Just keep fighting.”

Hastings head coach Dana Strain

Hastings had not trailed by two touchdowns at any point this season. Friday night at Two Rivers, the Raiders found themselves there before the first quarter was over.
The response was emphatic.
Hastings erased a 14-0 deficit, answered a 97-yard kickoff return that threatened to derail its comeback, forced four second-half turnovers and scored the final 28 points of the game to defeat Two Rivers 35-21 Friday, Oct. 2. The victory kept the Raiders unbeaten at 5-0 overall and 2-0 in Northstar District East-Maroon play.
“Just awfully excited for the kids,” Hastings head coach Dana Strain said. “You know, they keep answering the bell each week, and today was a different game than we've had, and so awfully proud of them for continuing the fight and really playing an awfully good second half.”
Two Rivers struck quickly. Delfino Mancha capped a four-play, 40-yard drive with a 12-yard touchdown run at 9:54 of the opening quarter. The Warriors followed with an 11-play, 61-yard drive, with quarterback Julian Rychlicki finding McKell Guertin for a 13-yard touchdown with 1:58 remaining in the quarter. Henry Hibbard converted both extra points, leaving Hastings down 14-0.
It was the first time this season Hastings had been forced to play from that kind of early deficit, but Strain said his message was simply to keep playing.
“Just keep fighting,” Strain said. “I mean, you know, when we played Chaska, we were up big, and then it got hairy in the second half. And when we talked to them that week, it was like one play can flip things. Just never assume that it's over. Never get too down. Never get too high.”
The Raiders turned to a running game that Two Rivers ultimately could not stop.
Zack Shatek put Hastings on the board with a 16-yard touchdown run at 10:30 of the second quarter, finishing an eight-play, 47-yard possession. Cody Weber's extra point cut the deficit to 14-7.
Any momentum Hastings gained lasted only 14 seconds. Jacoby Olheiser took the ensuing kickoff 97 yards for a Two Rivers touchdown, and Hibbard's kick pushed the Warriors back in front 21-7 with 10:16 remaining in the half.
Hastings did not blink.
The Raiders went 77 yards in four plays on their next possession, with Shatek breaking loose for a 51-yard touchdown run at 8:20. Weber's kick brought Hastings back within seven.
Hastings then put together an 84-yard drive late in the half. Shatek scored for the third time, this one from seven yards out with 1:22 remaining. Weber was good again, and a game that had Hastings down 14 points twice in the opening half went to the locker room tied 21-21.
Marlowe Strain credited the Hastings offensive line for helping the Raiders work their way back into the game.
“Just do our job, get the work done,” Strain said. “O line, just had to move their guys, and that's what we did. We just kept moving the chains, qqqqkept getting on our guy, kept running our feet. Just let Zach do his thing.”
Shatek's night was the centerpiece of a dominant Hastings rushing performance. The Raiders ran 48 times for 367 yards and scored all five of their touchdowns on the ground. Two Rivers was held to 110 rushing yards on 23 attempts. Hastings also controlled the first-down battle 21-13 and finished with 418 total yards on 61 offensive plays while holding Two Rivers to 209 yards on 40 plays.
Shatek accounted for 42 carries, 325 yards and four touchdowns, an average of nearly eight yards per carry. Marlowe Strain added 33 yards and a touchdown on three attempts. The numbers fit with Hastings' season totals following the game, with Shatek now at 1,222 rushing yards and 15 touchdowns on 147 carries through five games.
The second half became a showcase for the Hastings defense.
Two Rivers did not score after halftime and turned the ball over on each of its final four meaningful possessions. Payton Perseke intercepted Rychlicki, Adrian Fuchs was credited on a Two Rivers fumble recovery for Hastings, Gabe Ferdig added another interception and Luke Birken was credited on the Warriors' final lost fumble.
Perseke said Hastings recognized what Two Rivers was trying to do on his interception.
“Yeah, we saw motion. We checked. Went cover three, and then I saw that tight end come out running a sail route, and I just jumped it and got it,” Perseke said.
The turnovers eventually broke the tie.
Hastings began one possession at the Two Rivers 43 and worked its way into the fourth quarter before Marlowe Strain scored from four yards out with 11:55 remaining. Weber's fourth extra point of the night gave Hastings its first lead, 28-21.
The defense continued giving the offense short fields. Hastings eventually took over at the Two Rivers 15, and three plays later Shatek powered in from four yards with 7:19 remaining. Brady Irwin handled the extra point, pushing the margin to 35-21.
The Raiders had scored 35 points after falling behind 14-0, and Two Rivers had been shut out for the final two quarters.
Xavier Timm said Hastings went into the second half treating the tie as a fresh start.
“The attitude was that the score was still zero-zero, and we're still in the fight,” Timm said. “That we need to block it on offense and defense, and especially the special teams.”
Special teams had caused Hastings problems in the opening half, particularly Olheiser's 97-yard kickoff return, but the defense took over after halftime. Two Rivers quarterback Rychlicki finished nine of 17 passing for 99 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. Hastings had four takeaways in the second half and allowed Two Rivers only 13 first downs for the game.
For Dana Strain, the value of the victory went beyond getting to 5-0. His team had been put into a situation it had not faced this season, falling behind by two touchdowns, responding, getting knocked back by the kickoff return and then having to finish the comeback after halftime.
“It's good for us to be in these different situations,” Strain said. “So, it isn't really anything that we said at half time, but some adjustments that we had to make, or maybe cleaning up a little bit of technique. But the kids have been so good about just kind of even keel and play the next play, and they're a tough, tough, resilient group.”
Xavier Timm came away from the halftime talk with a slightly different impression. To him, Strain’s message gave the Raiders an emotional push before they returned to the field.
“Well, he's like, you better believe that you're about to win this game, and you better be excited to go out there. Is the gist of it,” Timm said. “And man, it got us all fired up. We were all screaming, hollering, yelling in the locker room.”
That approach was also his message when mistakes happened.
“Just never be afraid to make mistakes and just keep playing the next play,” Strain said. “We love them no matter what. They just can't get down on themselves and let it leak into the next play, right? Just carry yourself, chest out, chin up, go make the next play.”
Through five games, Hastings has scored 174 points while allowing 75. The Raiders have rushed for 1,491 yards and 19 touchdowns, averaging 7.61 yards per carry, while adding 376 yards and six touchdowns through the air. Opponents have been held to 863 rushing yards. Hastings has also forced nine turnovers, five fumble recoveries and four interceptions, while committing just three.
Shatek leads the ground attack with 1,222 yards and 15 touchdowns, while quarterback Carter Hanson has completed 25 of 46 passes for 376 yards and six touchdowns. Marlowe Strain leads the receiving totals with 11 catches for 230 yards and three touchdowns.
The undefeated Raiders now return home for another section test, one that could be there most difficult test of the season yet. Hastings hosts Saint Thomas Academy at 6 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 8, at McNamara Stadium/Todd Field, then travels to Burnsville for a 6 p.m. game Wednesday, Oct. 14. The Raiders return home for their regular season finale on Wednesday, Oct. 21, for a 6 p.m. game against Mankato East.