Schulenburg Grabs Big Win on Homecoming
The Schulenburg Shorthorns defeated a very athletic football team from Hearne 10-0 on Homecoming Friday night, bringing the Horns’ record to 2-0 in district and 3-3 overall.
“(Hearne) hasn’t given up many points all year, and I know why now,” said Schulenburg Head Coach Luke Hobbs after the game. “They were good. They were physical. They were fast. They were aggressive.”
The Shorthorns depended on the strength of their defense and a persistent rushing attack to get the win. Schulenburg grinded the ball 53 times on the ground for 182 yards, averaging 3.43 yards a carry. The Shorthorn defense had to contend with Hearne quarterback Kemon Langham and running back Jummond Burrel – both lightning-quick rushers who averaged more than 12 yards a carry Friday night.
“They made some big plays, but our defense was phenomenal,” Hobbs said. “Coach (Isaiah) Berrera game up with a great defensive gameplan. We match up really good with teams that like to spread it out, and we proved that tonight. It was a slugfest, and our defense carried us to the win.”
Schulenburg and Hearne traded possessions throughout the first quarter, providing the punting units with some good playing time. On one of those fourth down plays, Schulenburg punter Brycen Schramek pulled off an incredible play after the snap flew over his head.
“My dad (Buck Scramek), he played punter in high school, and he always told me on a bad snap over your head, to always turn to your kicking foot side,” Schramek said after the game.
Schramek grabbed the ball on the run and swung to his right. On the run with Eagle defenders zoning in, Schramek still managed to boot the ball 35 yards.
Schulenburg freshman Owen Brenek set up his team’s first score of the game in the second quarter after he intercepted a Hearne pass at the 40 yard line. Brenek scrambled to the Hearne 12 before getting tackled.
“That was huge,” Hobbs said. That’s a freshman making a play. We have a lot of young kids who are making plays and learning how to be varsity players.”
The Shorthorn offense took the field and gained a first and goal off a clutch pass from quarterback Aaron Janecek to running back Rodney Walton, who battled to the three yard line. Bryce Stoever picked up two yards on a carry before Janecek took it to the endzone on a keeper. A Brycen Schramek extra point made the score 7-0 at the 8:38 mark in the second quarter.
The Shorthorn defense held the Eagles on their next possession, forcing a punt from the Hearne 40. Schulenburg’s Jayse Janda called for a fair catch on the Shorthorn 25. The Schulenburg offense took the field and put together a dominant drive all the way down to the Eagle goal line. Under pressure, Janecek again found Walton with a reception at the one yard line. This time the Eagles stopped Janecek’s 4th down keeper and the Shorthorns turned the ball over at the Eagle one yard line. The Eagles ran six plays before punting it away just before halftime.
“They have one of the best football players I’ve seen in a long time, No. 50 (J’Kyrin Flentroy),” Hobbs said. “In the second half, we just ran the ball away from him.
Wherever he lined up, I called the play away from where he was.”
Hearne received the kickoff after halftime, but the Shorthorn defense held them to a punt after four downs. Schulenburg took over at their own 24 yard line. The Shorthorns used a ground attack to march across the field to the Eagle 15. The Eagles broke up a couple of pass attempts in the endzone, and the Shorthorns settled for a field goal try on fourth down from the 15. Schramek booted the ball through the uprights despite a strong rush from the Eagles, making the score 10-0 with 5:13 left in the third quarter.
“That was huge, because it changes their play calls – they know they have to score twice,” Hobbs said. “We can be a little more aggressive. Even trying to protect the lead, we were still blitzing.”
That insurance field goal almost made the difference in the game when Hearne came close to scoring in the fourth quarter. The Shorthorn defense had the Eagles backed up to their 13 yard line when Hearne’s Kyson Keys caught a 36-yard pass that got them to the 49 yard line. Then Eagle running back Jummond Burrel weaved through the Shorthorn defense for a 42yard carry down to the Schulenburg 9 yard line. But then a series of false starts by the Eagles and a loss of 14 on a second down pass made it a long third and goal for the Eagles from the 37 yard line. An incomplete pass made it fourth and goal from the 37. Hearne tried running the ball but turned it over on downs.
Schulenburg took the ball over with about six minutes left. They managed to gain two first downs before lining up in the victory formation to run out the clock.
“Every yard we got was well-earned, because they were tough,” Hobbs said.
Abye this week could help the Horns recover from some injuries. Da’Terrion Houston, a sophomore playmaker at wide receiver and defensive back, remained out of action against Hearne but said he could return before the district season ends. Senior tight end and defensive lineman Jacob Vacek remains sidelined with a high ankle injury that took him out of the Week 4 game against Poth.
Junior receiver Byron Johnson had been out since week two but he returned against Hearne last Friday, picking up one reception for 12 yards.
After the Homecoming win, Hobbs huddled up his team and told them, “We’ve got something special going on.” The Record asked him to elaborate on that after the game.
“This is a very, very cool town,” said the first-year head coach as he pointed to the home stands, which were filled to capacity. “They love football and they love their kids. The kids say ‘Yes sir, no sir.’ They battle. They let us coach their kids hard. A coach that is handcuffed by parents who are soft on their kids will never be successful. We don’t have that here. The parents want us to coach their kids hard. We demand and demand. And we’re starting to see the fruits of that. Kudos to Schulenburg parents. It’s freaking awesome.”