CEDAR FALLS (AP) — Pella quarterback Noah Clayberg ran for three touchdowns, its defense stiffened in the second half and the Dutch rolled past Sioux City Bishop Heelan 38-17 Thursday night to win the Class 3A high school football state championship.
Clayberg led a potent running game with 156 yards on 30 carries as the Dutch (14-0) claimed their first football title and prevented Heelan (12-2) from winning back-to-back championships.
Heelan capitalized on three Pella turnovers -- all by Clayberg -- to open a 17-7 lead late in the first half.
But Clayberg directed a 77-yard touchdown drive that he finished with a 4-yard run around right end just before halftime.
Pella dominated the second half, finishing with 340 yards rushing while holding Heelan to 40 on the ground.
Clayberg’s 14-yard touchdown run around the left side — after he sent most of the defense in the other direction by faking a handoff — put the Dutch ahead to stay at 21-17.
Slightly more than 5 minutes later, Nathan Henry burst through a big hole in the middle of the line and sped 72 yards for a touchdown to make it 28-17.
After Pella’s Seth Johnson tacked on a 28-yard field goal, Clayberg topped off his big night by leaping over a defender and spinning away from another on a 9-yard touchdown run.
Henry added 149 yards in 17 carries. Clayberg put up another 90 yards on 6-of-12 passing, including a 39-yarder to Will Warner to spark the touchdown drive late in the first half.
Heelan’s Nick McCann had success throwing the ball early, including a 26-yard touchdown toss to Brett Buchmann, who made a leaping catch while falling backward into the end zone to tie the score at 7-7.
McCann finished 13-of-31 for 225 yards, one touchdown and one interception.
Class A
Logan-Magnolia 28, Gladbrook-Reinbeck 24
CEDAR FALLS (AP) — Brady Charbonneau ran for 234 yards and two touchdowns, the last with 59 seconds left, and Logan-Magnolia beat Gladbrook-Reinbeck 28-24 Thursday in the Class A title game.
Charbonneau, a 5-foot-5, 162-pound senior, sprinted 83 yards for a touchdown on the first play of the second half.
He then finished a 12-play, 73-yard drive with an 8-yard burst as the Panthers came up with a big finish to a 14-0 season.
Eric Stoakes rushed for 185 yards and two scores for Gladbrook-Reinbeck (12-2), which couldn’t hold on after a taking a 24-21 lead on Dalton Schwartz’s 25-yard interception return.
It was the second title for Logan-Magnolia, and coach Matt Straight has been involved with both.
He starred for the Panthers when they won their previous championship in 1990. On Thursday, Straight became the first Iowan to play for and coach a state champion at the same school.
Gladbrook-Reinbeck appeared to have seized the momentum on Schwartz’s touchdown at the start of the fourth quarter. He picked the ball out of the air after teammate Cameron Murphy hit quarterback Colton Fisher and rambled untouched to the end zone.
Jake Schuman was forced into action because starter Cam Kickbush broke his collarbone in the semifinals. He played mistake-free football until his late fumble, completing 7-of-13 passes for 121 yards and no interceptions.
Fisher completed only one pass, but it was a perfectly thrown 36-yarder to Gabe Holben for a touchdown that put Logan-Magnolia up 14-10 at halftime.
Eight-Player
Newell-Fonda 39, Fremont-Mills 35
CEDAR FALLS (AP) — Backup quarterback Jason Hess scored on an 8-yard run with 17 seconds left Thursday to lift Newell-Fonda to a 39-35 victory over Fremont-Mills and the eight-player state championship.
Hess filled in for injured starter Brady Dicks and made several big plays, including a 16-yard touchdown pass to Cole Wise and a 33-yard heave to Wise to set up his winning touchdown.
Fremont-Mills used two hook-and-laterals to drive to the Newell-Fonda 9-yard line with 4 seconds remaining.
But the Mustangs stripped the ball from quarterback Jason Rusten on the final play and Dustin Johnson recovered to end it.
Newell-Fonda ran off 11 straight victories after starting 0-3 to win the first state championship in school history and deny Fremont-Mills (13-1) a second championship in the past four seasons.