By Becky Walz,
It wasn’t in the cards for the Vikings Friday night on the road as the Decorah football team concluded the season with a 28-19 loss to Winterset in the Class 4A quarterfinals.
Decorah, which advanced to the quarterfinals after stunning No. 1 and defending champion North Scott, ends the 2021 campaign 7-4.
Winterset (9-2) will face Cedar Rapids Xavier (10-1) in the semifinals Thursday, Nov. 11, at the UNI-Dome, with a kickoff at 7 p.m.
On the other side of the bracket, Waverly-Shell Rock (10-1) will face Lewis Central (9-2) at 4 p.m.
“We are proud of our season and all this team accomplished. It is hard when a season comes to an end. We had the chance to advance another round, but could not get it done. Our team played a hard and very physical ball game. Winterset was big, physical and deep. Their running back was able to break free a few times and we could not control the ball enough and score enough to meet that challenge,” said Coach Pat Trewin.
What almost was
From the beginning, it was a back-and-forth battle, with the feeling that either team could come out with the win. The two squads traded fumbles in the first quarter, neither able to get the pigskin over the goal line.
Needing some momentum, Decorah went to the air with Keenan Tyler firing to an open Jacob Pipho for a 46-yard touchdown with 30 seconds off the clock in the second period. The Vikings extended their lead with a 19-yard field goal by Brody Young with 2:41 to play before halftime.
Late in the second, Winterset got going again. The Huskies moved the pigskin 46 yards on six plays to score with three ticks left on the clock before the halftime break, narrowing Decorah’s advantage to 10-7.
The lead was extended to 13-7 in the third period with 9:31 on the clock when Young connected on his second field goal of the game, this time from 32-yards out. Tides soon turned as Winterset raced 78 yards to the house to give the Huskies their first lead of the game, 14-13, at the 2:31 mark of the third quarter. Not to be outdone Jacob Pipho gave the Vikes good field position at the 50-yard line on the ensuing kick-off return. Decorah needed less than 1:30 to reach the end zone and retake the lead 19-14 after the two-point conversion attempt failed.
With the lead, Decorah continued to move the ball with purpose, but was unable to get back into the end zone, while Winterset finished the game with a pair of touchdowns to get the win.
One final look
Decorah rushed for 173 yards and passed for another 209 for 382 total. Winterset had 355 rushing and 409 for the game.
Tyler led the Vikes rushing 94 yards on 22 carries. The senior QB also completed 14-for 21 passes for 209 yards. Brody Young had 52 yards on nine attempts. Zach Jermier had two receptions for 55 yards, while Noah Storts caught six passes for his 55 yards. Jacob Pipho pulled down a pair of receptions for 54 yards.
Defensively, Joseph Hjelle led the way with five solo and six assisted tackles. Brayden Reiser was there for five solo and four assisted stops while Tyler had four solo and five assisted tackles. Jermier and Kendall McCain each recovered a fumble, while Joseph Bockman hauled in an interception.
Parting thoughts
“We are proud of our seniors and their effort and leadership this season. We had some players move in, move back or go out for the first time in a couple of years and they really helped the team. Many players worked very hard to accomplish the things we did. Making it to the playoffs was not a given and winning in the first round was something we will never forget,” said Coach Trewin. “We look forward to the rest of the year and all of the activities and classes our students will be involved in. We really want them to get involved in as many activities as they can, so they can help accomplish great things and make great memories in those activities too. We are excited about next year and the possibilities we have with the upcoming team. The growth and development of our players coming back was tremendous and we cannot wait to work with them as a unit. We wish all the upcoming activities luck.”
1Q 2Q 3Q 4Q F
Decorah 0 10 9 0 19
Winterset 0 7 7 14 28
Scoring sequence
1st Quarter
None
2nd Quarter
Decorah – Jacob Pipho 46-yd. pass from Keenan Tyler (Brody Young PAT)
Decorah – Young 19-yd. field goal
Winterset – 20-yd. run (Colin Widger PAT)
3rd Quarter
Decorah – 32-yd. field goal
Winterset – 78-yd. run (Widger PAT)
Decorah – Noah Storts 5-yd. pass from Tyler (2-pt. pass failed)
4th Quarter
Winterset – 1-yd. run (2-pt. run)
Winterset – 1-yd. run (PAT failed)
Game stats
Total yards: Decorah 382; Winterset 409
Passing (comp/att/yds): Keenan Tyler (14-21, 209 yds., 2 INT)
Rushing (att/yds): Tyler (22-94); Brody Young (9-52); Joseph Bockman (4-21)
Receiving (att/yds/TD): Zach Jermier (2-55); Noah Storts (6-55); Jacob Pipho (2-54); Young (2-24); Bockman (2-21)
Tackles (solo/assists): Joseph Hjelle (5-6); Brayden Reiser (5-4); Tyler (4-5); Brady Stille (4-2); Bockman (4-1); Jermier (3-3); Pipho (2-1); Ryan Johanningmeier (2-1); Thomas Ostlie (2-1); Casey Brickley (2-0); Kendall McCain (1-4); Storts (1-3); Carson Wemark (1-0); Trysten Finholt (1-0); Young (0-1); Jaden Baker (0-1)
Interceptions (no/return yds): Bockman (1-35)
Fumble recoveries: Jermier (1-0); McCain (1-0)
Punts (att/yds): Storts (1-37)
Punt returns (att/yds): Bockman (1-6)
Kick-offs (att/yds): Young (5-259, 1 TB)
Kick-off returns (att/yds): Pipho (2-33)
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