Rosemount senior quarterback Jared Hanson and wide receiver Simon Hatlen have developed a connection, and that’s been good news for the Irish.
Hanson found Hatlen for several big plays Thursday in Rosemount’s 41-0 win over Eastview at Eastview High School.
Hatlen hauled in six passes for 139 yards and a touchdown while Hanson finished 11 of 18 passing for 209 yards and two TDs.
“We’ve been playing together since freshman ball,” Hatlen said. “Since it’s both our first year starting varsity, it’s pretty cool just being out on the field catching balls with him. We’ve been connecting pretty well the first three games of the season.”
Hatlen has developed into Hanson’s go-to receiver through the first three games. Hatlen leads the team with 12 receptions for 214 yards and two touchdowns. It’s a combination the Irish (3-0), ranked No. 7 in Class 6A in The Associated Press state high school football poll, have needed since graduating standout quarterback Jackson Erdmann and running back Dimitri Williams last season.
“We’re getting better at it,” Rosemount coach Jeff Erdmann said. “We think we throw pretty well. It’s just the first week we had horrible conditions to throw in. But we feel comfortable with our passing. Hanson’s been pretty accurate, so we’re pretty pleased with that.”
Hanson went 4-for-18 for 86 yards in windy conditions against White Bear Lake in the first game of the year but went 6-for-10 the next week against Apple Valley.
Hanson found Hatlen for a 38-yard touchdown in the second quarter to give the Irish a 14-0 lead after the extra point. The pair connected later in the game on a 67-yard pass that set up Hanson’s 6-yard touchdown pass to Josiah Mann as time expired in the third quarter.
Those touchdowns bookended two rushing TDs by Hanson. He plunged in from a yard out with 2 minutes, 28 seconds left in the first half and then ran in from 7 yards out with 6:53 left in the third quarter.
The Irish benefitted from eight Lightning turnovers, but the first one proved the biggest. Less than two minutes into the game, senior defensive back Tyler Liska jumped a route on Eastview’s first play from scrimmage and returned the interception 55 yards to put Rosemount up 7-0 after the extra point.
“The first one was awesome to get on the board and set the tone right away,” Erdmann said.
The Lightning (0-3) went on to finish with five turnovers in the first half. Despite the turnovers, Eastview only trailed 20-0 at the half.
“You can never have turnovers especially against a team like Rosemount because they have that killer instinct and know how to finish drives,” Lightning coach Kelly Sherwin said.
Eastview lost a fumble on a fourth-and-1 from the Irish 6-yard line. But the Lightning got another opportunity when it recovered a Rosemount fumble two plays later. The opportunity went for naught when Eastview threw its second interception of the half on first-and-goal from the Irish 5-yard line.
The Lightning forced a punt but fumbled on the first play on offense.
“We felt we turned it around and matched their physicality and moved the ball a little bit,” Sherwin said. “There were about three times we couldn’t finish.”
Three of the fumbles came without contact from the opposition, Sherwin said.
Rosemount made it 41-0 late in the game when Cody Hogan ran in from 19 yards out on a possession that was a result of Eastview’s fifth fumble.
The Lightning travel to Eagan (1-2) Friday while the Irish face Lakeville South (1-2) in Rosemount.
