Hastings Sends a Message with 51-28 win over Crete.

Crete QB Zach Fye (#3 White, top right)looks over the Hastings defense. Hastings defeated Crete 51-28 at Hastings College. *(photo by Bobby Mills)

-HASTINGS COLLEGE-

I wonder if Hastings High head coach Charlie Shoemaker wasn’t trying to figure out exactly where his team stood after 4 non-district tilts. The Tigers lose to #3 McCook 41-0, then drop a 48-14 decision to #3 rated Scottsbluff. Understandable.

The next two outings, the Tigers throttle a pretty decent Alliance squad 39-7, then pummel winless Gering, 51-0. Expected.

So exactly where does your team stand, entering Class B District play against a 10th rated, 3-1 Crete ball club?

Could good ole’ Charlie have been thinking dejavu when Crete took their opening drive straight down the field, 58 yards in 9 plays without a blink of an eye to take a 7-0 lead. The Cardinals had barely chewed up over 3 minutes of clock when speedy Leroy Chow skirted around the left side for a 12 yard touchdown.

I’m thinking it probably got worse when Hastings quarterback Alex Swoboda threw an interception after the Tigers had driven all the way to the Crete 4 yard line on their opening drive of the contest.

But right then and there, the instant the Hastings defense charged back on the field, a mighty Tiger roar that hadn’t been heard since Bo Buettenback and the boys cleaned house in Class A back in the day, let loose and it was Katie-Bar-the-Door for Charlie’s forces from that point on.

Before Crete even knew what it ‘em, Hastings had reeled off 38 straight, unanswered points, building a 31 point lead with a little more than two minutes left in the 3rd quarter. The Tigers offense did it on the ground and through air, while the fierce Hastings defense was throttling anything Crete attempted to execute.

By the time the pleasingly plump lady had belted out her last chord, Coach Shoemaker’s boys had laid a 51-28 spanking on the visiting 10th rated Cardinals.

Oh, it was a sight to see for those die-hard Tiger fans, who have been there though too many Friday Night Lights stories with sad endings. Other than too many penalties for Charlie’s liking, there was whole lot to hoop and holler about on this special night, especially that Tiger offense.

Hastings senior quarterback Alex Swoboda, all 150 pounds of him, was just simply a shining star the entire game. The fearless senior completed 12 of his 17 pass attempts for 262 yards a 3 touchdowns. Two other short TD runs were also set up by long completions by Swoboda. And how ‘bout that #83, lanky 180 pound junior tight end Jacob Schroeder?

The 6-5 dude can catch anything and everything thrown in his vicinity. Schroeder reeled in 5 receptions for a fat 110 yards that included a sparkling, high stepping 62 yard TD reception during the game.

Hastings field general Alex Swoboda also got it done on the ground with his 75 yards on just 9 carries, which included a pair of sacks, but also featured big chunk gains of 9, 12, 17 and 36 yards.

And then there was that wriggling, jitterbugging, son of coach Charlie Shoemaker. Sophomore Carson Shoemaker, just a bit of a thing at 5-6 and 143 pounds, maneuvered his way through that Crete defense for 64 yards on 20 totes. Doesn’t seem like a bunch, but the elusive Shoemaker scored a couple of TDs on runs of 2 and 5 yards and even hauled in a 24 yard scoring reception from Alex Swoboda, just one of Carson’s three receptions for 65 yards.

And lest we forget, Carson had more than one long ground gainer negated by holding calls.

No way you can talk about that Hastings offense without mentioning the Tiger O-Line.

Center Dawson Jacobus, guards Evan Morara and Chris Glaze, plus tackles Caden Adams (6-5, 250) and Keeshaun Hunt (6-3, 260). Those guys cleared the way for the Hastings High backs and provided great pass protection for Swoboda al evening.

Once Crete regained its bearings, the Cardinals actually outscored Hastings 21-13 in the 4th stanza. Junior QB Zach Fye, who ran well early, had a rough night throwing the ball through three quarters, hitting just 6 of 17 aerials with a pair of interceptions.

But Fye got untracked in the 4th quarter, finding the fleet-footed Leroy Chow for a trio of big gainers and good looking sophomore Ethan Steer for a pair of nice receptions. Fye’s 43 yard 27 yard passes to Chow, actually set up short touchdown runs by the Crete QB..

The Crete running game just never could get untracked and was held to 83 yards by the swarming Tiger defense, but there were enough positive signs to signal that this Cardinal team will rebound from this defeat and play some good football the remainder of the way.

Hastings improves to 3-2 and starts District play with a 1-0 mark. The Tigers face a stiff road test when they visit defending Class B champion York next Friday. Crete (3-2, 0-1) will host Seward next Friday.

……………………….1……..2……..3……..4……….F

Crete (3-2)................7……..0……..0…….21……..28

Hastings (3-2)..........7…….17……14,…...13….….51

1st Qtr…………………………………………………………………………………...Crete-Hast.

C - Leroy Chow 12 run…………………………...PAT-Alexis Carbajal kick……..7…...0

H - Carson Shoemaker 2 run…………………....PAT- Mikey Hernandez kick….7…...7

2nd Qtr.

H - Alex Swoboda 2 run………………………….PAT-Hernandez kick…………..7…..14

H - Mikey Hernandez 19 yard Field Goal…………………………………………...7…..17

H - Shoemaker 24 pass from Swoboda………..PAT-Hernandez kick…………...7…..24

3rd Qtr.

H - Jacob Schroeder 62 pass from Swoboda….PAT-Hernandez kick…………..7…..31

H - Tate Pfeifer 17 run……………………………PAT-Hernandez kick…………..7…..38

4th Qtr.

C - Zach Fye 4 run………………………………..PAT-Carbajal kick……………..14….38

H - Shoemaker 5 run……………………………..PAT-kick failed…………….…...14….44

C - Fye 1 run…………………………….………...PAT-Carbajal kick……………...21….44

H - Laif Hultine 59 pass from Swoboda………...PAT-Hernandez kick…………..21….51

C - Zach Turner 30 pass from Fye……………...PAT-Carbajal kick……………...28….51