WACO holds off Newell-Fonda to earn spot in Iowa 8-Player state championship football game
In a scene that would have made former University of Iowa football coach Hayden Fry proud, the WACO High School football team did the Hokey Pokey on Sheriff Field Wednesday afternoon at the UNI-Dome in Cedar Falls.
The third-ranked Warriors had plenty of reason to celebrate after hanging on for a 29-21 victory over fourth-ranked Newell-Fonda in the first 8-player semifinal game of the day.
WACO (13-0) will play in the 8-Player state championship game at 9:30 a.m. on Nov. 17 at the UNI-Dome. The Warriors, making their first appearance in a state championship game, will play top-ranked Remsen-St. Mary's (12-0).
Newell-Fonda ends its season with a 10-2 record.
In a game between two offensive juggernauts, the game was decided by the Warriors' defense.
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Junior Chase Waterhouse sacked Mustangs quarterback Mason Dicks on a fourth-and-17 play at the Newell-Fonda five-yard line with under two minutes left to seal the WACO victory.
WACO junior Colton Leichty had 4 1/2 sacks and blocked a punt, which led to a Simeon Reichenbach field goal in the third quarter to give the Warriors an eight-point lead.
WACO took an 11-7 lead into halftime.
Reichenbach opened the scoring with a 28-yard field goal and WACO quarterback Isaac Oswald hit Mason Miller with a 28-yard scoring toss. Reichenbach then hit Reece Oswald for the two-point conversion.
Newell-Fonda countered with a 22-yard pass from Dicks to Wyatt Kreft.
A two-yard run by Ryan Greenfield gave Newell-Fonda its only lead of the game, 14-11, early in the third quarter.
Reichenbach, who was injured in the second quarter, returned to score on runs of 23 and 19 yards in the second half.
Greenfield completed the scoring, hauling in a 44-yard pass from Dicks for the final margin.
Isaac Oswald completed 15-of-27 passes for 197 yards for WACO. Reichenbach rushed for 86 yards on 17 carries and caught three passes for 49 yards. Mason Miller caught four passes for 57 yards, while Louden Huisenga and Reece Oswald each caught two passes for 30 yards.
Dicks completed 17-of-28 passes for 251 yards for the Mustangs. He also rushed for 35 yards.
Kreft rushed for 36 yards and caught five passes for 73 yards. Greenfield caught nine passes for 155 yards.
Remsen-St. Mary's pull away from Lenox late
In a game which started with two touchdowns in the first 28 seconds, the top-ranked Hawks scored twice in the fourth quarter to pull away from the Tigers and earn a spot in the 8-player state championship game against WACO.
Remsen-St. Mary's showed off its vaunted high-powered offense, scoring on the first play from scrimmage for a quick 8-0 lead as Cael Ortmann hit Ryan Willman with a 55-yard scoring pass.
The Tigers countered with a 65-yard scoring pass from Gabe Funk to Isaac Grundman to make it 8-6 on its first offensive play from scrimmage.
The Hawks took a 30-20 lead into the fourth quarter before a 63-yard scoring run by Alex Schroeder and a one-yard scoring plunge by Jaxon Bunkers put the game away.
Remsen-St. Mary's, the 2020 8-player state champion, racked up 436 yards of offense.
Ortmann completed 10-of-17 passes for 220 yards and three touchdowns, while Schroeder rushed for 116 yards on just 10 carries. Bunkers rushed for 44 yards on six carries and scored twice, while Willman caught five passes for 163 yards and three touchdowns.
Lenox (11-1) was led by Funk, who completed 8-of-21 passes for 134 yards and rushed for 154 yards and two touchdowns. Grundman caught two passes for 71 yards.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: WACO High School football headed to Iowa 8-Player state championship
