By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
For a football team with Class 3A state championship aspirations, Hayden knows there's still work to be done.
But the Wildcats gave a glimpse of what could be ahead in Friday's 53-22 Class 3A District 4 romp past traditional state power Holton at Hayden.
Senior quarterback Connor Hanika threw for three touchdowns in Hayden's 53-22 district win over Holton Friday. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
"Overall it was good,'' said Hayden coach Bill Arnold. "We came out and did some nice things on both sides of the ball. I'm a little disappointed we weren't quite as consistent as what I would have liked to have been.
"At the same time I'm happy with the progress that we're making, but we're not done. We've still got a ceiling to get to and that's what I challenged them with after the game. We've got to get better in practice. Our practices need to be cleaner than what they have been, but I'm happy with their effort.''
Hayden senior standout Kade Mitchell agreed with his coach that the Wildcats can still get a lot better moving forward.
"There's plenty of room to grow,'' Mitchell said. "As you saw there, we kind of settled down towards the second half and gave up way too many big plays in the second half. We've got to come together and finish games.
"We've got a lot of room to grow on defense and offense.''
Now 6-0 overall and 2-0 in the district, Hayden led by just a 7-6 margin a play into the second quarter, but turned the game into a rout with 29 unanswered points in the second quarter to build a 36-6 halftime advantage and eventually went up 53-14 before Holton (3-3, 1-2) added a late TD.
Mitchell, a 5-foot-9, 180 pound senior, had a game-high 128 rushing yards and 1 and 8 yards on 16 attempts and also scored a third TD on a 9-yard pass from senior quarterback Connor Hanika.
Hayden senior Xander Blasing had a 23-yard touchdown reception in Friday's 53-22 district win over Holton. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Hanika, 6-6, 195, went 15 of 22 through the air for 205 yards and three TDs -- a 23-yard TD to senior Xander Blasing, a 21-yard scoring strike to senior Jude Krentz and the 9-yard TD to Mitchell.
Junior Mason Becker scored on a 27-yard run, kicked a 40-yard field goal and was six of six on extra points in Friday's 53-22 Hayden district win over Holton. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
The Wildcats also got a 5-yard touchdown run from senior Jackson McGivern to open the night's scoring, while junior Mason Becker scored Hayden's final TD on a 27-yard run, kicked a 40-yard field goal and went 6 of 6 on extra-point kicks.
Holton got a 1-yard TD plunge and a 17-yard run from senior Cael Frazier and a 48-yard TD run from senior Korban Wilson, who had 95 yards on 14 carries. Frazier had 85 yards on 18 attempts.
Hayden will travel to Perry-Lecompton next Friday while Holton will be at home to host Hiawatha.
HAYDEN 53, HOLTON 22
Holton (3-3, 1-2) 0 6 8 8 -- 22
Hayden (6-0, 2-0) 7 29 10 7 -- 53
Hayden -- McGivern 5 run (Becker kick)
Holton -- C. Frazier 1 run (kick failed
Hayden -- Blasing 23 pass from Hanika (Becker kick)
Hayden -- Krentz 21 pass from Hanika (Becker kick)
Hayden -- Mitchell 1 run (Becker kick)
Hayden -- Mitchell 8 run (Hanika run)
Hayden -- Mitchell 9 pass from Hanika (Becker kick)
Holton -- Wilson 48 run (Hernandez pass from A. Frazier)
Hayden -- Becker 40 FG
Hayden -- Becker 27 run (Becker kick)
Holton -- C. Frazier 17 run (C. Frazier run)
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing -- Holton: C. Frazier 18-85, Wilson 14-95, Shupe 16-70, A. Frazier 6-65. Hayden: Mitchell 16-128, Becker 2-44, Krentz 8-33, McGivern 5-18, Hanika 4-9.
Passing -- Hayden: Hanika 15-22-0, 205 yards.
Receiving -- Hayden: Powers 3-45, Blasing 3-37, Kidd 3-25, Krentz 2-45, Becker 2-35, Mitchell 2-18.
Punting -- Holton: Wilson 3-33.3. Hayden: Becker 1-20.0.
