Woodward-Granger football wins in OT thriller, XC sees first action

After a light appetizer last week, the Hawks’ sports schedule started filling up more this week. (Note: Events covered Aug. 28-Sept. 3)

Football (1-0)

After a one-point loss last year against Madrid, this year’s opener for the Hawks followed an awfully similar script with one important difference: Woodward-Granger winning. By the thinnest margin, the Hawks left the Tigers’ turf with a 29-28 overtime win.

Like last year’s opener, the Hawks found themselves up multiple scores, unleashing a high-flying offense, only for the Tigers to claw back and force overtime after being down 21-7. They’d strike first in overtime, leading the Hawks to risk it all after that.

After previously getting a two-point conversion following Max Dalton’s 63-yard touchdown from Talan Fuson in the second quarter, head coach Cory Crnkovich and crew opted go for two again in overtime after Fuson connected with Chandler Drake in the end zone in overtime.

Putting 60 yards on the ground to lead the team for the night, Fuson tucked it once last time and crossed the pylon to win in walkoff fashion. Apart from two PATs, Fuson was a part of every W-G score for the night, booking four touchdown passes. He completed 8-of-15 attempts for 179 yards, finding a strong connection with Kane Mahler-Moreno.

Before he was sidelined on offense with an injury in the second half, Mahler-Moreno hauled two catches- 54 and 41 yards, each for a touchdown. And on defense, the senior led the team with 10 tackles, five for loss, and two sacks.

Looking to start 2-0, the Hawks play host to Pleasantville (0-1) on Friday, hoping to avenge last year’s 28-14 loss. The Trojans lost both their quarterback, running back, and top receiver from from 2023, and lost 27-14 in their opener against Interstate 35.

Volleyball

Following the season-opening win against Madrid, the Hawks hauled over to ADM for a quad meet with the Tigers, Des Moines Christian and Harlan on Aug. 29, losing against all three in straight sets.

In the young season, senior Keilayla Gregory had a peak performance of four kills against Des Moines Christian. Freshman Alena Schaack had her first multi-block match, getting two against Harlan. That same match, Anna Weaver’s seven digs set her high point of the season so far.

Cross Country

With the Hawks’ opener at Jester Park being postponed due to a heat advisory for the second year in a row, Woodward-Granger played host to a small crowd on Tuesday. Against a slate of four other girls teams, the Hawks took fourth place, as did the boys team against three visitors.

Getting the peak rank of the day, Cael Leighton placed eighth among the boys circuit with a time of 19 minutes 5 seconds. Freshman Jackson Bowlsby gave a mark of 20:28 for 10th place. And on the girls’ side, it was junior Zoey Osmundson at 25:20 for ninth place, giving the Hawks three top-10 marks overall.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Woodward-Granger football wins in OT thriller, XC sees first action