URBANDALE — Pella Christian’s Eagles found out they have to play four quarters of a game to win last Friday night. The Eagles had a strong start against host Des Moines Christian’s Lions, but the finish was not to their liking.
“Drive-killing mistakes were our downfall. We have to be better at executing and holding onto the football,” said Rich Kacmarynski, Eagle head coach, after a 30-17 Class 1A, District 7 loss to the Lions.
The Eagles fall to 1-1 in district play. They take a 2-2 overall mark into this Friday’s non-district contest at Sigourney-Keota.
“We had some very good drives in the game, but two key turnovers and couple of penalties allowed Des Moines Christian to score on us. Really, they had one drive at the end of the first half,” Kacmarynski said.
Pella Christian had a 10-play drive to open the game, which Miles Wichhart capped on an eight-yard touchdown run. Jacob Brouwer kicked the extra point, then nailed a 21-yard field goal in the second period to put the Eagles up 10-0.
A Nate Haveman punt pinned the Lions down at their own five-yard line. Kacmarynski said DCM was penalized back to the 2 1/2-yard line, then went on a 13-play drive to score right at the end of the first half. The Lions went to the air to do it, utilizing eight pass plays to move the ball against the Eagles.
“We led 10-7 and had a nice drive to open the third quarter. We moved about 40 yards then fumbled the ball. They scooped it up and scored,” Kacmarynski said. “On the next drive, they had a pick-6 to go up by two scores.”
The Lions added another touchdown and a field goal to lead 30-10. In the fourth quarter, Mason Howerzyl dashed 16 yards to paydirt for the Eagles. Brouwer kicked the extra point.
Howerzyl rushed for 159 yards on 29 carries for Pella Christian. Wichhart had 14 yards on five carries, and Carson Dugger ended up with 22 yards on four carries. Dillon Branderhorst had 11 yards on our carries.
Colten Collins completed 8-of-15 passes for 113 yards. Dugger hauled in five receptions for 62 yards. Josh Posthuma made a 32-yard catch. Branderhorst had one catch for 10 yards, and Jake De Ruiter made one catch for nine yards.
Leading the Eagle defense was Andrew Vander Hart with seven solo tackles and two assisted tackles. David Kacmarynski recorded five solo stops and five assists while Zach Van Zee made five solo tackles and two assisted tackles.