March 29, 2024

Top two teams in 2A meet for state championship

PCM seeking first football state title

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Prairie City-Monroe and Boyden-Hull/Rock Valley have been ranked either No. 1 or No. 2 in every Associated Press poll this season. The Mustangs and Nighthawks also finished 1-2 in the state’s final RPI rankings.

It’s only fitting that the two programs square off for the Class 2A state championship this week. Kickoff at the UNI-Dome is set for 2 p.m. on Friday.

For PCM, it’s the first time a football team at the school has played for the title. The Mustangs are 12-0 for the first time in school history, too.

“This feels amazing. We are going to the championship. That sounds good to me,” PCM senior Brayton Van Dyke said. “It’s an honor to be representing our school.”

Boyden-Hull/Rock Valley is 11-1. It is making its third straight 2A state title appearance. The Nighthawks won it all in 2016 and finished second behind Waukon last season.

The Nighthawks got a little revenge against Waukon this season, winning their state semifinal game 48-12.

“I think this game will come down to who can focus more and play with balance,” PCM head coach Greg Bonnett said. “It’s going to be a game where guys need to be moving better than they ever have, staying on blocks longer than the ever have and running tougher than they ever have.”

The two teams look very similar on paper.

Both programs have a dual-threat quarterback who could eclipse 1,000 rushing yards with a big game on Friday afternoon. Both guys are ranked in the top 10 in both passing yards and passing touchdowns.

PCM has senior Reed Worth. He enters the championship game with 2,126 passing yards, which ranks fifth in 2A, and 27 passing TDs, which sits third. He also has 867 rushing yards, 15 rushing TDs and is averaging nearly nine yards per carry.

“The receivers run crisp routes. They just get open and catch it when they are open,” Worth said.

“I don’t have to read a lot of defenses in our scheme and my guys don’t drop a lot of balls so it’s been beneficial for me.”

BHRV (11-1) features senior JT Van’t Hul. He comes into the game ranked 10th in 2A with 1,956 passing yards and 10th with 21 passing TDs. He’s got 894 rushing yards, 15 TDs and is averaging 7.3 yards per carry.

“I think they have multiple weapons and their quarterback is the type of kid who can get loose on you if you don’t run to the ball,” Bonnett said. “He is not afraid to tuck it and go when receivers are not open, and he is really good when he does it.”

Van’t Hul was injured the Nighthawks’ semifinal win. He passed for 67 yards and rushed for 68 in the victory. His replacement was junior Keaton Moser, and he threw for 146 yards and two scores in relief.

Moser has passed for 517 yards and four TDs on the season but is only completing 42 percent of his passes. Van’t Hul is completing 59 percent of his throws.

“I honestly don’t see much of a difference,” Bonnett said. “They are both very good players.”

The Mustangs come into the game with the top-ranked offense in 2A, averaging 48 points per game. The defense is allowing a 2A-low 8.4 points per game.

PCM’s offense relied on its running game against West Liberty. Partly because senior Wes Cummings has been very reliable this season, and partly due to the fact that West Liberty took away the passing attack.

The Mustangs may get a chance to show off their passing attack Friday against the Nighthawks. Waukon threw for 277 yards in the semifinal game, and BHRV allowed three other teams to throw for more than 200 this season.

“I think it will depend on how aggressive they get with stopping the run,” Bonnett said. “The more people they have to commit to the box, the better chances we’ll have to pass the ball.”

Cummings leads the Mustangs’ offense with 1,583 yards, which ranks fourth in 2A and is the second-most in school history. He needs about 50 yards to pass Hutch Burns for the single-season rushing record. And two rushing TDs will give Cummings the single-season record, too.

Burns’ records sit at 1,634 rushing yards and 24 rushing TDs.

Worth and the PCM offense will have to know where BHRV senior Brayton Van Kekerix is on the field. He has a team-high 79 1/2 tackles and leads all of 2A with 20 solo tackles for loss.

“He’s an outstanding linebacker, but there is really no way to gameplan around him,” Bonnett said. “They move him around a bunch and show different alignments and blitzes so we just have to wait and see what their overall scheme is before we can figure out how to attack it.”

The offenses on both sides are very similar.

PCM ranks fifth in 2A with 2,291 passing yards. BHRV ranks third with 2,481 passing yards. The Mustangs rank first in rushing yards with 3,198 and BHRV is third with 2,708 rushing yards.

The Mustangs rank first in total yards with 5,489. The Nighthawks are second at 5,189. PCM averages 7.7 yards per carry and 9.2 yards per play, both of which rank first in 2A. BHRV is seventh at 6.9 yards per carry and fifth in yards per play at 7.9.

“The offense is amazing, and it’s great that I can be a part of it and contribute at a high level,” PCM senior Jarron Trausch said. “It’s a fun group. It’s a good feeling knowing that we can pretty much do whatever we want against most teams.”

The total TDs is close, too. PCM ranks first with 77, and BHRV is second at 68. The Mustangs are averaging 48 points per game and the Nighthawks score 43 points per contest.

PCM hasn’t turned the ball over much this season. BHRV’s defense has 12 interceptions and leads 2A with 19 fumble recoveries this season. The Nighthawks pulled away from Waukon because they forced four first-half turnovers.

“Turnovers are always key to winning and losing games,” Bonnett said.

The Mustangs defense is led by senior Brycen Rogers, who has a team-high 60 1/2 tackles and nine tackles for loss. Trausch has a team-best 11 tackles for loss as well as two sacks, two fumble recoveries and one defensive TD, and senior Cole Dustin has 10 tackles for loss, three sacks, two fumble recoveries and one defense TD.

“This is just amazing. Knowing that no PCM team has ever gotten this far makes it a little better,” Dustin said.

Senior Nick Dredge leads the secondary with five picks. The Mustangs have a 2A-high 19 interceptions this season. They claimed a pair of picks in the semifinal win over West Liberty.

PCM has 15 fumble recoveries on the season, which ranks fifth in 2A. Junior Seth Greiner leads the way with three, including one in the semifinals las week.

“I think (Coach) Bonnett is a major part of our success,” Trausch said. “He has our specific key, we follow that and are usually right where we need to be.”

Junior lineman Jace Smith and sophomore kicker Andrew Mitchell both left last week’s game with injuries. Bonnett said Smith is fine and will play but is unsure of Mitchell’s status. Worth would be the kicker on PATs and field goals if Mitchell is unavailable.