Sutton wins 6 of 8 regular season games falls in D-1 playoff opener
The Sutton Mustangs battled to a strong 6-3 record during the 2025 football season, opening the year with three straight wins, including a 62-34 win over McCool Junction to start the season, then rolling over both Heartland, 68-6, and Southern Valley, 7-28.
As the fourth week rolled around, a rainy, mucky night at home with Thayer Central hit Sutton with their first loss, a 20-0 shutout to the Titans.
Sutton hit the road in week five to chart a 34-26 win over EMF before Sandy Creek, the eventual Class D-1 state champion rolled into Sutton to gain a 55-14 win over the Mustangs.
Sutton locked down their second straight trip into the playoffs, with a 74-0 shutout win over Southern, and a narrow 24-22 win at Tri County.
In the playoffs, however, Sutton hosted the Bloomfield Bees and would see their season come to an abrupt halt, as the Bees escaped Sutton with a 34-26 win, ending the Mustangs’ season with a 6-3 record.
THE MUSTANGS BYTHE NUMBERS
Sutton rolled up 2,879 rushing yards on 414 total carries on the year, an average of seven yards per carry and just under 320 yards per game.
Leading the rushing attack was junior Connor Hinrichs. A season-ending injury ended Hinrichs’ season after five games. He ran for 932 yards, an average of 9.4 yards per carry and 186.4 yards per game. Following Hinrichs was junior Griffin Bergen, running for 582 yards on 113 carries, an average of 64.7 yards per game and 5.2 yards per carry.
Senior quarterback Keith Kliewer picked up 346 yards on 69 carries, an average of 38.4 yards per game, and five yards per carry, while junior Creighton Jones ran for 285 yards on 35 carries, and senior Jacob Huxoll chewed up 238 yards on 32 carries.
Sutton’s passing attack completed 26 of 38 passes for 322 yards, with Kliewer completing 25 of 37 passes for 319 yards to lead the way.
On the receiving end of the passing game, DJ Hajny led the way, catching 10 passes for 165 yards. Jacob Huxoll followed with 11 catches for 76 yards, while Jones grabbed two passes for 57 yards.
Defensive leaders proved to be Jacob Huxoll with 88 total tackles, including 39 solo stops, two interceptions and one fumble recovery.
Aydin Banta made 43 tackles, 19 of which were solo tackles. Banta had a teamhigh five sacks, as well. Max Huxoll followed Banta with 42 total stops, Juan Reyes was in on 41 tackles, Hinrichs made 35 tackles, and Kliewer gained 27 tackles and had a team-high three interceptions. Sutton Totals:
Rush Att-Yds............................... 414-2,879 Rush Yds-Carry....................................... 7.0 Rush Yds-Game.................................. 319.9 Pass Comp-Att-Yds......................26-38-322 Passing Yards/Catch.............................. 12.4 Passing Yards/Game............................. 35.8 Total Offense...................................... 3,201 Total Offense/Game............................ 355.7
Individual Stats RUSHING- (Att.-Yds): Connor Hinrichs: 99-932, Griffin Bergen: 113-582, Keith Kliewer: 69-346, Creighton Jones: 35-285, Jacob Huxoll: 32-238, Javin Jordan: 21-126, DJ Hajny: 8-101, Juan Reyes: 11-95, Mason Ehly: 3-44, Ethan Kliewer: 5-43, Harrison Schurman: 7-34, Tristan Griess: 4-16, Aydin Banta: 2-13, Chase Clark: 2-11, Rexx Meyer: 2-10, EverettYost: 1-3. Team: 414-2,879.
PASSING- (Comp.-Att.-Yds): Keith Kliewer: 25-37-319, Mason Ehly: 1-1-3. Team: 26-38-322.
RECEIVING- (Catch-Yds): DJ Hajny: 10165, Jacob Huxoll: 11-76, Creighton Jones: 2-57, Connor Hinrichs: 2-21, Everett Yost: 1-3.
Team: 26-322.
Defensive Stats TACKLES- (Solo-Assists-Total): Jacob Huxoll: 39-49-88, Aydin Banta: 19-24-43, Max Huxoll: 18-24-42, Juan Reyes: 16-25-41, Connor Hinrichs: 17-18-35, Creighton Jones: 22-11-33, Keith Kliewer: 15-12-27, Rexx Meyer: 12-15, 27, Griffin Bergen: 14-12-26, DJ Hajny: 5-13-18, Tristan Griess: 10-6-16, Javin Jordan: 5-8-13, Eli Ladehoff: 5-5-10, Chase Clark: 3-5-8, Brian Liberato: 4-2-6, Everett Yost: 4-1-5, Harrison Schurman: 2-2-4, Kade Jones: 1-3-4, Osvaldo Rico: 2-1-3, Cash Parrish: 0-3-3, Brayden Griess: 1-1-2, Brody Schelkopf: 1-0-1, Carson Cline: 1-01, Canon Peterson: 0-1-1, Ethan Kliewer: 0-1-1.
Team: 225-368-593. THE 2025 SEASON - 6-3
McCool Junction...............................W 62-34 Heartland.......................................... W 68-6 Southern Valley................................ W70-28 Thayer Central..................................... L 20-0 Exeter-Milligan/Friend......................W 34-26 Sandy Creek....................................... L 55-14 Southern (Wymore)........................... W 74-0 Tri County.........................................W 24-22 Class D-1 State Playoffs- Bloomfield....................................... L 34-266
