A four-point ballgame turned into a 24-point victory in the span of six minutes Friday night as the third-ranked Spirit Lake Indians pulled away from Unity Christian in the fourth quarter to secure a 27-3 victory and keep the undefeated season alive. Leading 7-3 entering the final quarter, Luke Kabele scored the first of his two touchdowns just 30-seconds in, then two plays later Sawyer Harms returned an interception 22 yards for a score and suddenly Spirit Lake was in control. Kabele finished with a game-high 139 yards on 18 carries, his second 100-yard performance of the season. Aric Waltz pounded out 50 yards and Bryson McCabe churned up an additional 47 yards, 35 of which came on a touchdown run to cap the Indians’ first series of the game. Adam Dau, who replaced injured quarterback Paul Brown, went 3-for-8 through the air for 36 yards and an interception. The Unity Christian offense, which was second in the district entering the game, was bottled up by the Spirit Lake defense for just 168 yards and was forced to punt on seven of their eleven drives. The Knights drop to 5-3 overall and 2-3 in the district. The Indians are a perfect 8-0 this season and now 5-0 in district games. The win also clinched a share of the district title for the Indians, as well as secured home games for at least the first two rounds of the playoffs. They will try to finish the school’s first ever undefeated regular season next Friday against Sioux Center. That game will be live on KUOO.
Click here for postgame interviews with Andrew Broocks, Sawyer Harms, and coach Josh Bolluyt.
In other Class 2A District 1 games, Central Lyon/George-Little Rock remained a game behind Spirit Lake in the district standings with a 21-7 win at Sheldon, and Sioux Center took control of their postseason destiny with a 34-7 decision over Estherville-Lincoln Central.
A scoop and score for a touchdown on the game’s opening play put second-ranked Emmetsburg ahead early at Alta/Aurelia, and that lead continued to grow to 35-0 after the first quarter and ended with a 48-6 E-Hawks victory in Class 1A. Emmetsburg’s offense accumulated 350 yards on the ground, led by Cody Henderson’s 68 yards and two touchdowns. The defense forced four turnovers and checked the Warriors offense to just 127 total yards. Emmetsburg remains perfect at 8-0 overall and 6-0 in district play, clinching a share of the district title. They host rival Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn next Friday in the regular season finale. That game will be heard live on Y100
HMS will be coming off a rough 20-0 blanking at the hands of another rival, the Wolverines of South O’Brien. The Hawks turned the ball over five times, which led to 13 South O’Brien points. Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn received 65 yards rushing from Troy Simons and another 60 yards from Jacob Clark. The Wolverines’ Zach Nieman carried the ball 34 times for a game-high 171 yards and a touchdown. The win locks ups a playoff spot for South O’Brien at 4-2 in district play. HMS falls to 2-4 in league games and 3-5 overall and is on the outside looking in.
The rest of the Class 1A District 2 games saw Sioux Central move into position for a postseason berth with a narrow 14-13 win over Pocahontas Area/Pomeroy-Palmer, while West Lyon put Sibley-Ocheyedan’s playoff hopes in doubt with a 26-6 win in Sibley. The Generals, at 2-4 in district play, host Alta/Aurelia next week on Q102.
In other football action, Spencer let an early lead slip away in a 22-20 loss to MOC-Floyd Valley in Class 3A football. The Tigers, at 2-4 in the district, are a game behind Sergeant Bluff-Luton for the final playoff spot. SB-L shut out Storm Lake 21-0. Also, second-ranked Boyden-Hull/Rock Valley stayed undefeated behind a 49-7 margin against Denison-Schleswig, and Bishop Heelan blanked LeMars 38-0.
In Class A, Clay Central-Everly lost their eighth game of the season, a 47-18 affair to Akron-Westfield.
In the 8-man football ranks, Graettinger-Terril may have locked up their postseason spot with a 50-12 trouncing over CWL. The Knights are 3-3 in district games and 3-5 overall. Meanwhile, West Bend-Mallard improved to 8-0 with a 60-12 drubbing of North Sentral Kossuth. The win sets up a matchup with fellow undefeated and two-time defending state-champion Armstrong-Ringsted next week.
North of the border, Jackson County Central housed Pipestone, 41-6. Fairmont took a 15-13 win over rival Blue Earth. Martin County West lost 27-6 at Lake Crystal-Wellcome Memorial. Undefeated Marshall destroyed Worthington, 56-7.
