Hermantown’s 3-0 football team will attempt to continue its dominant opening month, while the Hawks’ volleyball and soccer programs face important late-September tests during a busy week of high school athletics.
The schedule from Monday, Sept. 21, through Saturday, Sept. 26, is highlighted by three varsity home events: volleyball against Superior on Tuesday and football against Cloquet on Friday, followed by the boys soccer team’s Saturday trip to Bemidji.
The Hermantown football team carries considerable momentum into its Northeast Red Conference game against Cloquet at 7 p.m. Friday at Corey Veech Memorial Field. The Hawks have scored 196 points through four games, averaging 49 points, after defeating Duluth East 48-27 on Friday night.
Hermantown’s running game overwhelmed the Greyhounds for 309 yards on only 29 attempts, an average of 10.7 yards per carry.
Martin Sleen produced one of the most commanding individual performances of the northeastern Minnesota season, rushing for 249 yards and five touchdowns on 17 carries and returning a kickoff for another score. He averaged 14.6 yards per rushing attempt and finished with six touchdowns.
The victory followed decisive wins over Duluth Denfeld, 48-13, and Proctor/Stella Maris Academy, 50-8. Hermantown has scored at least 48 points in each of its games while continuing to establish itself as one of the leading contenders in the Northeast Red.
Cloquet will present another conference measuring stick. The Lumberjacks traditionally rely on physical line play and a disciplined running game, making Friday’s matchup an important test for a Hermantown defense that has played with a lead for much of the season.
Hermantown volleyball (6-6) returns home to face Superior at 7 p.m. Tuesday. The Hawks have received consistent production from setter Kylee Stokke, outside hitter Audra Schott and libero Lilah Conley.
Stokke recorded 45 assists and three aces in Hermantown’s four-set victory over Proctor earlier this season. Schott finished with 15 kills, while Conley supplied 12 kills and 28 digs. Phoebe Sorenson added three aces as the Hawks recovered from a first-set loss to win the final three sets, including a pivotal 31-29 second set.
The Hermantown boys soccer team (5-2-1) travels to Duluth Marshall at 4 p.m. Monday and Bemidji for a noon match Saturday. The Hawks have demonstrated considerable attacking depth, including a 4-1 victory over Duluth Marshall and a 4-0 shutout of Hibbing.
Trevor Arnston scored twice against Marshall, while Finn Johnson and Quinn Raukar also found the net. Raukar later delivered a hat trick against Hibbing, with Parker Clennon assisting on three goals. Arnston added the other goal and assisted on Raukar’s third.
Goalkeepers Ethan Aysta and Josh Olson combined for the shutout against Hibbing.
The Hermantown girls soccer team has also assembled an impressive collection of early-season performances. The Hawks defeated Duluth Marshall 5-1, Proctor 2-0 and Hibbing 9-0 before battling Cloquet to a 2-2 draw.
Bryden Giesen has been one of Hermantown’s leading finishers, scoring twice against Marshall, twice against Hibbing and once against Cloquet. Kaija Markovich, Vienna Kolenda, Kaitlyn Patterson and Kaitlyn Glanville have also supplied important goals, while Kolenda recorded three assists in the Hibbing victory.
Goalkeepers Ava DeTray and Isla Radzak have shared duties and given the Hawks dependable play in net. Radzak stopped a penalty kick against Marshall, and the tandem combined for clean sheets against Proctor and Hibbing.
Hermantown’s girls tennis team has also shown lineup depth. The Hawks defeated Duluth Denfeld 6-1 earlier this month, winning at Nos. 2, 3 and 4 singles and sweeping the doubles competition. The No. 1 doubles team of Izzy Ritsche and Grace Gustafson secured its victory with a 10-5 match tiebreaker.