Fall sports update

    The 2018 fall season promises to be a season full of surprises, as each Red Hawk team has been putting in hours of practice during the summer. 

    According to senior cross country team captain Mary Rosá, “summer practices were great. It was a great time to have the incoming freshmen kind of see how our team works together, and it’s an opportunity to get in shape and to earn a trip to Colorado.”

    Volleyball participated in several tournaments, and were also took part in summer a league in Holton.

    “I think it really helped us improve overall for this upcoming season,” explains senior Regan Riley.

    Both football and cheer  also had eventful summers, with the football team scrimmaging against both Troy and Anderson County, which according to junior Tyler Brockhoff was “fabulous.”

    Several cheerleaders were also selected during the team camp for All-American Cheer. Out of the six nominated - Nicole Mackey, August Koerperich, Makenzie Gormley, Laila Jones, Harley Calhoon, and Abigail Lowe - three were ultimately selected for the team. Lowe, Jones, and Koerperich were offered a trip to Orlando to perform during the Citrus Bowl.

Dance and cheer teams line up at the start of Friday's football game. 

(photo by Kelley Griswold-Pendelton) 

    The hard work put in during the summer was certainly evident during the fall sports debuts. The volleyball team opened with a triangular with Royal Valley and Nemaha Central. While neither game ultimately resulted in a win, Hiawatha managed to win a set over Nemaha Central, who is currently ranked number one in the state. The junior varsity team, however, won an entire game over Royal Valley, but lost to Nemaha Central.

The Hiawatha Cross Country team won the combined team title at Jeff West. 

(Photo by Becky Shamburg) 

    Cross Country traveled to Jeff West on Thursday, where they competed with several area teams. The girls’ team managed to place third, with two of their top five runners unable to compete for this first meet. The boys’ team, however, placed first by a wide margin, scoring less than half of the points of the second place team. Both girls and boys together earned the combined team title.

    The football team also had a strong season opener, topping Riverside 27-13.  

The football teams of both sides, as well as the Hiawatha cheer squad, gather in the center of the field for a post-game prayer. 

(Photo by Lori Fordyce)

The first quarter was dominated by defense, but Hiawatha managed to break the pattern when senior quarterback Kaiser Isaac ran 71 yards to score a touchdown. After John Finch scored an extra point, Andrew Woods scored the Hawk’s second touchdown, bringing the score to 14-0. Despite a quick response from the Cyclones, bringing the score to 14-7, the Hawks scored again in the second half after a Cyclone fumble. In the fourth quarter, Alan Simpson scored another touchdown, bringing the lead to 27-7. Despite a late touchdown by the Cyclones, Hiawatha’s dominant offense and tough defense would hold out in the game, allowing the Hawks to reach a 1-0 record.

As always, dance team, cheer, and band performed at halftime and also during the breaks in the game, inspiring school spirit throughout the entirety of the fan base.

Also, despite tennis’ matches getting rained out several times, Bethany Meyers won 6th place at Hayden, winning 1-3 matches. The rest of the team went 0-3, however, there is still plenty of time left in the year to improve and grow.