Five days after a performance he was happy to forget, Hunter Theis rebounded with an effort he will always remember.

That’s the life of a starting quarterback at Owatonna High School.

“I would definitely say in the scrimmage I was all in my head,” Theis said when referring to last Saturday’s up-and-down effort at the team’s annual scrimmages in Prior Lake. “Talking with Jerry Eggermont, he was a huge, huge help. He prayed for me before the game and was there for me. As soon as I got out of my own head and started scoring touchdowns (today), things started to work out.”

Buoyed by a sparkling debut from their new starting quarterback and anchored by its experienced and imposing defense, the Huskies overwhelmed Hastings in every phase of the game and exploded for a 50-7 blowout win in a Northstar District crossover game played in the sweltering heat at McNamara Stadium.

Theis finished 13-for-17 through the air for 170 yards and accounted for four touchdowns. After getting Owatonna on the board with a short TD run at the 8:41-mark of the first quarter, Theis went on to toss three touchdown passes to three different receivers over the next 16 minutes of action.

By halftime, Owatonna had already forced two turnovers, blocked one punt, recovered a kickoff and scored six touchdowns, taking a 43-0 lead when the second star of the game, Blake Fitcher, rumbled into the end zone for a 15-yard catch-and-run with 1 minute, 26 seconds on the clock before halftime.

Fitcher was also instrumental in setting the tone on the other side of the ball, most notably when he helped the OHS defense force a quick three-and-out on Hastings’ game-opening possession before re-directing the ensuing punt toward the far sideline with a loud thud. Owatonna took over at the Hastings 35 and needed just four plays to get in the end zone and grab a 6-0 lead.

Fitcher has now blocked four kicks since joining the varsity team at the beginning of last season, which is by far the team-leader in that category in the stretch.

“You have to want to go get the ball,” Fitcher said when asked the key to blocking kicks. “A lot of people take special teams plays off and blocking a kick raises the chances of your team winning the game by so much. We also scheme things up for us guys at the second level to go get the ball, and it all starts with the guys up front.”

Fitcher scored his first career touchdown on a 22-yard run with 4:52 left in the opening quarter and returned an interception for a touchdown in the middle of the third to extend the Huskies’ lead to 50-0.

Nolan Ginskey picked up right where he left off following his record-breaking junior season and paced Owatonna with six receptions for 86 yards and one touchdown. He also picked off a pass in the second quarter and batted away two others.

Luke Webber added a pair of catches for 34 yards and one touchdown.

On the ground, Tristan Graham highlighted a team-high 92-yard performance with an explosive 58-yard scamper where the junior stiff-armed a defender at the second level, escaped down the right sideline before being tracked down at the Raiders’ 32 yard line. Three plays later, Jamie Lisowski capped the 98-yard scoring drive with a 1-yard TD run.

Owatonna scored on each of its first six possessions accumulate 391 yards of total offense.

The offense, though, wasn’t the only group to show up at the party.

Rotating through a number of big bodies up front and keeping its entire defense fresh by managing the workload of its best players at all levels, Owatonna’s starting defense was stubborn against the run and completely shut down the Raiders’ entire offensive attack. Owatonna did not allow a first down until the middle of the second quarter, won the turnover battle 4-0 and surrendered just five rushing yards on 13 Raiders’ attempts.

Blake Davison recorded three tackles-for-loss while Sam Dulas and Zach Haarstad each recovered a fumble.

Seth Johnson did not miss an extra point, blasted two touchbacks and looped perfectly-placed pooch kick that was recovered by Will Halverson to give the Huskies an extra possession in the middle of the second quarter.

Owatonna is back in action on Friday, September 6 for its home-opener at Federated Field against defending Class AAAAA state champion Chanhassen. The Storm, though, lost to Elk River, 44-22, on Thursday night.

Despite nearly equaling Chanhassen in total yardage last season, the Huskies couldn’t contain tailback Max Woods and lost 35-7. Woods has since graduated and is currently a freshman on the South Dakota State football team.

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Owatonna 50, Hastings 7

FIRST QUARTER

O—Hunter Theis 1 run (Seth Johnson kick), 8:41; 7-0 Huskies

O—Blake Fitcher 10 run (Johnson kick), 4:52; 14-0 Huskies

O—Luke Webber 26 pass from Hunter Theis (Johnson kick), 0:42; 21-0 Huskies

SECOND QUARTER

O—Nolan Ginskey 27 pass from Theis (Johnson kick), 11:25; 28-0 Huskies

O—Jamie Lisowski 1 run (Ginskey run), 4:45; 36-0 Huskies

O—Fitcher 15 pass from Theis (Johnson kick), 1:26; 43-0 Huskies

THIRD QUARTER

O—Fitcher 21 interception return (Johnson kick), 3:21; 50-0 Huskies

H— Zachary Shatek 58 run (Kick good), 0:42; 50-7 Huskies

FOURTH QUARTER

No Scoring

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PHOTOS BY JON WEISBROD