot of time left.
It worked. Herdrich, standing in the end zone, took the snap, let a few seconds wind off the clock, then stepped out of the back of the end zone for the safety, Central Lee kicked off to the 50, and then the Hawks stopped the Warriors for a 13-8 win on Friday night.
“Bo made a great decision,” Dodds said. “He said, ‘Coach, I’m not going to be able to kick it to the 50 from where I’m at. Take the safety, kick from the 20.’ It worked out great.
“That goes back to the type of person Bo is. He’s a leader. You see him on the baseball field, as a catcher, he owns that field. You see him when he plays basketball. He’s a multi-sport kid. He’s just a kid who shows up and does what he’s supposed to do. And it’s awesome to have somebody like that as a leader.”
It left the game in the hands of the Hawks’ defense, which had come up with so many big plays all night. Van Buren got to the Central Lee 44, but on fourth down, Izaak Loeffler’s pass was knocked away, and the Hawks were able to celebrate hanging on to the win.
Central Lee got all of its points in the first two quarters, including a touchdown on the opening drive that was actually the second score of the possession.
Kayden Calfee’s 62-yard touchdown run on the second offensive play of the game was called back because of a penalty, but Calfee scored on a 26-yard run four plays later for a 6-0 Central Lee lead.
“I think we did a really good job of coming out, winning the line of scrimmage,” Dodds said. “
But the Warriors went 45 yards on their opening possession, a drive into Central Lee territory that didn’t get points, but got Van Buren some momentum.
Chase Johnson’s 12-yard touchdown run in the second quarter pushed the Hawks’ lead to 13-0, but Van Buren was able to keep Central Lee contained in the second half. The Hawks, who had 161 yards of offense in the first half, had just 37 yards and one first down in the second half.
“They did some things that made it uncomfortable for us, and we just weren't consistently executing, I didn't think,” Dodds said. “I mean, there were glimpses from time to time after those first couple of drives, but we just got to keep doing better.”
Central Lee’s defense kept Van Buren from mounting any long drives.
Van Buren looked to have prime field position after a snap over Herdrich’s head led to a short punt and the Warriors getting the ball at Central Lee’s 24-yard line. But Brayden Wyrick’s interception two plays later got the ball back for the Hawks.
Van Buren’s lone score came late in the fourth quarter, when Loeffler threw a 5-yard touchdown pass to Joseph Debner.
“They played really hard tonight,” Herdich said of the Warriors. “They got that touchdown, but I felt like we shut them down late. A lot of tackles for losses, a lot of big hits. So I thought we had a good night.”
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