Spirit Lake notched yet another first in school history, a playoff win as they downed Jefferson-Scranton/Paton-Churdan, 42-0, in the Class 2A opener at Hafer Field, improving their unblemished record to 10-0 and advancing to the second round. The #3 Indians drove 80 yards on the game’s opening possession, with Luke Kabele putting it in the endzone from a yard out. Spirit Lake then forced a three-and-out on defense, which led to a blocked punt by Rick Maris, recovered by Andrew Broocks for a touchdown, making it 14-0 just five minutes into the game. The second quarter brought four more scores, two by Paul Brown, one by Cody Poock, and the last from Dylan Bryce, who finished with a game-high 90 yards. Kabele added 63 yards and Brown threw for 116 on eight completions. The Indians, who boast Class 2A’s top offense, racked up nearly 400 yards, while their stingy defense surrendered just 55 yards and held JSPC without a first down in the first half. They also forced four turnovers. The Rams season ends at 6-4 overall, while Spirit Lake takes their perfect record to the next level, where they will get a rematch with South Central Calhoun. The Titans defeated Sioux Center, 27-0, in their playoff opener. South Central Calhoun beat the Indians in last year’s playoffs, and the two will square off again this year on Monday night in Spirit Lake, a game that can be heard live on KUOO.
Click here for postgame interviews with Bryson McCabe, Zach Herrig, and coach Josh Bolluyt.
Elsewhere in Class 2A, Central Lyon/George-Little Rock pounded on OA-BCIG, to the tune of a 40-0 victory to advance to round two. There the Lions will battle Kuemper Catholic, who hung on to defeat Sheldon, 27-21. The Orabs finish at 6-4.
The area’s other undefeated team showed why they are one of the state’s top football programs on Wednesday, as Emmetsburg, making their 36th postseason appearance, had no trouble running through Prairie Valley in a 47-0 triumph. The top-ranked E-Hawks sprinted out to a 28-0 advantage through the first twelve minutes and amassed just over 400 yards of total offense. Andrew Wellik was the top ball carrier with 88 yards and one touchdown on just three carries. Ryan Kliegl threw for a pair of touchdowns, both hauled in by Jake Carlson. And the Emmetsburg ‘D’ held the Warriors to less than 100 yards. Prairie Valley finishes at 5-5. The E-Hawks will play again Monday against Manson NW Webster in Emmetsburg, a game that will air on Y100. The Cougars won a shootout with Sioux Central, 55-34, ending the Rebels season at 6-4 overall.
Also in Class 1A, defending state champ West Lyon blew by IKM-Manning, 42-14 and will put their 8-2 record on the line against South O’Brien. The Wolverines upset top-seeded and previously unbeaten Lawton-Bronson, 28-14, to improve to 6-5.
Harris-Lake Park was not satisfied with simply returning to the 8-man football playoffs for the first time since 2007 and in the second half Wednesday night at Remsen-Union, the Wolves were on the verge of taking the lead when disaster struck. Trailing 20-14, quarterback Colin Brons was injured as HLP was pushing the ball deep into Rockets territory. The injury derailed the drive and the momentum, and sent Harris-Lake Park to a season-ending 35-14 loss. Brons left the game having completed 15 passes for 145 yards and two touchdowns. The first score was a ten-yard toss to Eli Ihnen, with the second being a four-yarder to Tanner Hiveley. The Rockets did most of their damage on the ground, with Jeremy Sanchez gaining 135 yards on 25 carries with one touchdown. As a team, Remsen-Union tallied 245 yards via the run. HLP ends the 2011 season at 7-3 overall, while the Rockets advance to take on two-time defending champion Armstrong-Ringsted. The Mustangs battled back from a 14-10 halftime deficit to eliminate Kingsley-Pierson 38-14, pushing their state-leading winning streak to 33 straight games.
Graettinger-Terril qualified for the postseason despite a losing record at 3-5, and the Knights hung tough against eighth-ranked Newell-Fonda. However, the Mustangs held on for a 17-point win by a 58-41 final. Newell-Fonda will square off with West Bend-Mallard, a 68-34 winner over Laurens-Marathon.
Surprising Spencer kept their season alive, pulling off a major upset in Class 3A. After traveling more than 200 miles south, the Tigers earned a 28-18 win over top-seeded and ninth-ranked Creston. Spencer, who went winless last fall, improves to 5-6 overall and, more importantly, advances to the second round for a contest against another Cinderella. Harlan, at 6-3 following the regular season, took down last season’s state runner-up and fifth-ranked Bishop Heelan, 35-30.
Also in Class 3A, undefeated Boyden-Hull/Rock Valley pulled out a 17-7 decision over Atlantic, setting up a second-round contest against Carroll. The Tigers defeated MOC-Floyd Valley by a field goal, 10-7. The Dutch went 5-5 in 2011.
All second round playoff games will be played Monday, October 31.
