The first rumblings of a celebration came in the third quarter when about a half dozen Hartland players gathered around defensive lineman Lucas Bates to congratulate and poke fun after his attempt of a third quarter scoop and score Friday night at the Eagles Next.
The Eagles (1-1) were on their way to a 30-0 triumph over Novi and defensive players were doing everything they could to preserve their first shut out since August of 2021.
Bates certainly did his part, forcing two fumbles and recovering another to thwart Novi drives and keep the Wildcats off the scoreboard. After Bates recovered a loose ball around his own 45-yard line he was thrilled to stop a Novi drive. But he got greedy and wanted to score.
He thought he could outrun Novi’s offensive players. Bates sensed a player to his left so he angled to his right where he ran into another player who tackled him at the Novi 45.
Players ran off the field and patted him on the helmet and shoulder pads. Then linebacker Jack Lansing took a good-natured swipe at Bates.
“You can’t even run,” Lansing joked.
Nobody disputed that. Even Bates agreed.
There were no hard feelings because Hartland players are building a bond they hope to never see broken. They bond over team meals where they talk football, school, life and anything else that comes to mind.
The Eagles are working on team chemistry after welcoming coach Aaron Metz – their third coach in four years. There are new people to meet, new terminology to learn and new ways to bond.
“It is going great,” Bates said. “The coaches are building bonds between us. Last year we didn’t have that great of a bond.”
Hartland bonded nicely against Novi, a week after a sluggish 23-7 loss to Oxford. Penalties proved to be the Eagles downfall against Oxford. When asked what Hartland worked on between games, Metz said: “Not to jump offsides.”
Metz reminded his team that there is much to improve on despite the easy win. Hartland cut down on penalties but turned the ball over three times.
The Eagles held Novi to 114 yards in the air and 120 yards rushing. They also forced four turnovers.
Quarterback Michael Elliott completed 11-of 16 passes for 102 yards and did a masterful job of scrambling out the pocket to gain more time to pass. His favorite target was Lansing who hauled in seven passes for 89 yards.
Hartland pounded out 273 yards on the ground and was led by junior Nic Honeycut who ran for 63 yards on eight carries.
Hartland stormed to a 16-0 halftime lead on a 12-yard run by Brad Essenmacher, a one-yard plunge by Elliot and 36-yard field goal by Logan Morrish
“There are a lot of good things that happened,” Metz said. "Our defense made plays. We are going to enjoy this one.”