Iowa high school football Class 2A semifinals: Central Lyon/George Little Rock, Van Meter to meet with winning streak on line

Central Lyon/George Little Rock rides a 25-game winning streak

CEDAR FALLS – Iowa high school football class realignment has set the stage for a Class 2A title showdown between two returning state champions. 

Central Lyon/George-Little Rock extended its win streak to 25, returning to 2A’s title game with a 28-14 win over Spirit Lake during Saturday’s semifinal round inside the UNI-Dome.

Van Meter, a 35-21 winner over UNI-Dome newcomer Monticello, will meet the Lions (12-0) with a state champion on the line Friday at 10 a.m. Van Meter (12-0) has moved up to Class 2A after winning the previous two Class 1A state titles.

VAN METER’S GORDON COUNTERS ELECTRIC RIES

Steady rushes from running back Ben Gordon prevented Monticello’s electric offense powered by University of Iowa commit Preston Ries from taking control of Saturday’s 2A semifinal opener.

Gordon rushed for four touchdowns and 208 yards on 33 carries, including a go-ahead score with 1:46 remaining in the third quarter and the lone touchdown of the fourth quarter.

“Our line does a great job opening up the holes,” Gordon said. “We were just punching up the middle. You’ve got to hit it up there and then the long runs will come too.”

Ries, a member of a large senior class that helped Monticello (10-2) finish with the best season in program history, never allowed Van Meter to get comfortable. The Panthers’ quarterback passed for 264 yards and a touchdown and rushed for another 92 yards and two scores.

“A phenomenal team, phenomenal quarterback, well-coached,” Van Meter head coach Eric Trudo said. “I just held my breath every snap.”

Ries’ scrambling ability and powerful arm were on display throughout the game.

The Monticello quarterback threw on the run during a 38-yard connection to Conner Jordan that set up the game’s first touchdown on a 4-yard Ries run. Van Meter quickly answered when left tackle John Braun sealed the edge for Gordon’s 74-yard touchdown run along the sideline.

The Bulldogs then capitalized on a pair of interceptions to build a 20-7 second-quarter lead. Andon Watson returned a pass that went through a receiver’s hands to the Monticello 20. That play set up an 8-yard Gordon touchdown run. Caleb Moore added a pick after excellent coverage on a deep ball near midfield that led to Adlai Lounsbury’s second field goal.

Ries helped Monticello cut its deficit to 20-14 at the end of the first half. The Monticello quarterback converted a fourth-and-one to the Van Meter 40. He later recovered his own fumble on a pass attempt and found Jordan for a 19-yard gain. A roughing the passer penalty added 10 yards onto the play to the Van Meter 11, and Ries eventually rushed the ball 7 yards into the end zone.

In the second half, Ries scrambled along the edge of his goal line and back before launching the ball 50 yards on a 94-yard passing touchdown to Peyton Schilling that put Monticello up 21-20.

Van Meter regained the lead following an impressive catch when Gordon went over a defender for a 33-yard reception to the Monticello 4. Gordon covered the remaining 4-yards for a 28-21 Bulldogs lead after a successful two-point conversion. Gordon’s fourth touchdown run put the Bulldogs up two scores with 2:24 remaining.

This setback in the UNI-Dome marked the end of a historic season for a Monticello program that featured predominantly senior starters. Monticello had a 3-10 playoff record and never advanced past the second round prior to this season’s semifinal run.

“Stepping onto this stage, never being on it, I thought our kids responded well,” Monticello head coach Wes Wilson said. “They didn’t let the moment get too big for them. I thought we battled and played hard. We just lost the turnover battle, and they made some big plays in special teams.”

CENTRAL LYON/GEORGE-LITTLE ROCK KEEPS POISE

It would have been easy for Central Lyon/George-Little Rock to lose its composure early after Spirit Lake took advantage of a pair of fortunate bounces to jump out to a 14-0 lead in the first quarter.

Sprit Lake receiver Owen Lalumendre's fumble off a short reception popped into the hands of teammate Dylan Stecker who covered the remaining 17 yards for an early touchdown. The ensuing kickoff found green UNI-Dome turf and was recovered by Spirit Lake’s Ryder Sundall at the Central Lyon 27. A fourth-and-16 pass from Caden Lundt to William Ditsworth resulted in a 33-yard touchdown that extended the Indians’ lead to 14-0.

“When we got down by 14, I went out there and said to the defense, ‘Guys, we’ve got four quarters of football to play. We don’t need to panic. We don’t need to be all nervous. We’ve just got to do what we do, and do it better,’” Central Lyon/George-Little Rock head coach Curtis Eben related. “We just had to settle in. Everybody was almost too excited to start that game and we just made some simple errors.”

University of Iowa recruit Reece Vander Zee rushed for 170 yards and three touchdowns on 26 carries, and passed for another 84 as Central Lyon/George-Little Rock overtook Spirit Lake.

“On our sideline there was never a doubt,” Vander Zee said. “Our coaches and players all trusted that we were going to come out with a win. We stuck with it, and we didn’t let those bad bounces get to our heads.

“We’ve built a tradition and every year everybody buys into that tradition, and it shows.”

Each team missed opportunities on offense during a second half in which Vander Zee’s 16-yard touchdown run with 3:34 left in the fourth quarter marked the lone score.

Spirit Lake’s Lundt slipped a tackle and ran 30 yards for a fourth-down conversion, but Lundt was stopped on his second attempt to convert a fourth down at the goal line by CL/GL-R’s Jack Krull and Charlie Hamilton. Spirit Lake returned the favor early in the fourth quarter and stopped CL/GL-R on a fourth-down pass that fell incomplete from the Indians’ 5 with 9:27 remaining.

Spirit Lake’s Lundt finished 14 of 32 passing for 175 yards and two touchdowns but was picked off twice. The Indians managed just 85 rushing yards on 28 carries.

Gabe Schulte led a tough CL/G-LR defensive line with 1.5 sacks as part of a six-tackle game.

“I’m proud of our up-front guys,” Eben said. “Spirit Lake gave us a lot of troubles. Their size matched us well.

“Gabe Schulte is just a specimen out there and he showed it today. The guy takes on double teams the entire game and splits them. ... The guy is as good of a football player as we’ve had at Central Lyon/George-Little Rock since I’ve been around.”

Scoring summaries

VAN METER 35, Monticello 21

Monticello;7;7;7;0 - 21

Van Meter;7;13;8;7 - 35

Monticello – Preston Ries 4 run (A.J. Phelps kick)

Van Meter – Ben Gordon 74 run (Katie Lindsay kick)

Van Meter – Adlai Lounsbury 36 field goal

Van Meter – Ben Gordon 8 run ( Lindsay kick)

Van Meter – Lounsbury 32 field goal

Monticello – Ries 7 run (Phelps kick)

Monticello – Peyton Schilling 95 yards pass from Ries (Phelps kick)

Van Meter – Gordon 4 run (Cael Trudo pass from Austin Baumhover)

Van Meter – Gordon 15 run (Lindsay kick)

CENTRAL LYON/GEORGE-LITTLE ROCK 28, SPIRIT LAKE 14

Spirit Lake;14;0;0;0 - 14

CL/GL-R;0;21;0;7 - 28

SL – Dylan Stecker 17 pass from Caden Lundt (William Ditsworth kick)

SL – William Ditsworth 33 pass from Lundt (Ditsworth kick)

CLGLR – Reece Vander Zee 16 run (Logan Koob kick)

CLGLR – Vander Zee 65 run (Koob kick)

CLGLR – Graham Eben 1 run (Koob kick)

CLGLR – Reece Vander Zee 15 run (Koob kick)

--Nick Petaros

Reece Vander Zee keeps the ball for a run during Saturday’s victory. (Photo by Nick Petaros)