OABCIG, Dejean too much for Mustangs

IDA GROVE — Prairie City-Monroe’s football team had aspirations of getting back to the UNI-Dome for the second straight season on Friday night.

But Cooper Dejean and undefeated OABCIG had other ideas.

Dejean threw for 306 yards, rushed for 78 and accounted for five touchdowns as the Class 2A No. 5 Falcons punched their ticket to the state semifinals with a 48-20 home win over the defending state champion Mustangs.

“I don’t want to take anything away from the wide receivers because they made some great plays, but that Dejean kid is a special player. I could tell by watching film on him that he was going to be dangerous,” PCM coach Greg Bonnett said. “He runs the 100 in 11.3 seconds. He made a lot of plays. Hats off to him. We didn’t have an answer for that kid.”

Aidan Anderson rushed for a career-high 298 yards and a touchdown on a career-high 46 carries for PCM (8-3). The Mustangs rushed for 401 yards but only completed three passes through the air.

OABCIG led 20-7 after one quarter and 34-14 at halftime before coasting to the victory. The Falcons take an 11-0 record into next Saturday’s semifinals.

That’s exactly where PCM was at this time last year. It was the Mustangs’ third straight trip to the quarterfinals. They won it all last year but graduated 18 seniors.

“It was a work in progress as we went. We got some things going late in the season,” Bonnett said. “We improved a lot throughout the year and we have a lot of guys coming back. I think it’s a pretty exciting time to be a PCM Mustang football player.”

OABCIG scored on its first four possessions of the night and then added a pick six on defense go up 34-7.

Dejean hooked up with Carson Godbersen for a 36-yard touchdown on the Falcons’ first possession. Godbersen had 75 yards on two catches in the game.

PCM came right back to tie it on its first possession. Anderson went in from 10 yards out to make it 7-all.

Two the Mustangs’ three completions through the air came on the drive as Sage Burns completed a 16-yard pass to Brayden Berger and an 11-yarder to Jacob Van Winkle.

The Falcons though went right back to work. Dejean made it 13-7 with a 31-yard TD run and then he found Easton Harms for a 21-yard TD to make it 20-7 after the first quarter.

Harms finished with 92 yards and a TD on 13 catches.

In the second quarter, Dejean scored again, this time on a 10-yard TD run. The Falcons made it 34-7 when Sam Devitt snatched an interception and rumbled 8 yards the other way for the score.

“It seemed like every time we threw it, we threw a pick six so passing it became a non-option for us” Bonnett said. “I think we would have liked to air it out more, but they covered it well and we had a lot of success running the ball.”

PCM cut the lead to 34-14 at halftime on Burns’ 6-yard TD run. Anderson gained 38 yards on second down earlier in the drive and then went for 18 more yards on another second down.

Burns had 84 rushing yards and two scores on 14 carries in the game.

Both teams traded interceptions on their next possessions. PCM’s Rayce Kohlhof jumped a Dejean pass on a slant route for an interception that gave the ball back to the Mustangs. It was Kohlhof’s third pick of the season.

PCM opened the second half with the ball. It started at midfield after a big kickoff return by Anderson. Two Anderson runs picked up a first down and then Colby Tool rumbled for 16 yards for another Mustang first down.

PCM eventually turned it over on downs after a sack by Devitt put the Mustangs behind the sticks. Burns was sacked on third down and then on fourth and 18 he completed a 17-yard pass to Van Winkle.

The two teams exchanged punts on four straight possessions, but the Falcons got on the board again late in the third quarter. A 39-yard pass play from Dejean to Godbersen got the Falcons in scoring territory and then Dejean picked up another first down with a 12-yard run.

After two incomplete passes and a sack by Seth Greiner, Dejean converted a fourth and 18 on a 28-yard TD pass to Cameron Sharkey.

It was one of those nights for PCM.

“The defense had to get some stops and we just didn’t,” Bonnett said. “It was a perfect storm. Our guys fought hard, fought until the end and I am very proud of them.”

PCM drove the ball all the way down inside the 10-yard line on its next possession. Anderson went for 29 yards on the second play from scrimmage and Burns got another 18 one play later.

But on fourth down, Harms picked off Burns at the 1-yard line and went 99 yards the other way for a Falcon TD. That made it 48-14 with 9:49 remaining.

The Mustangs took advantage of a short field and marched 44 yards in six plays on their next possession. Burns recorded runs of 12 and nine yards and then Anderson got loose for 11 more.

Burns capped the drive with a 9-yard TD run. But it was too little, too late for PCM.

The Mustangs’ final possession of the game lasted 10 plays but ended in a turnover on downs. Anderson sprinted 34 yards on the first play from scrimmage and then Burns added a 13-yard run a few plays later.

A false start put PCM behind the chains and it couldn’t extend the drive on fourth and eight.

Gatlin Boell led the PCM defense with six tackles and two tackles for loss. Kohlhof had five tackles and an interception, Landon Fenton had 5.5 tackles and Tool finished with five tackles.

Andrew Mitchell had 4.5 tackles and Greiner tallied 3.5 tackles and a sack. Dane Owens also had a sack.

Tool left the game late in the third quarter with a leg injury and did not return. It was learned later that Tool broke his fibula.

OABCIG will be joined in the UNI-Dome in the 2A state semifinals by top-ranked Waukon, third-ranked Algona and Williamsburg, which upset second-ranked Clear Lake in their quarterfinal game.

The Falcons play Algona in the 2A semifinals at 4 p.m. on Saturday at the UNI-Dome in Cedar Falls.

PCM 7-7-0-6 — 20

OABCIG 20-14-7-7 — 48

OABCIG — Carson Godbersen 36-yd pass from Cooper Dejean (Caden Wareham kick)

PCM — Aidan Anderson 10-yd run (Tristan Doehne kick)

OABCIG — Dejean 31-yd run (missed kick)

OABCIG — Easton Harms 21-yd pass from Dejean (Wareham kick)

OABCIG — Dejean 10-yd run (Wareham kick)

OABCIG — Sam Devitt 10-yd interception return (Wareham kick)

PCM — Sage Burns 6-yd run (Doehne kick)

OABCIG — Cameron Sharkey 28-yd pass from Dejean (Wareham kick)

OABCIG — Harms 98-yd interception return (Wareham kick)

PCM — Burns 9-yd run (missed kick)