Running wild

Sean TenHave had a record-setting day, but the Westgate Tigers remain winless on the high school junior boys football field.

TenHave torched Hammarskjold on Thursday for a modern-era record 316 yards and two scores, but Owen Hynna bettered him, scoring four first-half touchdowns to lead the Vikings to their first win in two tries, a 35-16 triumph.

Tenhave, who collected 236 of those yards in the first two quarters, wasn’t happy about the loss, and was surprised to learn he’d set a new standard.

“It feels pretty good. I just ran every time I could,” said TenHave, who rolled off major runs of 79 and 57 yards to keep the Vikings from getting too far in front at the half, the first coming just 34 seconds after Hynna had given Hammarskjold a 15-0 lead on an 18-yard strike with 2:15 left in the opening quarter.

“I found the right holes. My offensive line played as good as they could and it turned out really good.”
The record wasn’t on his mind when he took the field.

“Absolutely not, I was just coming out to work as hard as I could.”

Hammarskjold coach Matt Steele said there wasn’t much his defence could do to bottle TenHave up, though they did manage a goal-line stand in the fourth when they stuffed them three times from inside the two-yard line.

“It’s always challenging to stop someone as talented as Sean. He’s a really gifted athlete, he played very hard and we’re really fortunate to come out with a good team effort by the D,” Steele said, his team drawing even on the season at 1-1.

But if TenHave was good at busting out the big play, Hynna was all about finding the goal line. He crashed through from eight yards out at 3:51 of the first, took it in from 18 and then, after having a 26-yard score called back on a penalty, dashed home from 17 yards out for his third rushing score of the day.

Then, for his piece de resistance, after Tenhave blasted down the sidelines for his second touchdown, Hynna returned the ensuing kickoff 92 yards to put the Vikings up 29-14 at the half.

“I wasn’t sure if I was getting it or not, but I just picked it up and I just ran outside,” said Hynna, who also had four touchdowns in last week’s loss, giving him eight in two games. He finished Game 2 with 122 yards on the ground.

This outing meant a little more, said Hynna, playing just his second year of football.

“It feels a lot better. Last week I felt I could have done more because my team didn’t win,” he said.

Kai Knudsen, who had eight rushes for 69 yards, notched the other Vikings touchdown, punching it in from two yards out early in the fourth.