Hastings took control early, then held off a second-half Chaska rally to remain unbeaten with a 24-20 road victory Friday, Sept. 18. The Raiders scored on three of their first four meaningful possessions and kept Chaska off the scoreboard throughout the first half, building a 17-0 lead before the Hawks found their offense after the break.
Hastings wasted little time getting started. On its first possession, the Raiders covered 80 yards in four plays, with quarterback Carter Hanson connecting with Marlowe Strain for a 61-yard touchdown with 9:54 remaining in the opening quarter. Cody Weber added the extra point for a 7-0 lead. The Hastings defense made sure that advantage held, forcing a punt on Chaska's first possession and stopping the Hawks on downs on each of their next two drives.
The Raiders struck quickly again early in the second quarter. Starting at their own 20-yard line, Hastings needed only two plays to go 80 yards, with Zachary Shatek breaking loose for a 64-yard touchdown run with 11:12 remaining. Weber's extra point pushed the lead to 14-0. Hastings added three more points just before halftime, putting together an 11-play, 68-yard drive that ended with Weber kicking a 39-yard field goal with 27 seconds remaining.
That sent Hastings into halftime with a 17-0 advantage after the Raiders controlled both the scoreboard and the key moments of the opening half. Shatek was already carrying much of the Hastings rushing attack, while the defense had kept Chaska from finishing any of its possessions with points.
The game changed quickly after halftime. Chaska opened its scoring with a nine-play, 80-yard drive, capped by Dylan Kasper's eight-yard touchdown pass to Luke Raser with 8:22 remaining in the third quarter. Jacob Laleman added the extra point to cut the Hastings lead to 17-7.
The Hawks struck again less than four minutes later. This time Chaska covered 81 yards in only four plays, with Kasper finding Sullivan Schrandt for a 14-yard touchdown with 5:14 left in the third quarter. Laleman's kick suddenly pulled Chaska within 17-14 after Hastings had led by 17 points at halftime.
Hastings answered with one of its most important drives of the night. The Raiders put together a 13-play, 64-yard possession that carried into the fourth quarter, and Strain finished it with a four-yard touchdown run with 11:01 remaining. Weber converted the extra point, giving Hastings some breathing room again at 24-14.
Strain contributed in several ways to the Hastings offense. He caught three passes for 90 yards, including the 61-yard touchdown in the first quarter, and later scored the Raiders' final touchdown on the ground. He also carried five times for 13 yards. Hanson finished six of nine passing for 123 yards and one touchdown, with Gabriel Ferdig adding two receptions for 29 yards and Marshall Lanning catching one pass for four yards.
Shatek carried the biggest share of the Hastings offense, finishing with 190 yards on 32 carries. His 64-yard touchdown highlighted a night in which he averaged nearly six yards per attempt. As a team, Hastings rushed for 224 yards on 42 carries, while Hanson added 17 yards on four carries, Strain had 13 yards and Ferdig added four.
Chaska, however, continued to stay within reach. After one possession ended on downs, the Hawks put together a seven-play, 70-yard drive and scored on Raser's 14-yard run with 4:40 remaining. The extra-point attempt failed, leaving Hastings with a 24-20 lead and forcing the Raiders to protect a four-point advantage late.
Raser was involved in two of Chaska's three touchdowns, catching the Hawks' first score and running for their final one. Kasper completed seven of 13 passes for 124 yards and two touchdowns, while Raser caught three passes for 57 yards. Schrandt's lone reception went for his 14-yard touchdown.
The teams finished even with 16 first downs apiece, but Chaska held a slight edge in total offense with 378 yards compared with 347 for Hastings. The Hawks rushed for 254 yards and passed for 124, while Hastings finished with 224 rushing yards and 123 through the air. Hastings recorded nine rushing first downs, six passing first downs and one by penalty. Chaska had 12 rushing first downs and four passing first downs.
Penalties were more costly for Hastings, which was flagged five times for 55 yards. Chaska had three penalties for 15 yards. The Raiders also lost a fumble during the game, while Chaska did not record a turnover in the available possession report. Hastings helped offset that by stopping the Hawks on downs three times, including twice in the first half.
One key piece to the fumble that was lost was, it came on the Raiders final drive to run out the clock. The fumble was an errant exchange under center on fourth down with just a few seconds left in the game, deep in Chaska territory. By the time the scrum was cleared, Chaska had recovered the football with one second left on the clock.
Special teams also played an important role. Weber was perfect on all three extra-point attempts and made the 39-yard field goal late in the second quarter, accounting for six points. He also handled five kickoffs for 270 yards. Brady Irwin punted three times for 102 yards, an average of 34 yards per punt.
The victory improved Hastings to 3-0 after earlier wins over New Prague and Bloomington Jefferson. Through three games, the Raiders have scored 97 points while allowing 39. Hastings has accumulated 804 rushing yards on 113 attempts, an average of 7.1 yards per carry, while adding 238 yards through the air.
Shatek has led the Hastings rushing attack through the first three weeks, carrying 82 times for 649 yards and eight touchdowns. Hanson has completed 14 of 25 passes for 238 yards with four touchdowns and one interception. Strain leads the receiving totals with six catches for 148 yards and three touchdowns, while Elliott Hagen has three catches for 43 yards, Ferdig has two for 29 and Shatek has two for 14. Weber has accounted for 13 kicking points.
According to MaxPreps, the Raiders win over Chaska moved them into the top ten rankings for Class AAAAA. The Raiders sit at tenth, one spot ahead of Chaska. Monticello holds the top spot followed by Elk River and Alexandria. The Raider’s next two opponents are not far behind them. Apple Valley is ranked 24th and Two Rivers sits at the 18th spot. St. Thomas Academy, the sixth weeks opponent opened the season with a 15-7 loss to Cretin-Derham Hall which pushed their initial ranking back, they currently sit at 13th.
Looking ahead at the remaining schedule, Burnsville is by far the weakest opponent on the schedule, they are 0-3 on the season and are ranked 39th, and Mankato East is ranked 25th at 1-2. With only three of the eight regular season games played, there are plenty of opportunities for things to change, but this snapshot gives fans a reference point to look back on.
Hastings now returns home for homecoming on Friday, Sept. 25 against Apple Valley. Kickoff is scheduled for 6 p.m. at McNamara Stadium/Todd Field. The Raiders then travel to Two Rivers on Friday, Oct. 2 for a 6:30 p.m. game at Warrior Field.