High School Football State Finals Set For Thursday & Friday

The stage is set for the 2020 State Finals at the UNI Dome on Thursday and Friday. It’s been a roller coaster of a season. At times prior to the season it looked like it may never happen and at times during looked like it may not finish due to the pandemic. Thursday will feature three games as will Friday. The 8 Player, Class A and 3 A classes will take the field Thursday. On Friday, 1A, 2A and 4A are set to decided their champions.

The 8 player class is set to kick things off Thursday at 10 AM to open the finals. In that game Remsen-St. Mary’s will take on Fremont Mills. RSM advanced to the finals after winning the highest scoring game in Iowa football history. They outlasted Montezuma to win it 108-94 in a wild offensive onslaught, in whicbh the teams racked up 27 total offensive TD’s and right at 1,500 yards. Fremont Mills got to the finals after upsetting defending champs Don Bosco 32-30.

The afternoon session on Thursday will feature the Class A finalists, Grundy Center vs Iowa City-Regina. Grundy Center rolled past Council Bluffs-St. Albert 34-6. The Grundy Center run game racked up over 400 yards rushing and their defense allowed just 115 total yards. Iowa City- Regina took down St. Ansgar 49-28, after going on a 21-7 second half run to pull away. RB Theo Kolie led the charge offensively with 24 carries  for 163 yards and 3 rushing TD’s. The Class A finals is set for a 2 PM kickoff.

In the night cap Thursday at 7 PM, traditional power Harlan will square off with North Scott in Class 3A. Harlan had no trouble with Boyden-Hull/Rock Valley cruising 44-7. Harlan outscored them 27-0 after the break to bust the game open. North Scott got to the finals after a win in overtime 17-10 over Cedar Rapids- Xavier. The game featured some high drama late as Cedar Rapids Xavier put together a late drive that was 9 minutes in length. That drive ended with a made FG as time expired in the 4th to tie it at 10. North Scott won it in OT on TD pass from QB Carter Markham to WR Parker Ruth.

Friday also will feature three games, and Class 1A will take center stage to start the second day off. OABCIG will look for back to back State Titles after winning the 2A class last year. They have 24 straight games now after taking down Sigourney-Keota 43-21. OABCIG QB and Iowa Hawkeye commit Cooper Dejean completed 62% of his passes for 411 yards and 5 passing TD’s. He added 73 yards on 9 carries and a rushing TD as well. The Falcons take on a Van Meter team who edged South Central Calhoun 20-12 in the Semifinals. Van Meter displayed speed on defense holding SCC to right around 200 yards of total offense and forcing 3 turnovers. Offensively, Van Meter is led by RB Dalten Van Pelt who had 29 carries for 172 yards and a TD. He also had a 29 yard catch on a 4th down play to set up 1st and goal at the 1. Van Meter would score the next play to take the lead early in the 4th. The Class 1A game will take place at 10 AM Friday.

In 2A, CLGLR will face off with Waukon at 2 Pm Friday. CLGLR had no issue with Camanche holding them to under 150 total yards while racking up over 400 of their own. Waukon took down PCM- Monroe 38-21. Waukon rolled up over 300 yards on the ground led by RB Ethan O’Neill who had 3 rushing TD’s and 194 yards on 26 carries. Those two teams will meet at 2 PM on Friday.

The prime time match up Friday Night is in class 4A. It features two CIML teams, undefeated Southeast Polk and one loss Ankeny. SEP has been rolling people pretty much all season, they blasted Pleasant Valley 50-10. Rams had balance offensively as they threw for over 200 yards and ran for over 200 yards. RB Titus Christansen racked up 176 rushing yards and 2 TD’s on just 18 carries. QB Jaxon Dailey was efficient 11 of 17 passing for 202 yards, 2 TD’s and no turnovers. Their defense is led by highly coveted recruit Xavier Nwankpa in the secondary. He had an interception and a TD run in the Semifinals. He’s a junior with offers from Clemson, Ohio State, Wisconsin, Iowa, Missouri and many others.

Ankeny won’t be intimidated by SEP’s talent level though. The Hawks knocked off 7 time defending State Champs Dowling in OT 31-24 in the Semifinals. That has to give Ankney all kind of confidence coming in. They got flex position play maker and Iowa commit Arlan Bruce IV eligible in the 2nd half of the season. That gives them another weapon to go with Brody Brecht who is a 6ft4 215 pound WR. He also will be playing in Iowa City. Brecht had a TD run and TD catch in the win. QB Jase Bauer is a threat with his legs or his arm. He had 240 total yards, 117 of them on the ground. He also accounted for 3 total TD’s, 2 passing and one rushing. One thing we know for sure is that Class 4A will have a new champ for the 1st time since 2012.