By Drew Herron - NT Sports Editor / Nov. 22, 2013
CEDAR FALLS – A beautiful thing happened Thursday on the UNI-Dome turf.
No, the hometown Spartans did not win the state championship, they fell short by four points to Don Bosco 18-14.
But it was how this game played out that can provide some solace to followers and fans of the 8-Man game in Iowa.
In 8-Man, the width of the field is a bit less wide, and the full length of the field is shorter (80 yards) than the 11-player version. In the past, teams have found success playing up-tempo, employing trickery, and simply trying to outscore the opposition.
Adair-Casey and Newell-Fonda came into the Dome last week scoring 68 and 54 PPG respectively. But when faced with what proved to be the two toughest defenses in the state, the flashy offensive numbers they’d grown accustomed to dried up like a puddle in the sun, and both sides of this year’s State Semifinal games were decisive.
Don Bosco sliced through Adair-Casey by scoring a season-high 78 points (78-21), and EEHK hammered Newell-Fonda 56-7 a short time afterward.
For the 2013 state championship game, co-No. 1’s according to the last Associated Press’ rankings (Exira-EHK broke tie on overall first place votes) battled it out old school, and left the gadgets for a less disciplined opponent.
Last year’s 8-Man Championship game final score was 51-16. Two years ago, Fremont-Mills beat Murray 81-0. Not since 2006, when Northeast Hamilton defeated Essex 24-6, has less points been scored in a state final.
Big plays were for the most part eliminated when Exira-EHK’s defense matched Don Bosco’s offense, and likewise.
Earlier this week, I asked Spartans head coach Tom Petersen if he thought the game could go the way of a 20-12 final score…would he take the under? He chuckled and said no way, “both offenses are pretty explosive.”
But it might have been an at-the-time un-noteworthy defensive stand that turned the tide.
With 10:34 remaining, Exira-EHK was stopped on a fourth-and-one at the Don Bosco 22 yard-line. Following the turnover on downs, the Dons march down the field and tied the game.
Failure to convert that first down might have sealed Exira-EHK’s fate.
Don Bosco went about chipping away at the Spartans, who met their match physically for the first time. Hogan suddenly had a bit more time to throw, and that opened up the Dons’ ability to move the ball through the air.
A reporter asked coach Petersen shortly after the final, that if he was told beforehand that his team would hold Don Bosco to 18 points, would he like his chances to win?
“Absolutely,” he said. “But I expected that our defense would have an opportunity to do that. I know that some people thought that we have a good defense, and I think we’ve demonstrated that it all season long. I think we showed it again today. It’s just a few big plays here and there in the second half, and that’s how it goes.”
“What do they average…60 points per game?” coach Petersen quipped. “I think we held our own on defense today. We just came up short…there is not a lot more you can say about it. I’m just proud of them, is all. Very proud.”
This year, the Spartans and Dons have restored a bit of order to the 8-Man game, reversing (at least for now) the previous trend that better resembles basketball scoring.
“I tip my hat to our defense,” Don Bosco coach Colby Yoder says of his Dons. “We preach defense wins championships, and it did today. We came up big on the defensive side of the ball.”
#iahsfb #exira-ehk
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