Mustangs rout Mid-Prairie, return to 2A quarterfinals

MONROE — A four touchdown night from Gavin Van Gorp led PCM’s football team against Mid-Prairie on Friday night.

The 10th-ranked Mustangs pitched their second straight postseason shutout to advance to the Class 2A quarterfinals following a 36-0 win over the Golden Hawks.

Neither team scored in the first or fourth quarters. PCM led 14-0 at halftime and added 22 points in the third to pull away.

It was the Mustangs’ seventh straight win. They are averaging 46 points per game during that stretch. PCM also is outscoring its opponents 172-26 in the month of October.

The Mustangs are one game away from their third trip to the UNI-Dome since 2018. They host No. 2 Van Meter (10-0) at 7 p.m. on Friday in Monroe.

Adrien Robbins cracked the scoreboard with a 49-yard touchdown run with 8:19 to play in the second.

The Mustangs (8-2) went in front 14-0 later in the period when Van Gorp hooked up with Griffin Olson for a 61-yard TD.

The duo added to PCM’s lead in the third when Van Gorp found Olson for a 39-yard score. Van Gorp capped the scoring with TD runs of 25 and 2 yards later in the third.

Van Gorp finished 9-of-10 through the air for 167 yards and two scores and added 69 rushing yards and two TDs on 10 carries. Olson had two catches for 105 yards and two scores and snagged his fifth interception of the season on defense.

Robbins, the 2A rushing leader, ran for 113 yards and one TD on 15 carries. He also caught two passes for 27 yards.

Gabe Hobbs grabbed five passes for 35 yards and Shay Burns ran for 15 yards on five carries. The Mustangs rushed for 202 yards in the win.

Evan Jones led the defense with a career-best 11.5 tackles and Brevin DeRaad tallied a career-high 10.5 tackles and two tackles for loss.

Allias Nolin registered eight tackles, Trenner Van Dyke posted 5.5 tackles and Justin Johnston, Finn Wilson and Kaden Clark all secured five tackles.

Jacob Wendt finished with four tackles, Braedyn Lester had 3.5 tackles and Lucas Ludwick tallied three tackles.

Mid-Prairie (5-5) gained 192 yards on the ground but only averaged 3.6 yards per carry. The Golden Hawks threw for 35 yards.

Hudson Ehrenfelt led the visitors with 158 yards on 38 carries. Kaden Kos led the Golden Hawk defense with 7.5 tackles.

Van Meter is the defending 1A state champion. The Bulldogs have won 21 straight games. Their last loss was an 18-13 defeat to Williamsburg on Sept. 9, 2022.