In last week’s 63-19 win over Oelwein, Hampton-Dumont-CAL senior Jacob Mahler put together his best career rushing game. Entering the game with 117 yards on 31 carries, he rushed 18 times for 134 yards and four touchdowns.
“He did a great job being patient, waiting for the hole to hit, or just hitting the gap with some speed so he can get loose,” Head Coach Cole Miller says. “Offensive line did a great job in front of him. I think that was probably the best game we’ve blocked on the perimeter. That’s why he was able to, once he got through that first and second level, he was able to get loose for some longer runs. He works hard. There’s a reason he’s a captain. He does all the right things on and off the field. And I was really happy to see him have that type of night.”
Mahler says the team came together for a thoroughly dominant performance with all units playing well.
“Our offensive line did a great job, and we’ve got guys like Briggs and Madden who like to bring the energy and they’re always good guys to have on the field,” Mahler says. “We’ve just got to keep doing the little things right, and that’s really all it is, the whole game of football is doing the little things right. And if we can continue to do that, we’ll be a good team at the end of the year.”
It was the team’s first win in district play, moving to 1-1 in 2A District 4. In Week 6, the Bulldogs will travel to Denver, which is 0-2 in district play after falling to Dike-New Hartford 21-6 last week.
“We want to build on the momentum, but stay grounded,” Miller says. “Every week gets a little bit tougher in the teams that we play. So we want to stay grounded. We want to obviously enjoy this win. We should. The kids played really well, and they should be proud of themselves. But stay grounded, get back to work, and we’ll watch film, and we’ll see what their weaknesses are, and we’ll try to exploit that on Friday.”
The game will start at 7:00 p.m. on 104.9 KLMJ.
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[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eYxseRa1yys?si=6xRMySQA_4pDyi1q&w=560&h=315]
