An unbeaten football showdown at Grand Rapids will headline Hermantown’s fall sports schedule this week, while the Hawks’ soccer teams prepare for important home matches and the volleyball team takes renewed momentum on the road. The Sept. 28-Oct. 3 schedule also sends girls tennis into its final regular-season matches as October’s postseason approaches.
Hermantown’s football team (4-0, 3-0 Northeast Red) visits Grand Rapids (4-0, 3-0) at 7 p.m. Friday at Noble Hall Field. The Hawks have outscored their first four opponents 181-54, pairing an explosive running game with an offense that committed no turnovers in Friday’s 35-6 homecoming victory over Cloquet.
Martin Sleen provided the biggest plays against the Lumberjacks, returning the opening kickoff 94 yards for a touchdown before rushing for 248 yards and three more scores on 15 carries. The homecoming king averaged 16.5 yards per rushing attempt, helping Hermantown produce 294 yards on the ground and score in every quarter.
Quarterback Sawyer Senst supplied the Hawks’ other rushing touchdown, while the defense intercepted a pass and recovered two fumbles. The victory followed wins over Duluth Denfeld, 48-13; Proctor, 50-8; and Duluth East, 48-27, giving coach Mike Zagelmeyer a productive opening month to build upon.
Meanwhile, the boys soccer team (7-2-2) begins the week with consecutive road victories behind it and two conference opponents coming to Centricity Stadium. Hermantown hosts Grand Rapids at 6:30 p.m. Monday and Cloquet-Esko-Carlton at 1 p.m. Saturday.
The Hawks defeated Duluth Marshall 2-1 on Sept. 21 and Bemidji 1-0 on Saturday, ending a four-match stretch without a victory. That stretch included losses to Cloquet-Esko-Carlton, 1-0, and Duluth Denfeld, 4-1, followed by ties against Proctor, 0-0, and Superior, 1-1. Saturday’s rematch gives Hermantown an opportunity to reverse the result of its first meeting with Cloquet-Esko-Carlton.
Quinn Raukar, Trevor Arnston and Parker Clennon have supplied several of the Hawks’ notable offensive performances. Raukar scored three goals and Clennon collected three assists in a 4-0 victory over Hibbing, with Arnston adding a goal and an assist. Arnston also scored twice in the earlier 4-1 victory over Marshall, while goalkeepers Ethan Aysta and Josh Olson combined for the Hibbing shutout.
Hermantown’s girls soccer team (6-4-1) faces the busiest varsity soccer schedule of the week, hosting Coon Rapids at 5 p.m. Tuesday, visiting Two Harbors at 6 p.m. Thursday and returning home against Cloquet/Carlton at 11 a.m. Saturday. The Saturday match opens a girls-boys soccer doubleheader at Centricity Stadium.
The Hawks split their two matches last week, shutting out Grand Rapids 1-0 before falling 2-1 at Duluth Denfeld on Saturday. Vienna Kolenda scored the only goal against Grand Rapids, helping Hermantown end a three-game losing streak.
Saturday’s rematch with Cloquet/Carlton follows a 2-2 tie Sept. 12. Hermantown opened the season with five consecutive victories, including shutouts of North Branch, 6-0; Proctor, 2-0; and Hibbing/Chisholm, 9-0, before encountering a more difficult stretch of its schedule.
Bryden Giesen has delivered several strong finishing performances, scoring twice against Duluth Marshall and twice against Hibbing. Kaija Markovich, Kolenda, Kaitlyn Patterson and Kaitlyn Glanville have also contributed goals, giving the Hawks multiple attacking options as they seek more consistent production against late-season opponents.
The volleyball team heads into road matches at Rock Ridge on Tuesday and Hopkins on Thursday after beating Superior in four sets and sweeping Denfeld last week. Those victories bring Hermantown to 10-7.
Audra Schott recorded 16 kills and Kylee Stokke distributed 41 assists as Hermantown recovered from an opening-set loss against Superior. Against Denfeld, the Hawks won 25-9, 25-18, 25-18, with Schott contributing 10 kills, Lilah Conley seven kills, Stokke 28 assists and Evie Nelson 12 digs.
The two victories followed a 2-2 performance at the Duluth East Invitational, where Hermantown defeated White Bear Lake 2-0 and Irondale 2-1 while losing to Calumet 2-0 and Forest Lake 2-1. This week’s road matches give the Hawks another opportunity to sustain that improved play before hosting Grand Rapids on Oct. 6.
Girls tennis is scheduled to visit Hibbing at 4:15 p.m. Monday and Superior at 4 p.m. Thursday. The Superior match offers a rematch against a team that defeated Hermantown earlier in the season, providing another measure of the Hawks’ progress before postseason competition.
Hermantown’s victories include Princeton, Duluth Marshall, Duluth Denfeld, Cloquet and Stella Maris Academy. The Hawks defeated Denfeld 6-1 in their first meeting, winning three singles matches and all three doubles matches.
Senior Riley Knight has provided flexibility in doubles, while Mia Line and Calista Rother have developed into a dependable pairing. Freshman Clara Patullo held a 5-3 individual record in coach Jessica Worden’s latest published update, and Abby Grzbowski has strengthened the No. 3 singles position.
Hermantown’s cross-country teams are coming off strong finishes at Thursday’s Hibbing Rotary Invitational. The girls placed second with 115 points behind Duluth East’s 41, while the boys finished third. Seventh-grader Josie Niksich placed fifth in the girls varsity race in 19 minutes, 43.1 seconds; senior Cooper Lucarelli led the boys in 11th at 17:19.4, followed by freshman Cody Carlson in 13th at 17:27.3.
The regional cross-country schedule features the Swain Invitational on Saturday in Duluth.
In girls swimming, Proctor/Hermantown’s reported results include a 99-69 victory over Duluth Denfeld on Sept. 10. Individual winners included Raya Trigas in the 50-yard freestyle, Harper Opacich in the 100 butterfly, Samantha Herron in the 100 freestyle and Berkley Kolquist in the 500 freestyle.