High School

Class 1A state championship: Grundy Center secures three-peat as Judd Jirovsky carries the Spartans

Grundy Center wins a third-straight state championship with a convincing 28-7 victory over Dike-New Hartford

Dana Becker

Judd Jirovsky breaks free vs. Dike-New Hartford Thursday for Grundy Center.
Judd Jirovsky breaks free vs. Dike-New Hartford Thursday for Grundy Center. / Cody Scanlan/The Register / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

CEDAR FALLS - Judd Jirovsky stepped right into the quarterback role this year for the first time and Grundy Center didn’t miss a beat.

The Spartans capped off another unbeaten season with a third straight championship, downing Dike-New Hartford Thursday inside the UNI-Dome, 28-7.

Jirovsky, a junior, completed 8 of 14 for 92 yards while rushing 19 times for 121 yards and three touchdowns. Brody Zinkula also found the end zone, adding 61 yards rushing, while Jacob Hoy caught two passes for 63 yards.

Grundy Center's 39-game win streak is the fifth-longest in 11-player football over the past 50 years.

Right off the bat, Jirovsky took control of the contest, scoring from 33 yards out to cap a six-play, 81-yard drive in the first. He added a 1-yard run near the end of the opening quarter before darting in from 10 yards out to make it 21-0 in the third.

Dike-New Hartford would finally get on the board in the fourth with a Noah Borcherding touchdown run, but Grundy Center answered right back. The Spartans went 70 yards over eight plays, chewing up three minutes of the clock before Zinkula broke free from 20 yards out.

Borcherding was held to just 32 yards rushing on 12 carries while Colin Meester led the Wolverines, completing 15 of 30 for 222 yards. Devon Lotts had six receptions for 107 yards on the day.

Ryker Thoren had 8.5 tackles including two for loss for Grundy Center, with Ryder Slifer recording three tackles for loss and a sack. Aiden Hook also had a sack among his five stops. Jack Severson had seven tackles for the Wolverines. 

This marked the ninth appearance in the state finals for Grundy Center and the sixth title all-time. Along with the last three, the Spartans also won it all in 1984, '87 and '88 to go along with three runner-up finishes.

Dike-New Hartford was seeking its second state title and first as a consolidated school. Dike won it in 1981 and the Wolverines have six other runner-up trophies.

CLASS 1A CHAMPIONSHIP GAME STATS

RUSHING - Dike-New Hartford: Noah Borcherding 12-32 (1 TD), Colin Meester 12-3. Grundy Center: Judd Jirovsky 19-121 (3 TDs), Brody Zinkula 13-61 (1 TD), Pete Lebo 3-7.

PASSING - Dike-New Hartford: Colin Meester 15-30-1-222. Grundy Center: Judd Jirovsky 8-14-0-92.

RECEIVING - Dike-New Hartford: Devon Lotts 6-107, Jaiden Soppe 2-41, Noah Borcherding 2-30, Jack Hoehns 2-9, Tyson Bennett 1-14, Carson Costello 1-13, Jake Reicks 1-8. Grundy Center: Brody Zinkula 3-15, Jacob Hoy 2-63, Devin Hinders 1-5, Tiernan Vokes 1-5, Eli Wegmann 1-4. 

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Dana Becker
DANA BECKER

Dana Becker has been a sports writer in Iowa since 2000, writing for The Fort Dodge Messenger, Mason City Globe-Gazette, Cedar Rapids Gazette and others. Dana resides in northcentral Iowa and started as a writer with SB Live Sports in 2022 focused on the state of Iowa. Along with providing coverage of football and wrestling, Dana also spotlights cross country, swimming, basketball, track and field, soccer, tennis, golf, baseball and softball. He began writing for High School on SI in 2023.

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