By Becky Walz,
Despite a strong effort, Waverly-Shell Rock Go-Hawks (8-1) were too tough for the Decorah football team (6-3) Friday night, defeating the Vikings 26-7 in the regular season finale and battle for the district championship.
The Vikings finished second in the district and a bid to the postseason. Decorah travels to North Scott (9-0) in the first round Friday, Oct. 29, at 7 p.m.
“This was a very physical game. We got down early on a long drive and a short drive where Waverly-Shell Rock got two long completions for touchdowns, and then we settled into the very tough game that it became. They moved the ball pretty well for a while, but later in the game we were able to get stops,” said Coach Pat Trewin. “Our greatest difficulty was having some self-inflicted wounds where we would make a good play and then we got a penalty or took a big loss on a play. We need to be much cleaner on offense with our execution and decision making.”
Finale
Decorah entered the contest, having won its last five games and faced Go-Hawk pressure from the start. W-SR struck first on a 20-yard run. After a fumble recovery later in the first quarter, W-SR put the ball in the end zone again against the Viking defense to take a 14-0 lead after the first frame. The Go-Hawks made it 20-0 at halftime.
The two squads traded touchdowns in the second half, but the Go-Hawks were too much for the Vikings.
On the night
Keenan Tyler went 16-for-26 in passing for 94 yards, while the Viking offense was held to 19 yards of rushing, led by Tyler with 17 yards. Key receivers for Decorah were Noah Storts with six receptions for 50 yards and Broday Young for 30.
On the defensive side of the pigskin, Tyler topped the tackle charts with 8.5 total stops, including six solo tacklets. Joseph Hjelle was there for 5.5 total tackles, with four solo tackles. With five solo tackles was Joseph Bockman, while Ryan Johanningmeier had four solo tackles and two assists. Jacob Pipho had one interception.
Ready for more
“Beating North Scott is our next objective. The playoffs are a new season, and we have the chance to do something very special. North Scott is a very talented, big and physical team. Our coaches have done a great job of preparing our team all year long and we are excited for this opportunity,” closed Coach Trewin.
1Q 2Q 3Q 4Q F
Decorah 0 0 0 7 7
W-SR 14 6 0 6 26
Scoring sequence
1st Quarter
W-SR – 20-yd. run (PAT)
W-SR – 21-yd. pass (PAT)
2nd Quarter
W-SR – 4-yd. run (PAT failed)
3rd Quarter
None
4th Quarter
W-SR – 24-yd. pass (2-pt. run failed)
Decorah – Keenan Tyler 2-yd. pass to Noah Storts (Brody Young PAT)
Game stats
Total yards: Decorah 113; Waverly-Shell Rock 278
Passing (comp/att/yds): Keenan Tyler (16-26, 94 yds., 1 TD)
Rushing (att/yds): Tyler (11-17); Ben Wymer (1-6); Dane Frieden (1-4); Brody Young (2-(-1)); Jaden Baker (1-(-3)); Joseph Bockman (1-(-4))
Receiving (att/yds/TD): Noah Storts (6-50); Young (3-30); Bockman (5-9); Jacob Pipho (2-5)
Tackles (total): Tyler (8.5); Joseph Hjelle (5.5); Bockman (5.0); Ryan Johanningmeier (5.0); Trysten Finholt (4.5); Zach Jermier (4.0); Brady Stille (4.0); Storts (3.5); Kendall McCain (3.0); Carson Wemark (2.0); Frieden (1.0); Kasey Krauskopf (1.0); Brayden Reiser (0.5); Thomas Ostlie (0.5)
Interceptions (no/return yds): Pipho (1-0)
Punts (att/yds): Storts (6-212)
Punt returns (att/yds): Bockman (1-5)
Kick-offs (att/yds): Young (2-110)
Kick-off returns (att/yds): Bockman (3-49)
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