Bryer Prochniak

HARTLEY, Iowa — An old-fashioned Iowa Class A down-to-the-wire, tale-of-two-halves prep football playoff shootout.

North Union senior running back Bryer Prochniak amassed a season-best 336 yards and a team-high four touchdowns during Friday night’s postseason opener, but the Warriors’ second-half comeback fell just short in Hartley, Iowa.

Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn senior quarterback Kooper Ebel utilized his 6-foot-3, 215-pound frame to generate a team-best 313 yards and a game-high five TDs to help the hometown Hawks survive North Union, 46-31, at Peterson Field.

Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn (7-2) will await the Iowa High School Athletic Association’s reseeding and rebracketing for the next round of the Class A playoffs.

North Union, which merited its first Class A playoff bid, ended its season with a 5-4 record.

Ebel, an Iowa State University football commit, dominated the first half after his Warrior counterpart — Prochniak — delivered game-opening fireworks via the first handoff of Friday night’s clash.

Prochniak returned the opening kickoff to the North Union 34 before taking the handoff from quarterback Carter Morphew, cut right, made a couple of would-be tacklers miss and accelerated 66 yards to the end zone. Morphew kicked the PAT for a 7-0 lead with only 15 seconds elapsed.

Ebel, however, countered by capping a four-play, 65-yard scoring drive with a 56-yard breakaway gallop for six points. Ebel then ran for the 2-point conversion to swing an 8-7 lead to the Hawks at the 9:40 juncture.

HMS’ defense later held at its own 11 before Ebel broke loose for a pivotal 32-yard run to set up his 3-yard TD plunge. Ebel converted the 2-pointer again for a 16-7 margin at the 2:12 mark of the first quarter.

Keevyn Jacobsma’s fumble recovery later led to Ebel’s eventual 2-yard scoring run and Aiden Espeland’s 2-point conversion run with 5:45 left before intermission.

Ebel later completed a rare 10-yard pass to Ethan Baker before Espeland found the end zone on another conversion run to stake HMS to a 32-7 halftime lead.

Ironically, Ebel finished the first half with 227 rushing yards and three scores on 22 carries, while Prochniak netted 122 yards and one TD on a dozen totes.

Ebel opened the third quarter with a 2-yard TD run and kicked the ensuing PAT for a 39-7 lead with 7:33 showing, but the second half would belong to Prochniak.

After Morphew exited the game with an injury, Prochniak piled up 214 yards and three TDs on a yeoman’s 25 carries to trigger the Warriors’ 24-point second-half comeback.

Prochniak even completed a 27-yard TD pass to Preston Guerdet on the heels of Caden Walders’ onside kickoff recovery with 5:16 to go in the third.

Prochniak delivered scoring sprints of 39, 25 and one yard(s), respectively, to inch the Warriors close, but Ebel’s final score from 8 yards out helped secure the Hawks’ win.

Prochniak entered the game with 873 yards and 14 TDs, including a long of 64 yards, on 120 carries.

NU 7 0 12 12 — 31

HMS 16 16 14 0 — 46

Scoring Plays

1st Quarter

NU–Bryer Prochniak 66 run (Carter Morphew kick), 11:45.

HMS–Kooper Ebel 56 run (Ebel run), 9:40.

HMS–Ebel 3 run (Ebel run), 2:12.

2nd Quarter

HMS–Ebel 2 run (Aiden Espeland run), 5:45.

HMS–Ethan Baker 10 pass from Ebel (Espeland run), 1:14.

3rd Quarter

HMS–Ebel 2 run (Ebel kick), 7:33.

NU–Preston Guerdet 27 pass from Prochniak (run failed), 5:16.

NU–Prochniak 39 run (kick failed), 4:36.

HMS–Ebel 8 run (Ebel kick), 1:59.

4th Quarter

NU–Prochniak 25 run (run failed), 9:59.

NU–Prochniak 1 run (run failed), 7:48.