Hohler, Tigers overwhelm St. Paul

HURON — Sam Hohler wasn't sure. The head coach of the Huron football team had numerous key starters to replace. Hohler felt his team entered the 2024 season with their share of questions. But instead, Huron looked the part once again. The Tigers were efficient on offense and played stout defense to steadily outscore St. Paul for a 38-0 win on Friday at Memorial Stadium. Quarterback Landon Hohler connected with Tommie McDonald for three touchdowns and ran for two more, while standout kicker Cameron Manner added all five extra points and a 41-yard field goal in the win. "We don't have a lot of starters back from last year, but we felt like we have some talented kids," Coach Hohler said. "We talked a lot this week about keeping our composure and taking care of the football, and we did those things for the most part. "I thought up front we were physical, which was good to see. We showed up tonight against a program that is very proud and usually very physical, so we were really happy with that." After a quick three-and-out, the Tigers marched down the field and were faced with a third-and-goal from the St. Paul 4-yard line. Hohler then found McDonald on a short out pattern in the left corner of the end zone for the TD pass at the 6:51 mark of the first quarter. The drive took six plays and covered 41 yards. The Tigers forced a second straight three-and-out, the moved 50 yards in five plays as Hohler found McDonald — who shook off two tacklers — for a 31-yard TD pass and a 14-0 lead at the 3:09 mark of the first. St. Paul was then able to finally get some yardage on offense. But in Huron territory, a holding penalty helped stall a drive. The Flyers were forced to punt from their own 43. The Tigers moved 71 yards in eight plays this time, with Hohler scrambling to his left and finding McDonald in the back left corner of the end zone for a 9-yard TD pass. The Manner PAT extended the lead to 21-0 with 6:49 left in the half. "Tommie has worked very hard," Coach Hohler said. "He's not the biggest kid out there, but he works hard and has a big heart. We've known he can do that, but last year he was a little overshadowed and has patiently waited his turn." Joe Wood then intercepted a Grant Kuhnle pass at the Huron 21. But six plays later, Hohler was able to bounce free for a 30-yard TD run and a 28-0 lead with 1:51 left in the half. Things then went from bad to worse for St. Paul. The snap was fumbled and Huron's Max Muise fell on it at the St. Paul 40 with just 32 seconds left in the half. That was enough time to allow the Tigers to get 16 yards, setting up Manner for a booming 41-yard field goal as the half expired. The lone TD of the second half came on Huron's second possession, as Hohler covered 41 yards at the 4:09 mark of the third. Hohler finished with 145 yards rushing with 2 TDs on 12 attempts on the ground. He was 7-of-9 for 73 yards passing with the three TDs to McDonald, who caught six passes for 47 yards. Paul Maloney added 60 yards rushing on six attempts. "I'm proud of our kids, because they've worked really hard and have waited patiently for their chance to be varsity football players," Coach Hohler said. "So for them to come out here on family night and play like that, we're very happy and hopefully this is something to build off of." St. Paul lost its starting backfield of Brock Houck and Jack Stieber to injury less than a minute into the second quarter. Both players are also key starters on defense. "They got things rolling pretty quick, and Hohler is quite an athlete back there at quarterback," St. Paul coach Chris Doughty said. "He scrambled well and threw a nice ball. Their offensive line played physical, and their whole defense was physical. They stepped up tonight in a big way. "We ended up having a lot of young guys playing tonight that we didn't expect to be in the game, and things got away from us." Nate Sandor ran 11 times for 45 yards to pace the Flyers. Landon Fries ran nine times for 21 yards and caught three passes for 22 yards from Kuhnle, who was 5-of-9 for 29 yards. St. Paul 0 0 0 0 — 0Huron 14 17 7 0 — 38H — Tommie McDonald 4 pass from Landon Hohler (Cameron Manner kick)H — McDonald 31 pass from Hohler (Manner kick)H — McDonald 9 pass from Hohler (Manner kick)H — Hohler 30 run (Manner kick)H — Manner 41 field goal H — Hohler 41 run (Manner kick)