Gallant Wildcat effort falls short, 13-7 to MOC-FV

Twice in the fourth quarter of last week’s home football game, the Humboldt Wildcats drove deep into MOC-Floyd Valley’s territory threatening to score.

On both drives the host Wildcats fell just short in losing 13-7. The loss dropped Humboldt to 0-7 overall, 0-3 in Class 3A District 1.

Despite being down 13-0 at halftime, the Wildcats came out inspired in the second half and outplayed the visiting Dutch in the second half, only to come up short.

The narrow, hard-fought loss exemplified the kind of season it has been for Humboldt.

“It is so tough to lose again because of how hard our kids play out there on the field. That’s the thing that is tough for us as coaches right now. We would give anything for them to be able to have a victory to show for their efforts,” Humboldt head coach Derrick Elman said.

“The coaching staff is doing everything they can to get these kids in position to be successful. They work so hard in practice and we get to see their effort each night. The effort they are putting out there on the field for each other every night out is impressive,” Elman said.

Humboldt’s only score came with 11:41 in the fourth quarter on a five-yard touchdown run by senior Jaxson Kirchhoff. Nova Christensen’s point-after cut the Dutch lead to 13-7.

On the very next series, MOC-FV marched 60-yards on 10 plays, only to fall short and turn the ball over on downs at the Humboldt 26.

The Wildcats mounted an impressive drive that began with a 25-yard pass from sophomore quarterback Noah Elman to Cooper Theesfeld. Mixed in with some nice runs by Kirchhoff and the Wildcats moved to the MOC-FV 11-yard line, only to be denied as Humboldt turned the ball over on a pair of incomplete passes.

Humboldt’s defense stiffened on the next Dutch series, forcing MOC-FV to punt from their own 32. A nice return by Brayden Dahl set up another opportunity for Humboldt with 1:30 left in the game.

Noah Elman completed a pass to Caden Fredin to the Dutch 36 with 41 seconds left. Four straight incomplete passes ended the Humboldt threat. On third down Fredin couldn’t secure a pass from Elman as he was pushed out of the end zone.

On fourth down, a long pass from Elman to Dawson Sleiter was batted down by an MOC-FV defender with 15.9 seconds left.

MOC-FV took possession and ran out the clock to improve to 3-4 overall, 1-2 in district play.

“It’s a tough game sometimes and tough games teach you tough lessons. There are some tough lessons these guys are learning but man, I love the heck out of these guys and I know they are better men because of the experiences they have,” Elman said. “I only get to have two more weeks with some of these guys.”

“I pulled the seniors aside afterwards and told them that we wanted them to know just how special they have been this year. Maybe some of that goes unnoticed but man, they are such a great group of guys,” Elman said. “I wish us coaches could do more for them.”

Fredin and Kirchhoff accounted for 39 and 37 yards rushing, respectively. Noah Elman completed 12 of 23 yards for 123 yards and no interceptions. Nash Palmer caught three passes for 42 yards.

Palmer was a warrior on defense as well, finishing with seven tackles and two assists. Fredin had five tackles and two assists. Broedy Hendricks six tackles. Kirchhoff and Griffin Groat were each in on six tackles.

Knowing the season is nearing with just two games left, coach Elman put it into perspective.

“The finality of football is so hard, too. It doesn’t matter if your season goes on to 13 games or if it is just nine. At some point it ends and for 12 seniors on our team, it is going to be hard when that final game is over,” Elman said.

“If you look at some of the games we have played, we have been so close. As a coach that is what hurts more than anything. We want to do so much more for them to get past that point,” Elman said.

Notables
Humboldt will make its final road trip of the season this Friday night when they travel to Sioux City to face Bishop Heelan. The Crusaders (4-3, 2-1) are coming off a 35-0 victory over Webster City.

Last year Humboldt lost at home to Heelan, 21-0. This week will be just the fourth meeting of the two schools. Heelan won 42-6 in 2016 and 22-7 in 2017. The Wildcats won 40-17 in 2020 in the first round of the state playoffs.

Heelan is led by quarterback Elijah Nielke. The senior has completed 52 percent of his passes for 1,270 yards, 10 touchdowns and three interceptions. Junior Dylan Knapp leads in rushing with 75 carries for 275 yards. Senior Grant Whitcomb is the leading receiver with 19 catches for 560 yards.

Humboldt will end its regular season at home on Oct. 23 against Sioux Center.

Quarter scoring
MOC-FV 7 6 0 0 13
Humboldt 0 0 0 7 7

Scoring summary
M–Kinnick Hofmeyer 15-yard run, William Evans kick, 5:35 1st quarter.
M–Trycen Groendyke 18-yard pass to Jaymore Elnei. Kick fail, 1:19 2nd quarter.
H–Jaxson Kirchhoff 5-yard run, Nova Christensen kick, 11:41 4th quarter.

GAME STATISTICS
MOC-FV Humboldt
Total plays 60 52
Total net yards 356 190
Rushing yards 166 71
Passing yards 190 119
First downs 18 9
3rd down efficiency 4-11 2-10
4th down efficiency 1-3 1-4
Fumbles lost 1 0
Penalties-yards 7-41 6-44

HHS DEFENSIVE STATISTICS
Tackles (solo-assist): Nash Palmer 7-2. Caden Fredin 5-2. Broedy Hendricks 6-0. Jaxson Kirchhoff 3-3. Griffin Groat 4-2. Cooper Theesfeld 3-0. Joe Constable 3-1. Brady Roth 3-0. Braden Downs 1-2. Karter Simonsen 1-1. Luke Olberding 0-1. Dawson Sleiter 1-0. Thomas Flaherty 1-0. Dane Clark 1-0.

Tackles for loss: Hendricks 3. Palmer 1. Kirchhoff 1. Clark 1.

Fumbles recovered: Palmer 1.

Kickoffs: Nova Christensen 2-66.

Kickoff returns: Brayden Dahl 2-16. Braden Downs 1-6.

Punt returns: Caden Fredin 2-0.

Punts: Brady Roth 4-184 (46 avg).

OFFENSIVE STATISTICS

RUSHING–HU: Caden Fredin 1-39. Jaxson Kirchhoff 13-37. Brayden Dahl 1-5. Noah Elman 6-(-10). MOC: Chase Carmichael 25-150. Trycen Groendyke 6-32. Albear Van Zee 1-11.

PASSING–HU: Noah Elman 12 of 23 for 123 yards, 0 int. MOC: Trycen Groendyke 18 of 20 for 205 yards, 1 TD, 0 int.

RECEIVING–HU: Nash Palmer 3-42. Caden Fredin 3-28. Cooper Theesfeld 1-24. Dane Clark 2-14. Dawson Sleiter 2-11. Cash McIntire 1-4. MOC: Hudson Kleinhesselink 6-95. Albear Van Zee 6-67. Tucker Doughan 4-30. Chase Carmichael 2-13.

CLASS 3A DISTRICT 1
FOOTBALL STANDINGS
Dist. All
Algona 3-0 4-3
Sioux Center 2-1 6-1
Sioux City Heelan 2-1 4-3
MOC-Floyd Valley 1-2 3-4
Webster City 1-2 1-5
Humboldt 0-3 0-7

Oct. 9 games
MOC-Floyd Valley 13, Humboldt 7
Algona 14, Sioux Center 6
SC Bishop Heelan 35, Webster City 0

Oct. 16 games
Humboldt at SC Bishop Heelan
Webster City at Algona
Sioux Center at MOC-Floyd Valley

Oct. 23 games
Sioux Center at Humboldt
MOC-Floyd Valley at Webster City
Algona at SC Bishop Heelan