HART – Doubt has been swirling around Hart football for the three weeks leading into its 44-14 beat down of Orchard View on homecoming, Friday, Oct. 11.
It wasn’t the play of the team or their playoff hopes that stirred the uncertainty, however. Instead, it was a move made by Holton’s varsity team that created a domino effect throughout the community. Originally, Hart was scheduled to play the Red Devils last weekend. That changed when, during the Pirates’ game with Shelby, it became clear that Holton was seriously considering canceling its 2024 varsity campaign.
Those considerations turned to certainty within days, leaving Hart High School Athletic Director Tim Hertzler in a mad scramble to make arrangements for homecoming. Ideas were tossed about, including a possible move to a later date, but ultimately the Pirates decided to keep their original homecoming date and play a JV contest instead – similar to what Shelby had decided to do.
Hertzler had been in contact with Orchard View about a possible schedule rearrangement. The Cardinals were originally scheduled to play a team on the east side of the state. With plenty of maneuvering however, OV agreed to play Hart with just under a week until game day.
That left Hart football Head Coach Joe Tanis with a bit of a dilemma. The varsity guys had been taking it easy, knowing that they likely would be getting a week off from game preparation. Now, with an unfamiliar non-conference opponent, the timeline for constructing a game plan was reduced.
“We came into the week thinking we were going to be preparing for a future opponent. I told the guys (that we picked up a game with Orchard View) and there was some initial shock,” Tanis said. “They were thinking they’d have an easier week, so we had to re-focus and re-adjust. That’s exactly what we try to preach in our culture. Our guys came out and responded with a great week of practice.”
Any uncertainty Hart headed into the week with, quickly disappeared once the ball landed in their hands on their first offensive drive. On the first play of the game, the Pirates reached into their bag of tricks.
Senior Eman Hertzler took a handoff from quarterback Halen Boos, but instead of moving upfield as he usually does, Hertzler dropped back and eyed receivers. Ty Schlukebir came uncovered deep down the field and Hertzler dropped the ball right into his hands, allowing Schlukebir to give the Pirates the lead from 55 yards out.
“We’re 2-4 and (Orchard View) is 1-5,” Tanis said. “We wanted to start fast and we thought we’d come out and take a shot and swing big early to steal some momentum and shift in our favor. Our guys came out and executed it perfectly. We had two seniors, Eman (Hertzler) and Ty Schlukebir, making big plays and it was just great to see that for those guys.
“We’ve been on the road for what feels like forever, so to come home and start off like that, it was great.”
That initial touchdown came just 18 seconds into the game and put Hart on top 8-0 following a two-point conversion by Alex Hicks. It wasn’t until the final minutes of the first quarter that the Cardinals found an answer themselves, using a deep pass connection to set up a 23-yard touchdown. That evened the score at 8-8.
The Pirates piled on two more touchdowns in the second quarter to give themselves a commanding lead at halftime. Kyle Greiner and Keaghan Monroe both notched rushing touchdowns and a pair of successful two-point conversions had Hart in front 24-8.
Hart’s defense was particularly impressive, adjusting to the speed and athleticism of Orchard View’s offense.
“Orchard View has a very talented offense, but they’re young,” Tanis said. “We were very worried about their speed and athleticism, but our guys really came out well. We had Eman Hertzler back on defense (this week) and that made a world of difference for us. It was a team effort defensively and everyone did their job. We really only had one play call all night and everyone just had to do their job. It was a lot of fun to see our defense execute at that level.”
Greiner and Boos added a rushing touchdown each in the third quarter as Hart used a methodical approach to chew clock and extend their lead. By the final frame of the game, the Pirates had a 36-8 lead.
Each team snagged a touchdown in the final quarter with Julian Vazquez taking it in from two yards out for Hart and OV snagging their second score through the air.
Greiner was Hart’s top weapon on the night, taking 19 carries for 130 yards and two touchdowns. Hertzler was 1-for-2 passing for 55 yards and a touchdown to go along with 62 yards on the ground and 20 yards receiving.
Defensively, Brody Clark led the team with seven tackles and one pass breakup (PBU). Greiner also had a PBU and six tackles while Kaden Bond had the team’s lone sack.
With the win, Hart moved to 3-4 overall and remained 1-2 in the West Michigan Conference (WMC) Rivers Division. The Pirates have just two games remaining on the schedule, and they’ll need to win both if they want a shot at another postseason appearance. Even then, Tanis acknowledged that his team would be on the bubble at 5-4.
“This game really helped us (to stay in the playoff hunt). If (Orchard View) can get one more win this year – and I think that’s possible – it’ll give us a much better shot than a Holton forfeit would have,” Tanis said. “We’re going to be close to the bubble. In the last three years, if we were to win out we would be in, but we don’t control that.”
