By Bob Bakken
MaxPreps.com
West Des Moines Valley completed a perfect season with a 14-0 record and state championship Friday night in the Class 4-A finals. The Tigers beat the Cedar Falls Tigers 27-8 before an estimated 10,500 fans at the UNI-Dome in Cedar Falls, which also is Cedar Falls’ home turf during the regular season.
The victory is Valley’s fourth state championship in the last seven years and was the first title after losing in the semifinals each of the last two seasons. Valley also became the first Iowa prep football team to win 14 games since the playoffs began in 1972.
The game was a rematch of the 2005 state final, also won by Valley 24-21 at the UNI-Dome.
3-A: Wegher Stars as Heelan Claims Championship
Using what got them there, the Sioux City Heelan Crusaders rode the talent of running back Brandon Wegher to a five-touchdown performance and a 35-10 victory over Decorah in the Class 3-A football championship game at the UNI-Dome on Saturday.
The five touchdown performance by Wegher set a Class 3-A championship game record.
Heelan (14-0) captured its third state championship, but first in the last 26 years. The Crusaders finished second last year.
Heelan won a Class 4-A crown in 1982, then lost championship games five times in Class 4-A and last year’s 3-A tile to Keokuk, 42-7.
Wegher scored four touchdowns from the line of scrimmage, the longest being 74 yards. The fifth touchdown came on a 100-yard interception return for a score.
The Iowa football recruit totaled 241 yards rushing and finished the season with 3,238 yards, an Iowa record.
2-A: Solon Dominates
The top-ranked Solon Spartans had little problem handling second-ranked Central Lyon/George-Little Rock 60-14 in the Class 2-A football title clash at the UNI-Dome in Cedar Falls.
The Spartans (14-0) set a record for most points scored in a Class 2-A final, eclipsing the previous mark of 55 points scored by Packwood-Pekin in 1998.
The Spartans repeated as Class 2-A champions and ran their current unbeaten streak to 27 games. Solon also defeated CL/G-LR in last year’s championship contest. CL/G-LR stopped the Spartans in the 2-A finals two seasons ago.
James Morris ran for 152 yards and four touchdowns in the winning effort for Solon.
1-A: Emmetsburg Field Goal the Difference
Defense was the theme of the day in the Class 1-A championship football game, won by the Emmetsburg E-Hawks 3-0 over West Lyon.
The win capped a 14-0 season for the E-Hawks in the lowest scoring state championship game since the playoffs started in 1972.
Matt Wellik kicked a 34-yard field goal for Emmetsburg with 37 seconds remaining in the first half for the only points of the game.
Emmetsburg becomes the first team since Fairbank-Wapsie Valley to win state titles in three different classes. The long-standing football power has also won six championships in Class 2-A and a pair in Class 3-A.
A: Southern Cal Stuns North Tama
In a battle of top-ranked teams in Class A, Southern Cal stopped Traer-North Tama 22-21 in overtime on the UNI-Dome turf in Cedar Falls.
Southern Cal was ranked second entering the postseason, while North Tama had been the No. 1 team in the classification for most of the fall campaign.
Greg Meyer’s two-point conversion was the difference in the game, after he had scored on a 10-yard run following North Tama’s overtime possession had given them a touchdown and a seven-point lead.
The teams were tied 14-14 at the end of regulation. The championship for Southern Cal was its third, having also won the championship in 1990 and 2000. It was the first runner-up finish for North Tama.
Both teams finished with 13-1 records.
Eight-Man: Blocked Field Goal Attempt Leads to Title for Lenox
The eight-man championship game was determined in the final seconds as Armstrong-Ringstead’s Ethan Eisenbacher had a 47-yard field goal attempt blocked by Ben Borland, giving Lenox a 34-32 victory at the UNI-Dome in Cedar Falls Friday.
Borland’s block came with 41 seconds left in the game. Lenox, ranked seventh in the state entering the playoffs, won the championship after finishing second in 2005.
Armstrong-Ringstead finished as a runner-up for the second-straight year.
