Iowa High School Football Playoffs: Iowa City Regina Vs. West Lyon

Undefeated Regals take on defending 2A state champ Wildcats for 1A gold

Savion Miller and Iowa City Regina topped Grundy Center in the Class 1A Iowa high school football semifinals. / IHSAA

The defending Class 2A Iowa high school state football champions look to add 1A gold to the trophy case.

West Lyon, who captured the 2A crown a year ago, meets Iowa City Regina in a battle of unbeatens for the 1A championship on Thursday at 4 p.m. from the UNI-Dome in Cedar Falls, Iowa.

Live streaming for the contest will be available on YouTube via Iowa PBS of all the championship games.

Here is a breakdown of what to look for when each team has the ball and when each team is on defense, along with key season information for the teams still alive.

Iowa High School Football Class 1A State Championship Game

Iowa City Regina Regals (12-0)

• Defeated Wilton, 42-20
• Defeated West Branch, 28-16
• Defeated Alburnett, 59-27
• Defeated Cardinal, 55-6
• Defeated Durant, 50-6
• Defeated Sigourney-Keota, 41-7
• Defeated Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont, 49-8
• Defeated Louisa-Muscatine, 42-0
• Defeated Northeast, 69-0*
• Defeated Cascade, 52-13*
• Defeated Pleasantville, 49-7*
• Defeated Grundy Center, 31-12*

When the Regals are on offense: The offense is averaging just over 47 points per game, a number they have cleared seven times this season, including three straight before “settling” for 31 vs. three-time defending champion Grundy Center in the semifinals. Quarterback Kyle Tracy has 2,114 yards and 32 touchdowns while completing 73 percent of his throws, adding 557 yards and 12 more scores with his feet. Savion Miller, who holds multiple Div. I Power 4 offers, has 986 yards and 16 touchdowns on the ground with 281 yards receiving and eight TDs on nine receptions.

There is also Tate Wallace, a top recruit for Tennessee, who has 540 yards receiving and nine touchdowns, averaging almost 15 per catch. Drew Greve had a big performance in the semis and has 26 catches for 478 and five scores.

When the Regals are on defense: As previously mentioned, Wallace is one of the top defensive prospects in state on this side of the ball. He currently sits at 45.5 tackles with 17.5 for loss and 8.5 sacks. Luke Hamilton, another junior like Wallace, has 47 tackles while classmate Will Litton has 11.5 tackles for loss and four sacks. The unit has 22 interceptions, led by eight from Greve, and has defended 28 other passes.

West Lyon Wildcats (12-0)

West Lyon punched a ticket into the Class 2A championship game, besting defending champion Van Meter on Saturday. / X/IHSAA

• Defeated Western Christian, 41-0
• Defeated Central Lyon/George-Little Rock, 39-0
• Defeated Unity Christian, 35-0
• Defeated Alta-Aurelia, 70-6
• Defeated Hinton, 48-7
• Defeated Ridge View, 48-7
• Defeated MVAOCOU, 49-7
• Defeated Lawton-Bronson, 56-6
• Defeated East Sac County, 48-6*
• Defeated Lawton-Bronson, 63-7*
• Defeated Underwood, 57-22*
• Defeated South Hardin, 21-7*

When the Wildcats are on offense: Junior Easton DeJong has led the offense with precision and accuracy, completing 73 of 114 for 1,160 yards and 16 touchdowns with just one interception. He is also a capable runner, racking up 540 yards and nine more scores. When DeJong hands the ball off, it typically goes to senior Evan Hildring, who has 1,412 yards and 23 touchdowns on 152 carries. River Kramer and Jaxton DeJong, both sophomores, each have over 200 yards rushing.

When the Wildcats are on defense: West Lyon started the year off with three consecutive shutouts, not allowing more than seven points in a game until the state quarterfinals when Underwood put up 22. And many of those points surrendered in the regular season came late in the fourth. Ben Meyer has 12 tackles for loss and five sacks, Daxtyn Metzger has nine tackles for loss and 64.5 stops overall, and Jack Carolan has 8.5 tackles for loss and 3.5 sacks. Jared Ciesielski, Tanner Lynott and Hildring each have three interceptions. Kramer and Jorden Meyer have a combined five punt returns for scores on special teams.

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