Class 3A — Nevada Cubs vs. Bishop Heelan Crusaders

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Speaker: [MUSIC] [MUSIC]

Speaker: Oh my, oh, my. We've been having quite a time inside the UNI-Dome here in Cedar Falls. It's still daylight outside. We're at the middle game of our three day stretch. In our second day of coverage of the Iowa High School Athletic Association's football championships, right here on Iowa PBS. Hello, everybody. I'm Paul Yeager so glad that you are here with us this week. Two just crowned a champ. That's Kuemper Catholic from Carroll. We just saw that game. Now we are in the middle of those three title games available for free here on Iowa PBS. Dot one, streaming online on our YouTube channel at iowapbs.org and at I dot. And don't forget the PBS app. It's been a lot of fun, and you've been watching, and we are just minutes away from seeing the three championship Sioux City Bishop Heelan comes in to take on Nevada before the kickoff. Let's see how these two teams made it to the final battle. It was the semifinals last week for the Nevada Cubs against the Solon Spartans. The newbie and the veteran Nevada their ninth playoff. Solon their 40th. Early on, Austin Waldera six yard run, he had 36 carries for 233 yards in the game. Then it's Cody Milliman on the receiving end of a 51 yard pass from Eli Campen, 1310 Cubs then it's Drake Hinson on the one yard run. Hinson in the fourth quarter. Here would take it up the middle and ice this one away. Look at that. Shedding tacklers. He'd have 45 yards. They're Nevada into their first ever title game 2910 over the Spartans of Solon. They would face the winner of Wahlert Catholic, who was in last year's title game against Bishop Heelan. There come the Eagles Kasen Thomas the future Iowa Hawkeye is going to be fun to watch. Number seven catches and scores on the pass from Noah Conley. Then it's Conley. He finds Grant Whitcomb in the back of the end zone, gets the foot down for a ten yard pass. Wahlert answers with Anderson Herbst. It's 2114. Heelan at this point. Ensuing play. Special teams are huge in any game and especially in the postseason. The magic happens with Jonathan Hope 97 yards, takes it to the House. The last title for the Crusaders was back in 2013. They're back with a 3421 win. Who are you excited? I know we're excited. We're going to have the Shawn Kenney and the Pat Angerer for the two way game call. When we come back here on statewide Iowa PBS.

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Speaker: The state of Iowa's best have gathered in Cedar Falls. The UNI-Dome can be seen for miles as you pull off highway 20, the destination for every high school football player in the state. Today, it's the Three-a title game. Nevada into the finals for the first time. Heelan into the championship game for the 15th time in program history. Hi everybody. Sean Kinney alongside Iowa Hawkeye, NFL veteran Pat Angerer so great to have you with us, Pat. Let's go inside the psyche of all these student athletes. We push the rewind button. 2006 for you, I believe the Alamo Bowl, your first taste of postseason football. What's it like for these kids today?

Speaker: Well, I mean, for me, I was a little bit terrified because I, we were playing a Texas team that had just won a national title now. But this team, this Nevada team, you know, they're coming off. They beat number one and number two to get here. Bishop Heelan they're battle tested. These guys have great leaders and great coaches. And really looking forward to watching them compete.

Speaker: Yeah. Nevada has been on a roll. This has been the one class. When you look at all of Iowa's classes that we have seen a real big shakeup. Both these teams, ten and two on the year Nevada and this offense, they will rely on Austin Waldera. He is coming off a monster 233 yard performance in the semifinal win. It is an offensive line that has grown throughout the course of the season. The only returning starter at left tackle from a year ago with Isaac Harrington on defense, the question coming in can they slow down Bishop Heelan and their dual threat quarterback Clay Franzen, 52, tackles this year. John Nelson Jaycee Rangel-bello. They will all be up for the challenge defensively for the Nevada Cubs. Take a look at the Heelan offense and a lot of pressure swings to the quarterback. Noah Conley today. Conley a dual threat quarterback, three touchdown passes in the semifinal win. Big questions on the health of Kasen Thomas. The star running back will talk more about that if he is unable to go Avery Favors will have to step in in his absence. Defensively, this is a defense that has created 29 turnovers throughout the course of the year. They are tough on the back end and they love to play their nose guard. Alex Lacy as he controls the middle. He has grown so much ready for kickoff this afternoon. So great to have you with us. Egeland won the toss. They want the football, the glittering UNI-Dome the annual destination for the state's best. And here we go. Class 3A underway. A pair of ten and two teams as this kick sails through the end zone for the touchback.

Speaker: [APPLAUSE]

Speaker: The ball at.

Speaker: Bishop Heelan offense, led by Noah Conley, the six foot, one inch, 180 pound senior, he's thrown for 1400 yards this year 13 touchdowns. The transfer from Sioux City North. He starts out of the traditional IE receiver left and right, and the game's first call will go for nothing. Cut down at the line of scrimmage. That was Austin Waldera. And it's worth noting, Pat, that there is no Kasen Thomas. The first carry goes to Avery Favors.

Speaker: Austin Waldera Elvis Li you saw he's a good running back, but he can do both. He can play offense and defense. Kasen Thomas it's unfortunate. Obviously it looks like he's not playing here today due to injury, but you've got Avery Flowers taking a spot today.

Speaker: It's a big blow for Thomas. He is rushed for over 1400 yards this year and not on the same page. Throwing it wide. They were looking for Lester and just like that Heelan third and long.

Speaker: Yeah the big thing. Big thing for for Nevada here is let's win on first and second down. Right. Let's get let's get them behind the chains. Force them to pass. And they've obviously done a good job of that right here.

Speaker: Nevada defense with a three man front Jaycee Rangel-bello the big nose guard lined up right over the football corners. Drop five yards off. Here comes Rangel-bello pursuing Conley avoids and is cut down shy of the first down. They add the big guy blowing up the play. Conley did his best to improvise and Heelan with fourth down, will have to send out the punting unit.

Speaker: That was an impressive job of Conley making something out of nothing and great pursuit by the Nevada defense Clay Franzen rodeo bull riding him to the ground.

Speaker: Pair of Cubs back to return this punt. Lucas Brown along with Clay Franzen.

Speaker: Time out.

Speaker: Bishop Heelan and now.

Speaker: Time out.

Speaker: Of the half. You hate to see this. If you're Heelan, you have to burn an early time-out. Not even two minutes into this football game.

Speaker: I'll tell you what, as as somebody that's been out there late, that is a lonely, lonely walk out there. They're looking for a guy, and it needs to be you.

Speaker: So they will take the time-out. Pat, let's dig into the keys of the game. How does Nevada keep this special postseason? Almost a Cinderella type run story going.

Speaker: Nevada got to dominate the line of scrimmage on both sides. Stop the run on defense and establish the run on offense, which will allow Drake Hinson to take over the game. Use up tempo shifts, motions. Keep the defense guessing Nevada balance on offense starts with their effective pre-snap motion. Use the passing game. Set the run. Unfortunately, Kasen Thomas isn't going to be there, so we're going to have to get the get the ball in the air quite a bit more and win on first and second down. Defensively to shorten drives.

Speaker: After the time-out kick is away, it's a short one. Will take a bounce. Really fortuitous hop for Heelan. This puppy will continue to roll and it will finally come to rest at the 30 yard line 42 yards on the punt and here comes Nevada for the first time. Cubs, coached by Andrew Kleeman. Their road to the state championship, a win against Carroll. They knocked off Clear Lake victorious over Solon. And here comes Drake Hinson and the offense Hinson the six foot, four inch senior quarterback and he has one of the top tailbacks in the state of Iowa. Number 21 right behind him and Austin Waldera. Waldera picking up where he left off in the semifinals and the big offensive lineman Zaydenn Shute. He's demonstrative. These guys are into it and they're believing.

Speaker: They do a good job on that. They bring their their tight end backside, which stops the the Dean from running it down backside. And their pullers do such a great job getting up in front of him and Waldera. Nobody is better reading the puller and hitting the hitting the line of scrimmage hard.

Speaker: Shute the starting right tackle. He is only a sophomore 12 personnel. The two tight ends check in to the left side. Second down and a yard for Nevada right back to the ground with Waldera trying to fight his way to the first down marker and he got it. Not much, but he picks up the yard and a half and a first down.

Speaker: Good job getting that first down. Nothing flashy, just trying to get above the six.

Speaker: We talked to coach Andrew Kleeman this week. He said Austin Waldera is not the fastest. He's not the strongest, he's not the biggest. But he has a huge heart. He plays with such intensity.

Speaker: [LAUGHTER]

Speaker: Looks like they might be checking off on this play as Waldera gets his third straight carry forward progress to the 45.

Speaker: I love about this the first twos, the first series with with Bishop and now with Nevada. We're seeing fullbacks. We haven't seen a lot of fullbacks today. I love seeing a fullback.

Speaker: Both these teams, they will use them quite a bit. We'll use their two tight end packages pretty heavily. Cedar Smith and John Nelson, when you watch Nevada, the two tight ends flipping over to the right side on the second down play, they want to play smash mouth football. Hinson the throw for the first time. Pressure comes, avoids now throws, making the catch up ahead to the 30. Dancing away it's Egeland finally corralled at the 22. Boy it looked like Kasen Thomas had him so Thomas not in a running back but in on the defensive side of the football.

Speaker: He has a good job by him getting up there. Just got to stay upfield. Shoulder and a great throw. And way to come back to the route and make a catch for a first down. Well it's good to see the Kasen Thomas is healthy enough to play today. That was a huge bummer. I've been looking forward to watching him play and call his game.

Speaker: 32 yards on the completion. And just like that, Nevada knocking on the doorstep of the red zone on the far hash. They will hand the ball off. Trying to get to the edge is Waldera. He's there and he will finish the run, catapulting himself in the mid air up to the 1012 yards for Waldera.

Speaker: What a what an absolute stud. Just a simple off tackle play. And he's not going to go down. You're going to have to put 2 or 3 guys on him to get him down to the ground. He's fighting for every single inch. He is really fun to watch.

Speaker: A steady dose of Waldera trying to get him involved early, and this offensive line moving bodies. Isaac Williams is checked into the game. It is Waldera behind his right guard, taking it to the eight.

Speaker: This has been a really good drive by this Nevada team. Nothing fancy, nothing flashy, just smash mouth football. Between the tackles.

Speaker: Second goal from the eight. On a.

Speaker: Drive that started back at their own 31. A 32 yard pass. Play to Egeland. And then it's been Waldera doing every other part of this offense. Hinson rolling right side arms. It's caught shy of the goal line. They're able to get it to Cedar Smith. That will set up a third and goal.

Speaker: That was a great job by Hinson. Seeing that and it looked like Cedar Smith initially made the made the linebacker think he was blocking him, then escaped and Hinson saw it right at the end. Just your simple dash play that you run on the goal line. It was a well executed play by Nevada.

Speaker: What will Andrew Kleeman and Nevada dial up here? Third down and goal. They go heavy on the left side. Waldera behind Hinson. He will get the call. Waldera popped at the line of scrimmage and healing comes up with the play.

Speaker: What a great job by that Bishop defense. Matt Meyer great tackle Nevada lined up with a bingo set where he just had a guard tackle on the back side, so no eligible receivers on the back side. And they were. And Bishop did a really good job stuffing that in. They had a lot of guys over there on that strong side.

Speaker: Gavin Egeland truly one of the top kickers in all of Iowa. He has been reliable. He's hit from 45 this year, this one a little more than a point after. And Nevada fires the opening salvo. This afternoon.

Speaker: Finnigan.

Speaker: In Iowa Outdoors a challenge.

Speaker: Good looking drive for the Cubs and their first trip to the state championship in program history. And they get three. This is what has transpired so far. Eight-Player football a wild one. Bishop Garrigan rallies from way back MMCRU first time as a consolidated group. They win their initial state title, West Lyon and a thriller over Regina Xavier dominant from start to finish over Pella. We saw Kuemper earlier today. One more tonight, 7:00 and it will be a fun one. Class 5A Iowa's largest division Dowling Catholic and Iowa City Liberty.

Speaker: Props to Liberty coach Scott Chandler, one of my one of my teammates in college. Great guy. Tell us guy I've ever seen in my life. Had a had a great, great college career and a great career in the NFL and obviously doing a great job as a head coach.

Speaker: There are Hawkeye, former Hawkeye players now coaches all over the state. It seems like.

Speaker: Jon LaFluer Jon LaFluer, another Hawkeye legend. Apparently you got to read to be able to coach. That's why they don't let me do those things. They just put me on the radio.

Speaker: A lot less pressure up here than.

Speaker: Coach. True. That's true.

Speaker: Heelan on the return. Taking it out to the 24 yard line goes Jonathan Hope.

Speaker: Looked like he was going to get the edge right there. Was able to escape. And it was a good job by the kickoff coverage team in the Nevada corral. And making sure he didn't get to the outside.

Speaker: Second offensive series for the Crusaders. Again, no Kasen Thomas at running back on the first series, but we saw him on the defensive side of the football and he stays on the sideline for the second set as they go with Avery Favors in the backfield. Situation to keep an eye on on first down. Dropping the snap, picking it up and then just getting destroyed. John Nelson they call him the unsung hero of this defense.

Speaker: He is a stud in this Nevada defense is playing extremely aggressive. Bishop can't do anything to give them any any benefit or any more momentum here. Got to be able to handle the snap. Unfortunately, those things do happen.

Speaker: Nelson coming off a big game in the semifinal win over Solon. He had a couple of sacks. Really good basketball player as well. All conference hoops in the heart of Iowa. Second down and 13. Design draw by Conley and Conley. Twisting his way to the 27.

Speaker: I like that call. Gives him third and manageable there. The hard part is he took a big shot by Braiden Fleming right there. Junior linebacker. You don't want to. You want to be careful getting your quarterback hit like that. But good run. Good call. Gets him in third and manageable.

Speaker: Look at the weapons and one of their main weapons is that tight end Caden Lester number 11. Who will Conley go to here again? A three man front for Nevada. They will bring a linebacker off the edge. Conley dodging throws over the middle and it's incomplete that time. Pat. They brought Angerer on a or. Excuse me, they brought Waldera. Yeah. You're used to coming to. They brought Waldera on a delayed blitz and he nearly got to Conley.

Speaker: Yes he did, and it forced him kind of out of the pocket to not set his feet, to be able to make a good throw. And the guys in the back end did a really good job. These have been two really, really good defensive sets by Nevada.

Speaker: Yeah, they really mix up their looks well, camouflaged him when they want to bring the blitz and when they want to bring the packages and when they drop off and Heelan rattled a little bit early in this first quarter.

Speaker: Offense. Number two five-yard penalty still fourth down.

Speaker: It's interesting you talk about you know this is Nevada's first first time in the finals. And you know they're playing pretty clean. You know you would think you know Bishop Heelan they're having some issues with with penalties and fumbling the ball.

Speaker: Second punt of the afternoon fielded it at the 48 cutting upfield immediately to the 41 yard line. A return of 11 yards for Lucas Brown and terrific starting position for Nevada. There is a good look at John LaFluer fourth season on the sideline. The 11th coach in program history. An opportunity to come back to his roots. A 1993 Heelan graduate. And he has turned this program back around before he took over the program, they had hit some tough times.

Speaker: He has he's done such a good job. He has been super impressive. What a great leader. Just talking to him. He is a football coach and there's no surprise why he's been so successful.

Speaker: You look at the rich tradition of this program and they have a lot of it. But before he took over, Heelan went three and 23. And then since then, in his four years, he's led them to a 19 and 13 mark, including a trip into the state championship game just two years ago.

Speaker: That is so impressive, so impressive. Once you talk to him, it's not a surprise, right?

Speaker: He demands a lot. These kids love him over the middle. It is Hinson following his right guard and he is real close to the first down. Looks like the mark him just short.

Speaker: Hinson has really done a good job using his legs and really managing these drives. I've been very impressed with him on offense.

Speaker: You know, you talked about how crisp Nevada is playing. It looks like a team playing with house money right now. They are loose and they are having fun.

Speaker: That is a great point. What have they got to lose? Everybody's counting them out.

Speaker: Everybody in the box, all 22 bodies. Both sides. Now it becomes a tug of war. And as they unsought the pile of humanity, let's see the guy on the bottom Drake Hinson is far enough to move the chains. I don't know. White hat takes a look, and I think we're going to have her first.

Speaker: Measurement. Oh, this is.

Speaker: Exciting.

Speaker: I love it.

Speaker: These guys need some TV time. I'm telling you, they wanted it.

Speaker: I've been on my soapbox the last couple of days saying, let's bring back the chain measurements.

Speaker: Yes. It's got a it's a stressful gig here for these guys.

Speaker: Take a look at our officials. Every single one of the men in stripes, men and women in stripes over the past couple of days have earned it grades throughout the course of the year. The stretch of the chains. Marty Bowen says first down Nevada.

Speaker: Great push by their O-line on that. Just a tremendous job here. Continuing to get that first. Those first downs, continuing to to keep this drive going.

Speaker: Andrew Kleeman, his 10th year with Nevada, played his high school football at West Lyon, played for Jay Roseboom, who we saw last night win another title. Sure, he was happy for his alma mater and now he tries to get it done for the first time in school history at Nevada High. Snap. This is Waldera trucking his way to the 28 three hard fought yards.

Speaker: That was a good, good off tackle run and a great job by Zack Harpenau coming over the top, making a play.

Speaker: Harpenau they rely on a lot to call out their defense, make sure everybody is into the right spots pre-snap. One of those players that aspires to play college football, number six in the Heelan Blue and he is a guy that lives in the film room, loves the the study part of this sport. Second down read option Hinson keeps it not a good decision. There he is tackled back at the 31 and the Crusaders trying to fire everybody up. Alex Lacy says let's go back home to Northwest Iowa.

Speaker: What a great job. By Alex Lacy getting off a block, getting upfield, taking a shot at the quarterback, bowing up there on defense. That is just what that defensive line needed.

Speaker: [APPLAUSE]

Speaker: He's all fired up after the play. Lacy has grown so much as a player from his freshman year to his senior campaign. Third down and nine. They are right on the edge of field goal range. If they don't pick up another inch whistle sounds, I believe Nevada called a time-out and they did. Kleeman wants to talk it.

Speaker: Over their first charge time-out of the half.

Speaker: [APPLAUSE]

Speaker: Stay connected with Iowa PBS sports no matter where you're watching from. Join the conversation. Follow us on Facebook and use hashtag Iowa PBS sports to enjoy the championships with other fans. Great way to stay connected. The bonds that you build throughout your high school years. I know from my personal experience, some of my best friends from my high school days, friends that you play the sport of football in and I guarantee you the memories that these kids will have when they're our age and beyond. They'll be talking about these days for a long, long time.

Speaker: Oh yeah, we had our 20 year state championship reunion last year, and it was like we had never left. It was a really good time. Nobody got arrested, so that was good. Everybody behaved, but we had a lot of fun.

Speaker: Third down and nine. After the time-out. Hinson looking right. Here comes pressure. Hinson flushed and he's forced to throw it away.

Speaker: It looked like they were trying to get Waldera almost on a wheel route.

Speaker: There's no foul.

Speaker: For Kasen Thomas did a really good. job forcing him out of the pocket and making him have a.

Speaker: Bad throw.

Speaker: They'd be looking at a 47 yard field goal for Egeland, who has connected from 45 this season, but they're not interested in that. They keep the offense on the field.

Speaker: [APPLAUSE]

Speaker: Nevada not huddling. This prevents Heelan from getting any type of substitutes into the game. Fourth down and ten. Hinson Three-step drop takes time. Fires. Down goes the receiver and here comes the flag. Eli Gehling got tripped up and the Cubs will keep this drive alive. Looks like he got tied up with Whitcomb.

Speaker: Pass interference. Defense number four. The penalty will be 15 yards from the previous spot. Resulting in a first down.

Speaker: I tell you what, that was a that was a veteran move by Egeland. A lot of these guys, usually you'll try to fight through it. And he did a good job as soon as he got held. As soon as he got pulled back, he hit the ground, which was a really good job by him forcing that call.

Speaker: Yeah.

Speaker: They.

Speaker: Signaled and identified Favors, but that was Whitcomb with the contact and now new life. And there goes Waldera diving ahead. Touchdown Nevada.

Speaker: That was a big time run right there by a big time play. You want to talk about spotlight players off tackle. Making a play running through everything. Great blocking by the guys up front for him to get by that goal line and stretch and make a play. Super impressive. He has been so much fun to watch tonight and we're only in the first quarter.

Speaker: Keep an eye on what the Cubs do with the point. After they will bring the offensive line back into position. Nine carries already in this first quarter for Waldera 50 yards. The 15 yarder short. Hop on the snap. What a job on the placement and soft hands there by Prince Weagbah looked like a shortstop fielding a grounder on the infield there. Beautiful job.

Speaker: Just a quick little off tackle there. Nothing special about it. Just man on man. Bigs on bigs and great job by Waldera. Look at the line. Open up. Look at that hole. Open up. Great job by our O lineman Zaydenn Shute leading through the hole. Super impressive. Great drive by Nevada.

Speaker: Seven plays 41 yards. Key. Play on the drive was the fourth down conversion in the pass. Interference call, which kept Nevada going. Been all Cubs in the opening 12 minutes. Good look at Waldera a young man who simply doesn't get tired. 33 carries, 233 yards in the semifinals. Plus he had three catches. So you're talking about a 12 minute quarter in Iowa high school football, and a young man who touched the ball 36 times in the course of a game.

Speaker: And that's not to mention he's he's playing defense too. He's he's starting he's starting on defense. He's leading them in tackles as well. That's a tough guy. Love his hairstyle. If I had hair I would do something cool like that with it.

Speaker: That was pretty short.

Speaker: I like that we should do it. Let's grow it out.

Speaker: You go.

Speaker: First.

Speaker: Okay. Key juncture Bishop Heelan down ten. Crusaders team without so far, their star running back Kasen Thomas, who rushed for 1400 yards and an offense that is waiting for somebody to step up in his absence. From the 20 yard line. Straight drop by Conley. He'll spin it far side too tall. Looked like he had happy feet that time. Really didn't set it as Weagbah had some room to make a play. If the ball would have been close.

Speaker: That was great. Pressure by John Nelson. They're making him force basically forcing a tough throw here because he had him in his face. This Nevada defense is playing with a ton of energy and showing a lot of different looks, giving a ton of pressures out there. Very impressed.

Speaker: Yeah, that's the thing. They show multiple looks. They camouflage it. Well. It is a tough defense to predict Waldera and happy. The two linebackers on second down and unable to get anything inside as Waldera came flying through third down.

Speaker: Austin Waldera making making another play there. That seems to be all he does. So violent and so fast. Downhill.

Speaker: We haven't seen a lot of the Crusaders offense in this opening quarter. This will just be the eighth play in this first quarter. Only 12 yards, two second differential play clock to game clock.

Speaker: [APPLAUSE]

Speaker: Here comes Nevada again. Drag route pass was behind. They were looking for hope. But again the pressure that Nevada continues to dial up. Throwing off the timing of Conley and his receivers.

Speaker: Just trying to get a short crossing route just wasn't was unable to get his feet set because because of the pressure from the defensive line.

Speaker: Boy, how about this start in their inaugural trip to the dome and the state championship game for Nevada? We played one quarter in the Cubs out in front of Bishop Heelan ten to nothing. We'll be back with more from Cedar Falls coming up in just a little bit. Hinson in this offense, a big strike downfield Waldera caps it off all Cubs after one quarter.

Speaker: [MUSIC]

Speaker: Paul Yeager here.

Speaker: On a short break to speak with Jim Pledge. He's president and CEO of Bank of Iowa and West Des Moines. So Jim, tell me why Iowa Banker supports Iowa PBS as well as boys athletics here in the state of Iowa?

Speaker: Yes, Paul, the Student athlete Achievement Awards are significant to Iowa student athletes in their communities because they not only recognize athletic excellence, but also academic achievement, leadership and character. Through the program's 30 year history, the IBA has awarded more than $360,000 in scholarships to student athletes in football, basketball, and wrestling. These scholarships are a win for all of us because after graduation, we hope these students will work right here in Iowa.

Speaker: And that support of those scholarships is incredible, right?

Speaker: It is indeed so much like the IBA supports the Iowa banks. We are committed to supporting students by investing in their education and financial future, which helps to build stronger communities. It reflects our commitment to community growth and long term success across the state.

Speaker: All right Jim, thank you. All right. Let's get back to the game.

Speaker: Every year at the Athletic Association championships, the Iowa Bankers Association honor student athletes who excel on the court, in the classroom and in their communities with a student Athlete Achievement award and a $1,000 college scholarship. The 2025 winner for the Class 3A is Zachary Harpenau from Bishop Heelan, Nick Hagerty from Prime Bank in Sioux City is here for the banking community to show support for Zachary. Congratulations and thank you to Nick and the Iowa Bankers Association for providing this award.

Speaker: Start of quarter number two in the class three, a state championship alongside Paul Yeager. Down on the field. Pat Angerer Shawn Kenney with you from the UNI-Dome second and final day of the 2025 Iowa High School State Football Championships. One more champion to be crowned after this one and that will be tonight. Prime time football Friday night with Class 5A Dowling and Liberty start the second quarter with another Heelan punt. This one high but short, takes a lateral bounce and the Crusaders will touch it at the 46 second straight series that Nevada has opened up on the Heelan side of the field.

Speaker: And really good field position. Obviously they've got the momentum right now. I don't know if something's going on with the Bishop offense because Cason's off. They just kind of seem like a little bit out of rhythm here. So hopefully the defense can make a play for him so they can get back into into rhythm. And but I'll tell you what, Nevada is playing tough. They're playing with a lot of confidence.

Speaker: First priority coming in for Heelan to start the second quarter will be how do you slow down? Austin Waldera a lot easier said than done.

Speaker: That's the truth.

Speaker: He had his way in the first quarter. Hinson sprints his way into the center, takes a pretty good hit. Dylan Knapp came in and brought some violence with that hit, but again, a good surge all the way up to the 46 yards. And if you keep Nevada on schedule, it's lights out with this offense and the running back like Waldera.

Speaker: Absolutely. And he also you got Hinson as well too. These these two. This combo is very, very dangerous. Extremely tough. And their O-line is getting such a good push. They are dominating the line of scrimmage right now.

Speaker: Hinson rushed for over 400 yards this year. Second down and four from the 40 back to Waldera following his tight end through the hole and he is cut down low at the 38 yard line. That time it was Cedar Smith who led the block. Dylan Knapp second straight tackle for the state semifinalists. Part of the Heelan baseball team this past summer. Only a sophomore.

Speaker: , third.

Speaker: Down and. one Peter Ludwig.

Speaker: [APPLAUSE]

Speaker: Third down and two same play and Waldera. First down. Snowed under at the 35.

Speaker: Such a great push by the O-line. And what they're doing is they're essentially just running power. And those guards and tackles are doing such a good job getting up and creating a lane for Waldera. They are dominating line of scrimmage.

Speaker: They love running behind the left side. Isaac Harrington, the only returning starter up front coming into the season on the offensive line. Number 54. The left tackle he played guard predominantly a season ago. They moved him out to tackle to protect the blind side for Hinson, and he has excelled and they're running behind him again. Waldera tornadoes. His way to the 31 yard line. And again, it comes down to first down production so far in this first half.

Speaker: Yep. Get ahead of the sticks on first and second down and it makes third downs a lot easier. That's what extends those drives. You've got to win on the early downs. And Nevada is doing a really good job of that.

Speaker: [APPLAUSE]

Speaker: Egeland and Brown, the two receivers twin, set to the top, Franzen the receiver at the bottom, second down.

Speaker: Stay right here.

Speaker: Hinson spotting something, looks down at his wrist and he will hand it off. It is Waldera to the 3025 and he's upended at the 21 yard line.

Speaker: Once again, just using those pullers, bringing Cedar Smith, the tight end over and a good play, good open field tackle. But a great job getting that first down.

Speaker: Eighth first down already for Nevada. They switch sides with Egeland split to the bottom number one for the Cubs quarterback power right up the middle and Drake Hinson spinning his way to the 15 and every button they are pushing offensively is working.

Speaker: I love that little quarterback power quarterback follow. Basically. And he does a good job just being so big. It seems like he's tough to tackle here. Great vision by him. Doesn't hit the doesn't hit the hole super hard. He's very patient and the line is getting such a good push. Pretty much everything they do is working.

Speaker: Andrew Kleeman just talked about the confidence that he has built starting last year, taking over this offense. Such a good athlete. When you look at Drake Hinson all conference basketball, baseball, Waldera thrown forward, but this should be good enough for another first down Harpenau the stop and it will be Nevada first down and Andrew Kleeman has scripted up a masterpiece in this first half.

Speaker: Yes he is and Valero's. Following those great polars Rangel-bello I mean man, that guy has been so impressive to watch him just open up these holes for these running backs and quarterback. He is a tough, tough o lineman.

Speaker: [APPLAUSE]

Speaker: Seven play, 32 yard drive over four minutes off the clock. It's the left side. This time the Crusaders able to stack him up. Favors was the first one to blow it up, and then he had plenty of help behind him.

Speaker: That was a great job. By Avery Favors there getting off a block, being strong and not allowing him just to continue to run that ball in that direction. What's tough is he's having to take on 2 or 2 polars in on that play, and he did a good job blowing up.

Speaker: What's the technique there? You have a couple of big linemen coming at you. How do you shred those polling blockers?

Speaker: Well it depends. It depends what we're trying to play. If I'm trying to spill it then I'm going to get underneath and kind of tear it apart. Or if I'm trying to bounce it back, then I want to have my right arm or my outside arm free.

Speaker: Second down Hinson fade pattern back of the end zone. And it is incomplete. Coverage on the play by Whitcomb.

Speaker: That was a great job. By Grant Whitcomb a 5050 ball right there. Obviously undersized compared to the receiver and did a really good job making sure that he wasn't able to tackle, make a make the make the catch.

Speaker: What a Jon LaFluer tell us this week, you've heard of Darrell Rivas, the great quarterback. They always used to call it Rivas Island because the coaches trusted him. They trust Grant Whitcomb. It's Whitcomb Island and he made the play there on the island. Third down and ten. Kleeman comes sprinting down the Nevada sideline. Nevada to call the Cubs second time out.

Speaker: Time out of the half.

Speaker: Adam Dickes.

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Speaker: Casey is is a.

Speaker: Proud. IHSAA.

Speaker: A community that has committed to the sport of football really heavily over the past ten years, and it's no coincidence that's when Andrew Kleeman arrived to take over this program. He called it a decade of difference. The administration was all in. They invested more into their weight room. They have a beautiful refurbished stadium. In fact, when they went through the modernization of the current existing Cubs Stadium, it was year one for Kleeman on the sideline, and he has put out a good product every year. Third down, back to the pylon. They go into double coverage and it's incomplete. John Nelson is who they were looking for. But Whitcomb was in the neighborhood again.

Speaker: Man that was a that was a dangerous throw right there. But a good job of at least throwing it out of bounds. It was a good job by the guys inside. Got underneath over the top defender was a good job making sure nobody could catch the ball.

Speaker: Egeland connected from 23 earlier. This one officially spotted as a 31 yard field goal placement down kick on the way, and he snuck it through. It is good. He was three for three last week, including a 45 yarder, and he's been an instrumental part of their offense once again tonight, with the spotlight even brighter, a couple of field goals in this first half and the Cubs extend the lead 13. Nothing.

Speaker: Nevada has got to be pretty happy right now. Where they're at, where the game's going. They kind of have full control offensively and still, you know, it's only a it's only a two possession ball game. Now Bishop is not out of this. They can have a good long drive here. And things are looking a lot better for them.

Speaker: Good together.

Speaker: 11 play, 33 yard drive. It's a five minute plus drive there yet 33 yards.

Speaker: 11 plays, 33 yards, five minutes. Man. That's a grinder right there.

Speaker: [APPLAUSE]

Speaker: I don't know where it's going to come from, but Gehling has got to try to kick start something offensively. Nine plays a grand total of 12 net yards.

Speaker: [APPLAUSE] [APPLAUSE] [APPLAUSE]

Speaker: Jon LaFluer knows this is an important drive, winding down quarter number two. From the shotgun. They go empty. Nevada shows one of their linebackers. He gets picked up now. Conley running dumps it off near side. Pass is caught out of the backfield. Avery Favors good job there by Conley. Kept the eyes downfield the entire time.

Speaker: It looked like it was almost dead in the water and he was able to make something out of that. It was a good job Avery Favors sneaking out and making a play.

Speaker: First completion of the game for Conley, who had misfired on his first four attempts. Favors once again seeing the really not the ball every single snap offensively at tailback with the injury to Kasen Thomas, he will get the call here and he is met. Good job though, by Favors to stretch the ball ahead. It was happy who came through. Justin Happe.

Speaker: Another bingo set guard tackle to the backside. No eligible receivers at the backside. Just guard tackle. And what happened? Justin Happe ran through the back side, made a big tackle. Very impressive by him.

Speaker: Coming Lester to the top of the field. Two receivers split to the bottom 30 yard line. The line to get Conley will let her air it out and this one incomplete. It looked like Lester was trying to make a move to come back to the football. He is pleading his case. Kole Beving and what will go down is good coverage without the laundry on the turf. What do you think, Pat?

Speaker: You know that's a that's kind of looks like he's pulling him into him. It depends whatever team you're on, right? Whatever team you're looking for, what really caused that short throw would be Braiden Fleming there. It's huge pressure on the quarterback, caused that throw to get a little short.

Speaker: Fourth possession, fourth punt. And this one. Will roll all the way to the 28. 46 yards on the punt. Egeland fan still voicing.

Speaker: Their displeasure. I don't blame him. I don't blame him at all.

Speaker: [APPLAUSE]

Speaker: His football.

Speaker: T-shirts Rees.

Speaker: Always such a great atmosphere when you come to the UNI-Dome. How lucky are we here in the state of Iowa? State championships always in the month of November. Whether or not as nice or cooperative as it has been. This week.

Speaker: Yeah.

Speaker: Yeah, we're very lucky to have this. It's this is the destination place for these high school kids.

Speaker: Drake Hinson on first down. Not much. Alex Lacy.

Speaker: Alex Lacy is all over the place on that D-line. He has been he's been he's been tough. He's been tough to tough to block. He has an athletic kid.

Speaker: Jon LaFluer told us. He has grown up so much from his freshman to senior year, he never saw the field early in the career. He put a lot of focus in the weight room. He kind of joked. He said, this guy will eat everything in front of.

Speaker: Him.

Speaker: Second down and eight Waldera look at the cutback and Waldera up to the 36 six yards. And he has been a workhorse in this first half. Already 16 carries, 74 yards.

Speaker: Great vision there by him and it's a good job following his pullers. Rangel-bello he is. He is a guy that they like to pull and they like to they like to run behind. He is a good lead blocker and he's cleaning up for him right there.

Speaker: What makes a good polar nimble feet? The ability to get down the line. And he has it. You win the leverage battle and you have that big guy coming at you. He's going to open up some holes. Third down and three. It is Waldera just lowering the head and he'll be short. Good job by Heelan with the short yardage defense Nevada with all the momentum. Do you dare risk giving up the momentum with fourth down. And this has been their motto. This postseason.

Speaker: Yeah I mean.

Speaker: We're going.

Speaker: To yep I respect it. And maybe they're just going to try to get him to jump offsides here. Who knows. But I do respect it. If they're going to go for it.

Speaker: They have everybody up there at the line of scrimmage. And I think you're right, Pat Kleeman standing right by one of the side officials. And he will call a time-out with exactly three minutes to go.

Speaker: Nevada their third and final charge. Time-out of the half.

Speaker: I know you think about it. Nevada's got the momentum right now. Why would they try to do anything to give Bishop Heelan, you know, some momentum going into the second half?

Speaker: Don't miss a minute of today's championship action. Be sure to catch the live stream on YouTube and Iowa PBS dot. A proud moment last week for Andrew Kleeman. He was telling us after the win. I asked him what was the most meaningful message that you got? I mean, this was a historic moment for the Nevada program. He said he had a conversation with his sister, Jen. We talked about how their dad, Joe, would have been proud of him. Joe passed away in 2018 and coach talked about all the memories he had going to West Lyon games back in the day and Brother Sister connection remembering their father and just a proud moment for the Kleeman family. Terrific punt after the time-out. Not wanting to risk giving up this momentum, you have a defense that's flying to the football. No need to risk field position so they will make Heelan go. The duration of this field with 253 to go.

Speaker: Right now in the game Heelan's got zero first downs Van Meter or not. Van Meter sorry Nevada Nevada has nine. That is an impressive, impressive start to the game.

Speaker: [APPLAUSE]

Speaker: Conley looks like he's checking down. Might be changing the play on first down. He gets rid of it quickly out pattern, but he undershot his man. Right idea. Jonathan Hope was there. He saw the coverage but could not deliver the throw.

Speaker: Yeah, I like him, you know, trying to hit these little short routes, trying to gain some confidence, get a little bit of momentum going here. Just was unable to get his feet set and complete the throw.

Speaker: Noah Conley an exceptional baseball player. Basketball as well. Basketball actually his first love. But he has embraced the football aspect, especially with all the team's success that they have had. They move the pocket for him here. He'll throw on the run Whitcomb the catch, stretching the ball ahead to the 21 yard line. Good open field tackle by Franzen.

Speaker: A little dash play to the left. And you know quarterbacks right handed. He's rolling to rolling to the left. Throwing with his right hand is a tough throw. But he did a good job making it. It was a great job by Franzen coming downhill and making an open field tackle. That guy is as sure of a tackle as you can get.

Speaker: Throughout the course of the season. When Heelan has needed a first down, they look Grant Whitcomb comes way.

Speaker: [APPLAUSE]

Speaker: Third down and seven. They go over the middle, first down room to run past the 30 up ahead to the 36 yard line. It's a huge conversion there as Jonathan Hope reels it in gain of 15 yards.

Speaker: That was great momentum there. Just just a quick little under route. He did a good job. They brought the middle linebacker down the middle of the field, was able to catch the ball and clear out space for him.

Speaker: First down and ten inside. Two minutes to go. Heelan still with two time-outs. That one going up and making the catch. Wow. That's how you come back to the football. What a grab there by Lester. The team's top receiver.

Speaker: [APPLAUSE]

Speaker: That was a very dangerous throw I was thinking that might have been picked. And he was able to make a play and get up field, get the first down.

Speaker: 13 yards. Conley looking right now. Throws on the run over the middle. And another catch. Whitcomb with his second reception and Conley spinning the ball around getting Heelan back into it.

Speaker: And this is that. This is the motivation. This is the tempo. This is the momentum that Bishop Heelan has been looking for all game.

Speaker: Three straight completions. Right back to it. This one got tipped incomplete. A knuckleball that landed at the feet of Jonathon Hope. John Nelson stretching up, getting a piece of it with his fingertips.

Speaker: Yeah I was going to say it says he's listed as six five. He looked all all six five on that one. Holy moly.

Speaker: Closing moments of this first half and a little bit of life for Bishop Heelan. Second down and ten Conley under duress. Rolls right, hit as he throws and it's incomplete. Waldera chased him all the way across the field. Conley trying to buy as much time as he could.

Speaker: That was a great job getting him out of the pocket by that Nevada line. And the back end is doing such a good job covering him. Looked like a little bit of a hold there. Waldera getting them out of the pocket and making a hit on there. What does he not do? He is extremely impressive football player. That guy is fun to watch. Wish I had energy like that.

Speaker: 64 tackles this year for Waldera. Third down and ten. Trips right for Conley and a time-out for the Crusaders.

Speaker: [APPLAUSE]

Speaker: Time-out. Bishop Heelan their second charge time out of the half.

Speaker: So they will have one remaining with 70s to go in the first half. And by far their most productive drive. Noah Conley finding a little flow to this offense has made some good throws. A couple of catches for Whitcomb Jonathan Hope Caden Lester each with a reception, and now they look at how they finish this off with some points and give their fans who have made the long trip over to eastern Iowa something to celebrate.

Speaker: 100%. They're waiting. They're waiting for something. And Bishop's got the talent. I think they just needed to settle down a little bit, find their, find their groove and big third down play right here would be nice for them to go into the to the second or to the third quarter with points. Nevada gets the ball to start the second half again.

Speaker: If you're just joining us, our developing story, Kasen Thomas, one of the top running backs in Class 3A, limited to just one side of the football. He has not played any offensive snaps. He has only on the defensive side of the football today, rushed for 1400 yards this year. Third down, they drop eight into coverage. Conley sets the feet incomplete. Dylan Knapp the closest receiver.

Speaker: Was an empty set. Look like he had a little bit of a window there. Just couldn't get his feet planted to get the to get the throw there. It's a great job. By Nevada on the back end. They did a good job guarding everybody. It was a was an empty formation.

Speaker: Lester Whitcomb and hope. The trio of receivers to the right. Way Bourne Knapp. The two receivers to the bottom. Here come the Cubs Conley in danger. Disappears from the trouble. Now throws across the field. Tipped away Waldera just in the nick of time. Got a hand up and the Cubs forced the turnover on downs.

Speaker: There was so many highs and lows on that play. I thought he was sacked four times, was able to get the ball out, flushing him out of the pocket. He's running to his left, ends up seeing a guy wide open, throws it over his right, but just was unable to get it. Waldera was able to jump in front of it and make a play.

Speaker: Woodbine Nevada has used all three of their time-outs, so they take over at the 36 inside a minute to go. Handoff is to Waldera past the 40 and Waldera still moving. Look at Waldera go all the way to the Egeland 45.

Speaker: That guy is tough. He's a scrapper. He's a fighter. They love this. You know. They love this. Left this left side off tackle. They're pulling the right guard on the right tackle. And they're just getting a lot of push there with the left side. Blockers are leading very well and he is not going down with a fight.

Speaker: 21 yards on the run for Waldera clock stops as they move the chains. Nevada lined up again. They have a really good field goal kicker right back to the left side. Waldera trying to struggle his way but cannot get out of bounds. Clock will continue again. Nevada cannot stop the clock. See if Hinson just spikes this football as they rush up a lot of time though. Dwindling off this clock. Hinson with six seconds. Five seconds. Oh boy, that just took way too much time. And now this turns out to be the final play of the first half. Hinson will launch 5050 ball caught touchdown! Gavin Egeland are you kidding me? There are flags all over the place in the end zone, so a lot to sort out.

Speaker: [APPLAUSE]

Speaker: Holy smokes. Back.

Speaker: That. What a play right there. Oh my goodness yeah.

Speaker: All the flags are in the end zone. So I'm not sure what this discussion.

Speaker: So you would assume it's probably on on the defense right. If the flags are in the end zone.

Speaker: It is a big call here ruling on the field before the flag touchdown. And now we're about to listen in and see what this is all about. You wonder two maybe an unsportsmanlike conduct. Was there excessive celebration or taunting after the catch? A lot of different options on the table. We're about to find out.

Speaker: There are two fouls on the play, both on the offense. Illegal formation. Five men in the backfield after the play was over, unsportsmanlike conduct. Number one offense. Both fouls will be enforced from the previous spot. We will have one untimed down. Second down.

Speaker: Wow. Healing dodges a huge, huge bullet right there.

Speaker: That was. Let's look at this. Just even just getting to the outside. How does he jump up and make that catch. That was super impressive.

Speaker: All for naught. Egeland touchdown.

Speaker: Oh. With a spike.

Speaker: Yep. A late spike there. And now.

Speaker: I mean, the hard part is after a great catch like that, you know, it's what do you do I don't know I don't blame I don't blame the kid. I've seen him do it on purpose. That was a really exciting play. He just made a tremendous catch. Whoa.

Speaker: We will take our breath. After a wild finish to this one. First half in the books, it's been the Waldera show for Nevada. He has the rushing touchdown. Hinson orchestrating this offense Cubs by 13.

Speaker: [MUSIC]

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Speaker: Halftime here. Now time for the Iowa cheer on her squad.

Speaker: [MUSIC]

Speaker: For your halftime entertainment today, the Iowa High School Athletic Association and the Iowa Cheer Coaches Association are proud to present to you your 2025 Iowa Cheer Honor Squad. This unique group is composed of over 220 varsity, junior and senior cheerleaders from all across the state of Iowa who have come together over the course of two practices to learn this routine that they are excited to perform for you today. The Iowa Cheer Honor Squad is under the direction of Center Point Urbana Head cheer coach and Iowa Cheer Coaches Association board member Michelle McCann. Today's routine was choreographed by Dan McCann and Emily McCollum. Powell of Eminem Elite Athletics. Please put your hands together and give a warm welcome to the 2025 Iowa Cheer Honor Squad.

Speaker: I am eating my way. I'm going to have to to make you wanna take my crown. But I'm invincible. You are the venomous. But I will show you f I'd.

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Speaker: Told you. Confidence. Use common sense I'm on my shadow from stronger, harder. Make me that much. While that's making me a little bit faster. Make me feel a little bit bigger. Make me that much smarter. Lila Bonner. You should have known better. Benjamin. Sami Hamdi. I'm gonna love you. I'm gonna love you like a black widow, baby, are you ready for ready for.

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Speaker: What? Your mine. Once you're mine. We're gonna.

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Speaker: Well, you're gonna face an army. I'll be your army.

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Speaker: Whoa. Yeah. You. Won't.

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Speaker: You wanna be cool? Let me show you how. It'll make the world I can show you how. You can just feel it. You want your can just be. And you'll be chillin. Chillin. Oh, ain't no mountain we can come. Nothing keeps us down. Got that fire in my soul. Never gonna sound. We got one thing on our mind. Victory. Yeah, that's where we're headed. And we know how to get it. Get it. You and me together we can give Gabe gotta turn the world into your dance floor. To terminate. And determination.

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Speaker: Better than birds of a feather. You and me. Which is a weather. Yeah, I'm feeling heat in December. Around me. We're the one you wish to be I don't really care about what they say. I'm gonna come back like a boomerang. Won't let the haters get their way. I'ma come back. We got.

Speaker: The fire lit. Now you're about to see the best.

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Speaker: Of we dance

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Speaker: , we do I need you Elvis Li.

Speaker: [APPLAUSE]

Speaker: Ladies and gentlemen, your 2020.

Speaker: [APPLAUSE]

Speaker: We are at halftime here in. the Class 3A state championship game. The Nevada Cubs in search of their first state title. They lead Bishop Heelan 13. Nothing back in a moment here on Iowa PBS.

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Speaker: Leader in scoring. They lead 13. Nothing here at halftime in our middle game of the day here on Friday. Tom Keating is back with us again here at halftime. The executive director of the Iowa High School Athletic Association. And Tom you know, it's the fifth year we've had five. So you've got more kids that get a chance to play in the title game. Talk about participation. Right now in Iowa we got kids playing football.

Speaker: We do. You know, and.

Speaker: I think, you know, we have a little pockets of of schools that are struggling. But most of that's due to school population. But in in most of our schools football participation is up and it's healthy.

Speaker: I'm going to put you on the spot. Eight-Player do you think we'll ever see two classes of Eight-Player?

Speaker: You know, I think that debate continues on and a lot of that is going to have to do with the number of schools who move into Eight-Player and, and what we're looking at right now, if you're aware of the legislation that counts, cooperative agreements differently now, more schools are going to be willing to to co-op because they're not going to push them up to a major class. And so we're more likely to see teams co-op than I think we are. See more teams go to Eight-Player.

Speaker: But let's talk about the Eight-Player game yesterday. That was pretty exciting game.

Speaker: Absolutely.

Speaker: It's so fun to watch. When you added that and the opportunity for more kids to play, I described it as kind of like backyard football. But yesterday was anything back there? I mean, it was serious. Garrigan pulled that one out. Woodbine had a great game. When you see games like that and on a field and an opportunity, you got to smile, right?

Speaker: Absolutely. And you know, to your point, when people think about Eight-Player football, I hope they understand that the same kind of technique, the same kind of tactics are are being used. And all you have to do is watch warm ups and you watch those kids go through their drills and you understand they're being trained just like 11 player players are being trained and they're experience as a football experience. And they hit hard and.

Speaker: They hit hard and they're big dudes. You know, you get down there and you see that. You mentioned it in our last conversation, 50th year of being up here in Cedar Falls. Again, it's about the tradition. One thing where we're standing, these people walk by. You've seen it for years. Talk about the fan experience for me and what you're trying to do for them to make sure that they get to enjoy it with their kids.

Speaker: Well, I think there's a couple parts to that. Number one is they get to be in 70 degrees while they're watching football, and that's a good thing, especially considering some of the Novembers that we have in Iowa. The other, though, is, you know, we're trying to make the in-venue experience, as we mentioned last time, sync with what we're doing right now. And we want we want it to all be one thing. So whether it's a field goal kicking contest or it's a T-shirt shoot or toss or, you know, presentations of awards, we want this experience to be a fun one and one that people want to experience over and over again.

Speaker: Last thing in the five A game tonight Hall of Fame. Incredible class as always coming in.

Speaker: It is. And it's just a testament to the hard work that that our young people put in the coaching that they get, the leadership that they get, the mentoring that they get. You know, you don't get to the level that these inductees get to without all of that. It's a it's a pretty, pretty sweet formula.

Speaker: When I see these guys that are Hall of Fame going, oh, I remember when they played that I can't imagine what it's like for others who are you know, they've seen him play for all these years.

Speaker: Absolutely. And the beauty is, you know, I hope some of our, our dads and moms are saying, hey, pay attention to that. You know, that's that's what gets you where you want to be and, and hold those people up for them.

Speaker: Tom Keating, great to see you. Thanks for having us here this week.

Speaker: Great to see you. And thanks for the partnership. We appreciate it.

Speaker: Very good. Tom Keating, executive director of the Iowa High School Athletic Association. Halftime. Looks like Nevada is making their way back out. When we come back, we'll show you how they scored their 13 points. Hint his number is 21. Back in a moment.

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Speaker: Class 3A. Halftime Nevada leads Sioux City Bishop Heelan 13. Nothing so Nevada which is just off of highway 30. We've already had one champion off highway 30 from Carroll Kemper. What can Nevada do to add? And we had one from the eastern side in Cedar Rapids, so Nevada is right in the middle between the two. Let's see how the Cubs have done here in the first half. And it's pretty easy. You're going to look for number 21 Austin Waldera look at him run. Pat and Shawn have been talking about him this whole first half. Just how they love him. We've been talking over here where we're watching the game. Look at that play goes up and over, and then he caps it off here with a touchdown run. Dives for the end zone 19 carries 99 yards. The Cubs have 155 yards of total offense. So that means just my rough math. He's 64% of their total offense. He had 36 carries 233 against Solon. There's a look at your stats. 155 to 65 we talked about first downs 10 to 3 and those three first downs for Heelan didn't come until just at the last moment. Time of possession. All in favor of Nevada right now as they double up. But Heelan had a really good drive there. Just came up with no points at the end of the first half. We'll see what they do. Both the teams are back on the field. When we come back, we will have Shawn Kenney and Pat Angerer call the second half of this class three a state championship here on Iowa PBS.

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Speaker: Halftime. Here in Cedar Falls, the University of Northern Iowa, the backdrop Nevada 13, Bishop Heelan nothing. The Cubs into the state finals for the first time in program history. Shawn Kenney alongside Pat Angerer. So great to have you with us. Okay, so we come into this finals game wanting to know what will Waldera do for an encore? He's coming off a 233 yard monster performance in the semis. He's in line to do something just like that in the finals today.

Speaker: He's been super impressive, not just offensively, but defensively. He's really controlled the game, controlled the tempo with his Nevada Nevada team. They have done such a good job today.

Speaker: Nevada will get the football first to begin the second half, but there is a flag down on the kick. You look at the numbers 155 offensively for Nevada Heelan just 65 yards.

Speaker: Kicking team ball will be placed at the 35 yard line. First down.

Speaker: Keep in mind 47 of those 65 yards coming on the final drive. When Conley got hot.

Speaker: Kole good.

Speaker: So after the penalty, we get ready to go. Quarter number three from the dome 13 nothing Nevada they start shop at the 35 yard line and they will get Waldera he runs his way through an arm tackle up ahead to the 37 yard line. Waldera in the first half, 19 carries, 99 yards. Touchdown run. He has the lone Cub touchdown, averaging right around five and a half yards per carry.

Speaker: He's been very impressive. That was a great job by Kasen Thomas right there making a stop on that first down call. They're going to continue probably to give it to Waldera and just continue to roll that clock. This is a huge series right here for this Bishop Heelan defense.

Speaker: Always interesting to see the adjustments made by the coaches at the break. Second down and eight. Right back to Waldera trying to get to the outside. And he is stood up. Good job gang tackling that time. First one in there was Zack Harpenau Jonathan Hope also in on the tackle.

Speaker: That was a good job staying outside containing that that outside run corners did a tremendous job. Now hey, third and short here. Third and manageable at least we'll see. We'll see if they continue to keep it on the ground or throw that little short pass.

Speaker: It's early. We're only in the third quarter. But if Heelan can get a stop here, I think it could go a long way. And this crowd, sensing it as they come to their feet.

Speaker: [APPLAUSE]

Speaker: Third down and four. It is Waldera trying to finish it, and he won't get there. A yard shy stood up by Lester.

Speaker: Caden Lester with a huge tackle coming up to meet a really good running back in the hole. That is a phenomenal job. Saves him from getting the first down. Hit him with his chest, rubbed his feet, ran his feet. His buddies came to help him out.

Speaker: Nevada converted on fourth down earlier today. They have the offense still out there. Play clock winding down fourth and a yard. Smith the H-back to the right. Bunch to the right. Will they indeed take the snap? Hinson looks over at the sideline and Andrew Kleeman will call a time-out.

Speaker: Time-out Nevada their first charge time out of the half.

Speaker: [APPLAUSE]

Speaker: Ian.

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Speaker: Morning.

Speaker: Nevada. Using an early time-out on this opening drive of the second half. Whole house here inside the UNI-Dome strong contingencies from both sides. Nevada keeps the offense out there. Drake Hinson shotgun fourth and a yard Kleeman rolling the die and we have whistles before the start.

Speaker: False start offense number 61 five-yard penalty still fourth down.

Speaker: And now this will change it. And Nevada will send out the punting unit. Third penalty of the day for the Cubs.

Speaker: Yeah, that hurts because you wasted a time-out right? Offensively to be able to to get him in. Get the look you want. And unfortunately you just end up end up jumping. But it looked like they had they had the play there but they wanted.

Speaker: Bad snap gets it away. Boy how did that ball get through a bouncing kick Jonathan Hope let it go right by him. And he's got to pick that one up. It finally comes to a stop at the 1348 yards on the punt.

Speaker: Man, I thought for sure that was going to get blocked. Great job by Waldera catching it. Able to kind of kick it across his body and let the ball just roll. That was a very fortunate situation. There.

Speaker: Noah Conley in the first half caught fire late in the second quarter. Four of his five completions on Heelan's final drive, five of 1554 yards. He has spread it around four different receivers. Heelan comes out throwing nearside. This is Lester makes a defender miss and Lester shouldered out of bounds by Lucas Brown. But a good gain on first down to the senior target.

Speaker: I like to call there just a quick little out route, but you end up having having the receivers essentially become blockers.

Speaker: [APPLAUSE]

Speaker: Make sure.

Speaker: [APPLAUSE]

Speaker: They get.

Speaker: [APPLAUSE]

Speaker: On.

Speaker: Caden Lester. His father won a state title at Heelan back in zero eight. This is the player that John LaFluer talked about. We want to get him more involved in the offense, especially with the absence of Kasen Thomas today. First down from the 23. They bring four over the middle and a pass is caught up ahead to the 35. Back to back catches. And they're targeting number 11 as they talked about a little bit more.

Speaker: That was a beautiful call. Just just a little mesh route. You got to underneath crossers. And and you put the tight end behind you. Usually the linebackers. And I know in me when I play linebacker I'm always going to drop. I'm always going to jump the things in front of me, which would then open up the guy behind me. They did a really good job there. Well executed play.

Speaker: Conley two for two on this first drive of the third quarter. He's now completed six of his last seven. They have it at the 35. Whitcomb goes in motion. They will run the ball to the boundary side with Avery Favors and right now this is the part of the game that they cannot get going. And a flag along the sideline. I think this might be 15 yards on Nevada. I saw a Crusader just go flying way after the play right in front of the Bishop Heelan bench and I think this might be an additional 15 tacked on. Let's listen in.

Speaker: After the play. Personal foul defense number 8815 yards and nine. He was also the first down.

Speaker: [APPLAUSE]

Speaker: Cedar Smith post whistle activity. Just a disciplined play.

Speaker: And you don't want to give him anything you don't want to. They don't want to give Bishop any any momentum any confidence here. Looks like after the play. Just shoved him a little bit and then he had to drag him out of bounds. There. A lot of emotions here. A lot of a lot of adrenaline, a lot of things.

Speaker: It was Kole Sprague, the offensive tackle who got all twisted up with Smith. Into plus territory at the 49. Motion man is Knapp. Conley wants to go deep. He will launch across the seam incomplete. He was looking for hope broken up by Clay Franzen.

Speaker: If Clay Franzen wasn't there, I think that's probably six. That was a great play by him. He's got such a good vision when it comes to the ball. Six interceptions this year. Reading the quarterback, knocking the ball out.

Speaker: Another flag on the play. A late flag thrown out. Officials talking to both coaches here.

Speaker: Illegal formation. Five men in the backfield. Offense a penalty is declined. Brings up second down.

Speaker: Nevada will take. the incomplete pass. Second down.

Speaker: [APPLAUSE]

Speaker: Last time we saw five men in the backfield across Nevada six points right before the end of the half. Second down and ten at the 49 Noah Conley is going to step up. He flings it and it's dropped in and out of the hands of way before beautifully thrown ball. And that's a catch way. Ball makes nine out of ten times. And I love seeing Conley go to his favorite target, one of his favorite targets this year, and say, I'm coming to you again. Be ready.

Speaker: That's a great route concept. That's one that's actually just a curl divide. It was one that's really tough to defend from a linebacker perspective, because he's really got to expand and great execution had him wide open. Just unfortunately he ran before he caught it.

Speaker: [APPLAUSE]

Speaker: Third down and ten Favors in motion. And now it's Heelan's turn to use a Time-out.

Speaker: There's no foul for delay of game time-out. Bishop Heelan their first charge time-out of the half.

Speaker: Each team has used an early time-out in this third quarter. 824 to go Nevada went into the locker room up 13. Nothing. And they have maintained that lead. Each team has had it once. Good looking drive here by Bishop Heelan. Following the Nevada punt. Oftentimes it's just not about football with the high school athletes, and that is certainly the case for Clay Franzen. Take a look at this. This is Clay Franzen Nevada, their star defender. He was a bareback state champion, part of the Iowa High School Rodeo championships. Take a look at that belt.

Speaker: That's awesome. He's a he's my favorite player. Once we heard that he's he's my absolute favorite player. Look how tough he is. You know he's not scary or anything. He ain't scared of nothing.

Speaker: Coach was telling us he's a big hunter. He will go out. Mountain elk. Even his hunted. Some bear.

Speaker: Took out a black bear this year. That's a he makes me feel like I am not a man. This kid is a man.

Speaker: Third down and ten. After the time-out, they go empty, set. They sprint Favors out of the backfield near side pressure. Conley buying time now. Conley throws wide open up ahead to the 2015. Caught at the 12 yard line. Jonathan Hope 36 yards. And that's all Noah Conley.

Speaker: That was huge. That's just what they needed. They actually had a mismatch over there. They were four on three. Four receivers three DBS. And as the play kind of extended, it allowed the DBS to get pushed more downfield. And Jonathan Hope was there for a great first down and great blocking downfield as well too. He was able to get 10 to 15 yards just due to great blocking.

Speaker: First time into the red zone for Bishop Heelan. They will hand the ball off and a rare opening for Avery Favors.

Speaker: [APPLAUSE]

Speaker: Yeah, good push with the O-line. Good power kind of getting the momentum here. Sometimes you just need 1 or 2 plays to kind of kind of get things figured out.

Speaker: Egeland coach has told us this week, when you look at Avery Favors a senior, he will be starting on a lot of football teams across the state of Iowa, sitting behind Kasen Thomas. Lines up to the left of Conley second down, he will get the call. Make a cut and then dropped in his tracks at the five. Also important note Heelan can still pick up a first down.

Speaker: Jaycee Wang Yi.

Speaker: There's just nothing there on the inside. Great job by the Nevada front seven making a good stop being violent and physical.

Speaker: Jon LaFluer the head coach for Bishop Heelan knows this is an important juncture in this football game. He's watched his offense take it to the Cub five. Third down and three. And now there was some movement in the backfield.

Speaker: False start, offense. Number four five-yard penalty.

Speaker: They just third down. They just can't get out of their own way. You know they've they've had good opportunities unfortunately just can't get out of their own way. Third and eight is way different than third and three.

Speaker: You're thinking field goal for Heelan. They have not attempted a single field goal all year. They have been pretty good on their Pats, but no field goal attempts. Third down and eight. Receiver left. They have the two backs, right. That's the direction they roll Conley under pressure, gets rid of it. But that was a lineman that he threw it to. That was his guard. Max Aesoph.

Speaker: I would have liked to see him with the ball. I'd like to see.

Speaker: I think I saw the whites of Aesoph eyes all the way up here. When that ball was heading toward him. As expected, they are going to keep this offense on the field and you go back to the illegal procedure call. A few moments ago. That just changes your playbook. On what you want to call. Fourth down and eight. They're going to throw it toward the front of the end zone. Caught for the touchdown. Caden Lester. And a fourth down Noah Conley says let me throw that football.

Speaker: What a great throw and just a great way for the receiver to use his body to make sure the only person to catch that ball is him. Such a strong, hard throw, very physical catch by that receiver. That was a super impressive and huge play for Bishop Heelan.

Speaker: Yeah terrific throw. And then you brought up the physicality. Did you see how Lester shielded the defender. Almost like you're boxing out to grab a rebound. Kept him on the backside anymore.

Speaker: That's right. It's great to see somebody finally box out. But of course it just takes a football player to do it.

Speaker: Point after and it's blocked. No good. Well we'll see if that comes back to play into the outcome of this one. Nonetheless, John, the floor and Heelan is on the board. Ten plays, 87 yards for Noah Conley another touchdown pass, the 14th of a season. As you take another look at the P.a.t. And just not a lot of air on the kick.

Speaker: It looks like just just mishit it a little bit.

Speaker: Ten plays 87 yards. For the most part it has become a one dimensional offense. When you look at Bishop Heelan, they just can't get the ground game going. So if they are going to win a state title, it's going to be with the right arm of Noah Conley.

Speaker: I agree, absolutely agree. He's going to have to step up here. And I think he did a great job on that last drive. Really being really being a leader and really kind of keeping drives and plays alive. Did a lot with his legs and that was just what they needed right there. That was just what they needed in the second half. Now they're they're in the game. It's a one score ballgame.

Speaker: You get the feeling after watching this game, you look up at the score and it's a one possession game, but it feels like Nevada should be up two three scores.

Speaker: Yeah, I agree, I think they've kind of controlled the line of scrimmage and Bishop has done a good job just staying by staying in this game.

Speaker: On the return out past the 20 up ahead to the 25. You look at this football game for the Cubs three trips in the red zone. They've scored all three times. A couple of those via the field goal though. And now again we have some post whistle activity things getting really chippy between these two teams.

Speaker: After the play, personal foul number two on the kicking team. 15 yards will be added on to the end of the run. First down.

Speaker: You know Pat I was in Birmingham a couple of weekends ago with UAB North Texas on the call for the game. And we had a chance to talk to coach Mortensen, and he brought up the point. I want my guys to play with emotion, but not emotionally.

Speaker: Yeah. Yep. And you know, sometimes it's really hard. Sometimes it's hard to walk away. And you've got to, you know, you've got to think that, hey, like, if I'm going to throw a punch at this guy for, you know, doing something to me, that's that'd be selfish and I'd be letting my team down. And you've got to put what your wants behind, what the team needs from you.

Speaker: Waldera stiff arming down the sideline, spins all the way to the 41 yard line. 18 yards. If Nevada needs an answer, if they need a stabilizer, there's nobody better in the state than number 21.

Speaker: Just that great little power that they're running off the off the left tackle. Great stiff arm right. There. He is tough and downhill and physical.

Speaker: 23rd carry of this game for Waldera 126 yards.

Speaker: Man.

Speaker: In Gehling territory right up the middle. Everybody followed number 21. And that was the parting of the sea. Easy pickings for Drake Hinson.

Speaker: Yeah, that was a great call. Everybody's thinking, obviously Waldera is getting it. And Hinson, who has been a great runner, I love how how consistent and patient he is. Yeah, it gets pretty close to that first down.

Speaker: What I love about Hinson, there's no dancing, right?

Speaker: Yeah.

Speaker: You know oftentimes the quarterback, they'll be very.

Speaker: They try to be quarterbacks try to be cute.

Speaker: You know he does not.

Speaker: I I'm not cute. So I've never tried to but no he is a tough guy very smart. He goes where he's supposed to go.

Speaker: He hits the hole hard. Second down Waldera cut back and a first down look at the yards after contact. He is just willing his way. Nevada another first down. And when you have a player playing this hard, it's easy as a teammate to hop on and go along for the ride.

Speaker: Absolutely. Yeah. Just saw Waldera is the leading tackler as well too. Not only is he taking over the game offensively, he's being a stud on defense. As always, and he's somebody that you can definitely get behind. He's somebody that's going to bring that momentum, somebody you're going to fight for and somebody you want to play really hard for. He's doing a great job tonight.

Speaker: [APPLAUSE]

Speaker: And they go heavy with the package. Waldera following his lead block, takes it ahead to the 23 yard line. Five more yards Dylan Knapp the tackle.

Speaker: They're loving that. Off tackle to the left side. They are living off of that.

Speaker: Their left tackle number 54 Isaac Harrington. He will continue to play football next year. He is committed to Grandview. For their coaches are having fun watching him impose his will in this game. Hinson keeps it on the read option. Torpedoes up to the 21, setting up a third down. They are in field goal range of Egeland and a field goal would be big, making it a two possession game.

Speaker: That's a great point. That's a great point.

Speaker: [APPLAUSE]

Speaker: Nevada two of seven on third downs, quick moving quarter, three and a half to go. Everybody bunched up to the right side. Third down. Quarterback keeper up the middle. They go. And Alex Lacy jumped on his back. And he will be about a yard shy.

Speaker: Yeah good read by the interior of that Bishop defense. They've been having a lot of success with that quarterback run.

Speaker: [APPLAUSE]

Speaker: Well here we go again. We've been down this road before. Fourth and a yard. Kleeman keeps the offense out there. It will be Hinson the quarterback struggling his way. And this will be really close. Not a real great spot. So we're going to wait and see. Impossible to tell from our angle.

Speaker: Absolutely.

Speaker: Heelan thinks they're short. They're pointing as if it's going to be their football, and they will bring out the chain gang for the second time in this state title. And this is going to be some drama here because it is close.

Speaker: Somebody's going to not be happy after this one. Yeah. Look like he just know ran into ran into a lineman's back. Unfortunately he kind of got stood up a little bit and was unable one was unable to really get that push or find that gap.

Speaker: Stretch of the chains. And it's a stop for Heelan. Oh boy.

Speaker: That was close. Hey, just like that, Heelan's right back in this game.

Speaker: [APPLAUSE]

Speaker: Huge, huge stop for John Lafleur's defense. Andrew Kleeman. You can't blame him. His offensive line has been dictating this game a yard. He had a tough decision though because a field goal, as we talked about what a stretched it out to ten. So now Noah Conley back out there Conley nine of 22 for 123 yards. Empty set, four man rush down the seam. They go. What a big collision. Jonathan Hope had a jarred free by Isaac Williams the three year starter.

Speaker: That was a great look. You know the one thing with when you're playing like two deep safety or really anything at this level, you really got to carry those seams. And he had them there for a little bit. And Isaac Williams did a tremendous job coming over the top, making sure he didn't catch that.

Speaker: That's a tough play. If you're Jonathan Hope because you know that safety is coming.

Speaker: Yeah, buddy.

Speaker: Second down and ten. Seven point lead for Nevada and the title game of three a. Play clock down to zero.

Speaker: Delay of. game offense number ten.

Speaker: He just continued to shoot themselves in the foot man.

Speaker: That's. Yeah. It's that's tough for them that putting them second and long here backed up inside the 15.

Speaker: That is the fifth penalty today for Bishop Heelan. And a good number of those have come on early downs. Just putting them behind schedule.

Speaker: Yep.

Speaker: Motion man is Knapp. And again another flag. It's going to be illegal procedure. And Heelan moving the wrong way.

Speaker: Number 75 offense five yard penalty. Still second down.

Speaker: You wonder if it's the acoustics inside. I mean this is a noisy venue, obviously completely different from what these guys experienced throughout the course of the regular season. They're right in front of each student section.

Speaker: Yeah. You know, it definitely could. I never played offense. I wasn't athletic enough. So it made things a little bit easier on defense.

Speaker: Never had to worry about that part.

Speaker: Of it. Absolutely not.

Speaker: Well, they are putting Noah Conley in a bad spot. Good call here. He will just take off up the center of the field and Conley gets a good chunk of the change back as he picks up 12 up near the 20. And Jon LaFluer told us he has done more with his feet over the last four weeks than he has all year.

Speaker: I love, I love that, I love that idea, you know, backed up. You draw or screen something like that. But it got him back to basically, you know, past the line of scrimmage, which is huge for them.

Speaker: [APPLAUSE]

Speaker: On third down, he'll take a shot down the near side and it is incomplete. Oh what a hit by Lucas Brown. It looked like Whitcomb had brought it in as he absorbed the contact, but he could not control it all the way to the turf.

Speaker: It's a great drawn up play. Ended up essentially kind of being a go route or a wheel. It looked like he had him right in the chest, but was unable to bring it in. That was a huge shot delivered by Lucas Brown. Glad everybody you know on those. You're just happy everybody gets up and can walk to the sideline.

Speaker: Yeah, you are kidding. Dangerous return here by Franzen. He had Heelan defenders all around him. Punt of 28 yards and. It is a game of razor thin margin. When you get two teams that are matched up equally like this.

Speaker: Absolutely. This is this is definitely a battle which you know any any position ten yards, 20 yards, field position, anything comes comes in handy and it's huge. Like it's absolutely huge right now. So really good field position right now to start with. Nevada. If they can get a touchdown here some points here that would be that would be big for them.

Speaker: Good starting position. They take over at the Bishop Heelan 44 yard line. Waldera hopping into the pile. You know it's interesting. You look at the course of this game. Nevada scored on their very first three possessions. Since then they have come up scoreless, yet they have moved the football. What's been the big thing from Heelan to keep them out of the end zone?

Speaker: Yeah, I think what they've been doing is they've been getting off the field or the field a lot better. On third down. They putting them behind the chains a little bit on first and second down. It seems like they're they're kind of playing a bend. Don't break defense quite a bit which has been really helping them out.

Speaker: On second down. This is Hinson rolling right. Has a couple of options. He'll take the deep one and it's caught inside the ten. He had two guys running free. It was Lucas Brown. He chose Brown who had the big play defensively a few moments ago. Has 37 yards and it's first and goal.

Speaker: Lucas Brown in traffic. One handed catch. The guy draped all over him. That was so impressive by him. Caden Lester he did all he could do. He was in good position. Guy just made a play.

Speaker: Austin Waldera country now and they will hand him the football. All 11 defenders keeping an eye on number 21. And this is the part of the field where Nevada has been slowed down a little bit. They've had to settle for a couple of field goals. Cubs will not have to take another step. Clock winding down in this third quarter. Hinson has everybody lined up. Second down and goal. I think Andrew Kleeman just said, let's put the brakes on and let's march to the other end and take a seven point lead into the fourth quarter.

Speaker: That's exactly what I would do. Don't give don't give them an extra snap.

Speaker: Will history be made for Nevada? The Cubs hoping for their first state title. Heelan hoping to mount a rally. Conley Vorm has them back in it. We march to the fourth 13 six Nevada.

Speaker: 13.

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Speaker: and national artists take the stage to perform original sets and share their musical journeys on studio three live. Enjoy weekly performances Fridays at 8:30 p.m. online or as a podcast. What a football game! As we welcome you back to Northern Iowa, Cedar Falls, the campus of the University of Northern Iowa inside their beautiful UNI-Dome alongside Paul Yeager, Pat Angerer, Shawn Kenney with you, our entire Iowa PBS sports crew. John. The floor has Helen back into the finals for the first time since 23. Nevada is Andrew Kleeman hoping to guide the Cubs to the promised Land for the first time in the school's history. Both teams entering today, ten and two both have knocked out Giants in this class and their path to a collision course and a state title. Second down and goal. They run the little reverse pass touchdown. The first trick play goes to Nevada Lucas Brown and they called it at the most opportune time.

Speaker: That was so well put together. Just faked a reverse. Ended up having, you know, kind of like the Philly special, but instead of the quarterback catching that ball, they had the backside tight end or the backside receiver come over the top. That is a beautiful play. Well executed by Nevada.

Speaker: Point after is up and it is through. And it's an important drive. Four plays 44 yards less than two minutes off the clock. All these coaches have tricks in their back pocket. And we saw West Lyon work it perfectly. And wouldn't you know it Andrew Kleeman, who played for the legendary coach Jay Roseboom back in his high school days. He reaches into his bag of tricks today.

Speaker: Yes he does. And just a great call right there. Coming out of the kind of coming out of the quarter break, they've been kind of getting, you know, kind of getting pinned, pinned back from these guys having struggles in the red zone. What a good job getting seven there.

Speaker: Quickly three.

Speaker: Let's take one more look at this touchdown Waldera the flip. And a beautifully thrown ball by Gavin Egeland. And how about this second half that Lucas Brown has turned in. Remember he had the bone crunching hit on third down where he was trying to keep the drive alive, and then he had the big catch, which kept the drive alive. The one handed highlight reel catch. And now he hauls in the touchdown.

Speaker: He's been playing good I mean all the just the confidence that Nevada is playing with for this being their first time in the state finals is is great to see.

Speaker: From the two Nevada on the return flags are all over the place. Jonathan Hope out past the 30, but there is a flag in the vicinity of a hold or illegal block and penalties have just become the story. Unfortunately, if you're a crusader watching back home.

Speaker: [APPLAUSE]

Speaker: Back to back.

Speaker: There are two fouls on the play, both on the return team block below the waist. That penalty will be declined, blocking the back ten yard half the distance he first down.

Speaker: John. The floor was a team captain for Iowa back in 1997. A lot of his stuff, he told us, is based on Hayden Fry. Surrounding yourself, not just the players, but the coaches with with good people.

Speaker: He's done such a great job with this program and he not once took credit for it, not once.

Speaker: The run game has went nowhere today and it will go nowhere here. Rangel-bello. He has been a two way player, an impact player. Number 64, in white.

Speaker: He's been a stud. All those runs, all those runs over the left side. He's the one that's pulling from his right guard spot. He's been opening those up, opening those holes up for him. And you got to assume he's a great d-tackle too. He got to be a tough guy to to push around. Coach talked about how explosive he is.

Speaker: [APPLAUSE]

Speaker: Two and a half yards per rush for Helen. Second down looking right now. Cuts it over the middle and the pass is caught by Whitcomb struggling ahead. And second and third effort by Grant Whitcomb. He's not a big guy. 165 pounds, but he muscles his way to a first down.

Speaker: Yeah. Good slant. Just a slant route. Simple, easy concept. Had the back flare to the flat, which caught some eyes of the guys in the secondary and the linebackers freed up the hole for the slant to work.

Speaker: [APPLAUSE]

Speaker: Third catch of the day for Whitcomb. Three catches, 29 yards. Nevada brings the extra defender near side throw out of the backfield. It's Jonathan Hope hope is tackled immediately, but they get nine yards on first down.

Speaker: I like that play call. It almost kind of felt like an RPO ish where it was really kind of dragging it out, thinking that he was going to hand it off. Ended up keeping it and tossing it. And Hope had a good route, was wide open.

Speaker: Way Bourne Lester. The two receivers right Whitcomb split near side. Now he comes in motion. Looked like two running backs were flinching out of their stance before the snap. And this is going to be another presnap flag on Heelan. First down run by Conley. But it's coming back.

Speaker: Illegal formation. Five men in the backfield. Offense, five yard penalty from the previous spot remains second down.

Speaker: Bishop Heelan can't rally in this fourth quarter. They are going to look at the self-inflicted mistakes in this football game.

Speaker: 100%. Absolutely. They've gotten in their way quite a bit. I mean that should have been a first down right there. And now they're sitting at second and long.

Speaker: Second down and six. They have the same formation. Hope is in motion. Conley puts on the brakes, dodges one Cub and he is still on his feet. Look at Conley go. Finally they got him. Jaden Grimm caught up with him. Conley doing everything he could, but Grimm was not going to let him get away.

Speaker: That was great pursuit by Grimm and all the d-linemen that John Nelson super tremendous effort there. You think about that. They had a first down two plays ago. Bishop had a first down two plays ago, and now they're sitting here at at third and 15.

Speaker: Grimm missed the first time, popped back up on his feet like you're always taught. The play will come back to you. Another flag of Conley's feet and he is punished. The ball loose. But it's recovered by Nolan Mielke, the offensive tackle. There's a flag along the Nevada sideline. There is a flag in the backfield. Either way, this isn't going to bode well for the Crusaders.

Speaker: Illegal shift offense. That penalty is declined. Fourth down.

Speaker: There's got to be like you had mentioned. There's got to be something with the acoustics down there or something that's just allowing them to get a little bit of a little bit out of whack.

Speaker: Back to back sacks for Nevada Heelan, the punt from their own end zone Cubs should get the ball in great shape. Fair catch signaled for by Franzen 33 yard punt. Nevada by a couple of touchdowns. 839 to go and the fans who have made the journey from their community just outside Ames along highway 30, sensing it. For 50 years, market to market has been the news and commodity market information source for anyone who lives and works in rural America. Join host Paul Yeager every Friday night, 8 p.m. and Sundays at 12:30 p.m. for market to market. The Weekly Journal of Rural America or stream online anytime.

Speaker: [APPLAUSE]

Speaker: I've been impressed from just from start to finish, this Nevada team has played with just a ton of ton of effort, ton of fight, ton of grit, ton of toughness, ton of confidence and they're doing a really good job. It's been impressive to watch.

Speaker: We talked to Andrew Kleeman. He talked about J. Roseboom, who was instrumental during his high school days, and then he went on to Morningside, played for head coach Steve Ryan. And he was so good at showing him the attention to detail. Oftentimes when you talk to these coaches, they kind of pick certain traits from their predecessors. As you see, Waldera move the chains power football over the left side to the 28 yard line. 151 yards today for Waldera.

Speaker: He's been great and really his success. He's a tough guy. He is doing a great job, but his O line is doing a great job as well too. They are getting a push. They are being physical. They're controlling that line of scrimmage.

Speaker: And now they will milk everything off this clock each and every down. You go back to the Kleeman talking about his relationship with Roseboom and Ryan. Ryan showing him the attention to detail. J taught him how to play football the right way. He never won a state title as a player. Hinson tight roping along the far sideline, good yardage, an offensive playbook that I would say just throwing a dart at the board, 80, 85%. They favor the left side today.

Speaker: Yeah, yeah, that's a great point. You know, a lot of teams like if it works or let's say let's say, you know just a slant run to the left. Let's say if that works a lot of teams will they won't do it. But if it if if it works I'm going to run it 700 times until you stop it. And it takes a lot of guts actually to, to just do that.

Speaker: Takes a lot of discipline to call that hopping over a would be tackler. Waldera stealing the show today. This kid is special.

Speaker: Just your off tackle jumping over. He does it all. If you're a college football coach and you're not thinking about this kid, I don't know what to tell you.

Speaker: 30 carries today. Remember he carried the ball 36 times in the semifinals. Everybody in the box as Waldera pushes the pile ahead for a couple.

Speaker: [APPLAUSE]

Speaker: You go back to last year for Waldera. It was week two. He injured his hand. He missed the entire year. He had rods put in. So he had to sit along the sideline and watch his teammates have a really good season. He gets all healed up knowing he had one more chance. A senior year and his has he ever delivered.

Speaker: I love that for him. Absolutely love that for him to come out here and have a good year his senior year.

Speaker: Second down to the end zone and it's intercepted. Jonathon Hope stepping in the passing lane and Heelan gets a huge takeaway late.

Speaker: Jonathan Hope says not so fast. Cutting underneath of the post route, making a huge diving catch right there. That is a really, really big play because it seemed like Nevada was just going to, hey, three yards, four yards at a time, get the end zone. He comes up here, hops underneath, flattens, flattens his angle so he's able to get underneath instead of follows the receiver. Makes a good diving catch. That's an impressive play.

Speaker: Interceptions in consecutive weeks for Hope. We were just talking. It takes discipline to keep calling plays. That work. They tried to get a little cute there with the throw and Jonathan Hope comes away with the interception. Flags down on first down.

Speaker: There's no foul on the play. Time out. Bishop Heelan.

Speaker: Heelan taking a time-out. Time-outs are going to be precious for them. If they are going to claw their way back into it with six and a half to go. Hey fans, don't.

Speaker: Forget to.

Speaker: Scan the.

Speaker: QR code you.

Speaker: See right there on the screen. Go ahead, pull out the phone, scan that code, or call the phone number on your screen and consider a gift to Friends of Iowa PBS. As you may have heard, Congress cut 3.5 million in federal funding to Iowa PBS. This is the largest One-Time cut in the 55 year history, affecting 18% of the budget. These funds helped maintain our statewide network, delivering trusted local programs to every corner of Iowa, including state champions like this. Here from Cedar Falls. Despite the challenge, we're committed to the mission to educate, inform, enrich and inspire. Thank you for watching and supporting public media.

Speaker: [MUSIC]

Speaker: Healing with only one time-out. Down two touchdowns. There. Tied to the football. Austin Waldera. First down from the 28 into coverage. Here comes Barlow and he gets rid of it in the nick of time. They get the ball up ahead. Making the catch is Dylan Knapp Waldera the stop and Rangel-bello driving Conley to the turf.

Speaker: Looks like they went quads to the to the top of the field and just tried to single him out down here and there's nobody open. It was a good job. By Knapp at least staying staying there being the check down and gaining yards. That's a good gain on first down.

Speaker: Talked about Waldera doing it on both sides of the football. He leads the Cub defense. Seven tackles today. Second down and two split backs. High snap Conley snatches all sorts of time and he will let her fly. Looking for Whitcomb broken up a couple of Cubs converging. Lucas Brown got a hand on it. One of those rare times, Pat, where Conley actually had a clean pocket.

Speaker: Yeah, almost. It looked like it was just. It was a double post and good thing the what I was happy about is the defenders did a good job not panicking. It's really hard not to panic in that situation.

Speaker: There is a flag along the Nevada sideline, and I'm wondering if this is a sideline warning and it won't be a penalty the first time or. I don't know, we'll have to wait and see. It's way over on the sideline.

Speaker: Receiver downfield. Number 14 offense. Penalty is accepted. Five-Yard. Penalty still second down.

Speaker: It's a formation flag with number 14. Jonathan Hope on an ineligible receiver.

Speaker: He must have been covered up or something on the the way they lined up, they must have covered him up. Oh man.

Speaker: I'll tell you what though. Noah Conley is doing his part. He is giving his team a chance. One tough customer. Here they come. Line picks it up over the middle. Pass is caught. A strike thrown by Conley and a first down to the 40 yard line. Caden Lester making the tough, gutsy catch over the middle.

Speaker: They like this mess. Route. Just two underneath crossers and and Lester comes over the top and sits behind the linebackers. He took a shot right there. That's a tough guy to get up there and make a catch like that.

Speaker: 17 yards to Lester first down Heelan and another flag.

Speaker: Prior to the snap. False start. Offense number 52 five-yard penalty still first down.

Speaker: Jacob Galvan the backup guard. Double digits in penalties today ten. Now against Heelan. And keep in mind Nevada declined a couple others.

Speaker: It just seems like it's, you know, one step forward, two steps back here. Once they kind of get a little momentum, something happens. And and they got they're stuck behind the chains.

Speaker: Still lots of time in this game. Five minutes to go. Heelan needs points on this drive. Conley redirecting traffic. He wants hope to come back into the backfield and join Avery Favors play clock down to three. Conley avoiding the pressure. Rangel-bello had him wrapped up. Conley just did his best to get rid of it and Conley slow to get up behind the play.

Speaker: I got no idea how he was able to escape that, let alone be able to escape that and throw the ball to where an eligible receiver was.

Speaker: Second down.

Speaker: It's a great job by him. Just trying, making something that could have been really bad and he lived to fight another day. There.

Speaker: Noah Conley started his career at Sioux City North. He had to sit out the first four games last year because of the transfer. He is leaving it all out there in this game. Six foot one inch senior playing in his final game, second down and 15. Straight drop Conley pounded again. Oh, the ball popped out of there. He threw it. Conley somehow got the pass away. He had nothing but Cubs around him. John Nelson had him wrapped up. Grimm was in the vicinity. I just don't know how he got the ball away.

Speaker: I don't know how he didn't follow. I have no idea. Oh, they're going to call intentional grounding here. He's a tough kid, man. That very impressed by him. Staying up. But yeah, it did look like to me that there was a wide receiver in the vicinity.

Speaker: Intentional grounding offense. The penalty is five yards from the spot of the foul. Loss of down. Third down.

Speaker: That's a killer because it carries a loss of down with it as well.

Speaker: All right. Let's see if there's a receiver down there. Yep. Doesn't look like it from that angle.

Speaker: Third down and a mile. Now Conley is going to loft it a rainbow pass high into the air. Batted and intercepted.

Speaker: The old.

Speaker: Tip drill and it's Kole Beving coming away with the interception.

Speaker: That's great. When the ball bounces your way, that's their 22nd interception this year. Anyway. They were taking a shot. Did a good job staying over the top.

Speaker: After the play. Unsportsmanlike foul.

Speaker: [APPLAUSE]

Speaker: Number 1115 yard penalty on the run. First down.

Speaker: A lot of penalties in this game.

Speaker: Unsportsmanlike.

Speaker: Yeah.

Speaker: , the secondary leading Class 3A 22 interceptions. As you talked about nobody has disrupted the opposition's quarterback more than Nevada has throughout the course of the season.

Speaker: Their D-line has been very impressive very impressive here tonight. Diaz do a good job flushing the quarterback out of the pocket.

Speaker: They will hand the ball off and here goes. Austin Waldera down the sideline, stepped out of bounds. Let's see where he stepped out at. There is a flag along the Nevada sideline as well. This thing is just become a flag fest in the second half. This one might be going against the Cubs. Judging by the direction of Adas walking.

Speaker: Offense, five yard penalty still first down.

Speaker: Well, they hit Nevada with the illegal shift.

Speaker: Well, they're human, so that's good. That's good. Right? Yeah, a lot of it's like every other play they're throwing a flag here.

Speaker: Andrew Kleeman knows he's so close. They have relished the underdog role this entire postseason. The second round they go on the road. They beat Carroll public 2114, in the quarterfinals they go on the road. They knock off the Lions of Clear Lake 24 to 14. First down Waldera getting to the corner. Waldera hop skipping out of bounds to the 28. Last week in the semifinals. It was a defense that allowed only three yards rushing in a 2910 win against Solon, and they had three interceptions as well. So two straight weeks, you just can't run against the Cubs, right?

Speaker: 100%. They've they've been absolutely tremendous. It's fun watching them play. They fly around. They play hard. They're physical. They play together. They play as a team.

Speaker: [APPLAUSE]

Speaker: Second down and eight from the 28 yard line. Waldera scooting to the edge. First down run. He's inside the red zone to the 19 yard line Matt Meyer the stop.

Speaker: The old Energizer bunny. He just keeps going. Just keeps going. I know it's kind of like the the the hot topic right now. The name he kind of reminds me a little bit of him. Very scrappy and falls forward is going to fight for every single inch.

Speaker: Andrew Kleeman compared him to another big back, Derrick Henry.

Speaker: Yeah, there you go. That's a good one.

Speaker: First down at the 19 yard line, they pull the tide in. He will follow Cedar Smith. And this time he does a good job. Finnigan Peck precious time though dwindling off this clock. I Nevada played a really difficult schedule as well. And they did that on purpose. They played up a class A non-district action. Their two losses in the regular season to Clear Lake and Williamsburg, Kleeman said. That was designed to play a tough schedule. He did not want easy opponents in those Non-district weeks where you're really trying to figure out your team.

Speaker: And that's that's a that's a mindset that a lot of coaches don't have. They want the easy, they want the.

Speaker: [APPLAUSE]

Speaker: Hinson is going to keep it Hinson is going to jump into the purple carpet. Touchdown Hinson celebrates in the purple and yellow of you and I. But today it's the purple and yellow of Nevada.

Speaker: He has had himself a day. He has been a great leader, made a lot of plays with his legs, with his arm, kind of really controlled this offense. Been super impressed with Hinson today.

Speaker: [APPLAUSE]

Speaker: He has managed the game so well, runs this offense very calm, confident presence. 12 carries for Hanson 59 yards. His first rushing touchdown today. He has not turned the football over. He's only completed three passes, but all three have kept drives alive.

Speaker: Yep. Used his legs really really well. Extended plays. You know they get thinking hey Waldera Waldera Waldera. We'll fake to him and we'll pull it and run to the outside. And that's what they did right there. That was very impressive. Drive. Hair looks good too. Yeah, you guys got.

Speaker: Purple stripes?

Speaker: Yeah, I do, I need hair so I can do some cool stuff with it.

Speaker: Well, you can do it with skin as well. Come on. Don't let hair be the excuse.

Speaker: I got enough bad tattoos. I don't need any on my head.

Speaker: [APPLAUSE] [APPLAUSE]

Speaker: Making the catch. Terrific catch to prevent the touchback. Wanting an opportunity is hope. And hope takes it out. Barreling his way to the 26 yard line.

Speaker: [APPLAUSE]

Speaker: Keelan entering today, ten and two. And they had an interesting start to the year. They began the season with overnight Navy Seal leadership training and Kirby Smith the son of Larry Smith along with Derek Price randomly it was discovered by Coach LaFleur on the internet. He came across it that they were putting this on, so he reached out and those two came in. They spent an overnight with this team, and it was a night to remember. As Conley has his guy and now changing direction as Lester all the way across the field. And he was a defender away from breaking it. But during that overnight it was an eye opening experience. They went from midnight to 6 a.m. and it was not easy. There was some physical mental training, sandbag carrying, some ice bath submissions, military calisthenics, all scaled down. There's a lot of fun, they said. Nevada having a lot of fun now. Justin Happe big smile on his face after the sack.

Speaker: Just a great job using his hands. It looked like that was just a almost a delayed blitz to the outside. Was able to get the outside and make a hit on the quarterback.

Speaker: Fifth sack of the day. For Nevada. To be quite honest, they could have a lot more if not for the athleticism of Conley. He rifles it. Not much of a gain down on both knees, making the catch. Another grab for Lester today. He's up to seven catches. Fourth down. Fourth down for Conley and they will keep the drive alive. And then some Lester. It's a good move in front of the Nevada bench. Takes it up to the 44 yard line.

Speaker: [APPLAUSE]

Speaker: Step out of bounds.

Speaker: [APPLAUSE]

Speaker: Actually going to give him a couple more yards as he stepped out at the 46. A gain of 13.

Speaker: And Nevada is just you know they're just playing off playing a little prevent. So allowing them to catch the ball in front of them and bishops taking they're taking what the defense will give them.

Speaker: First down he will fire. Oh what a catch made by Whitcomb who he snatched that from midair to the 23 and 21 more yards.

Speaker: That was a phenomenal catch. And a rocket of a throw. There. Makes the cut, jumps right up. That is beautiful. Catch by him. Great soft hands.

Speaker: They're going to go right back to the hot hand this time. He cannot elevate way over the head of the six foot junior. You know as well as anyone you look back at this football game. Yes. We've talked about the penalties but it's tough to win if you cannot establish the run. And he could not win the line of scrimmage today.

Speaker: Nevada right away controlled the line of scrimmage right away from start to finish. And Bishop Heelan just couldn't they just couldn't get anything going. And obviously having an injury is really tough.

Speaker: Second down throw they stick with the hot hand. Hester thought about coming across the field again, but just too much pursuit. Isaac Harrington one of the linebackers coming in. Egeland has been faced with a lot of third and longs today. Two of 12 on third down third and seven. Pressure comes off the edge. Conley cannot escape it. He is dumped for a six time Cedar Smith getting into the act.

Speaker: That time out Bishop Heelan there. Third and final charge. Time out of the half, please reset the game clock to 41 seconds. 41 seconds. Thank you.

Speaker: At the at the line has been super impressive. Obviously on this drive there you know they know that they're going to throw. But Cedar Smith all these guys they do such a great job using their hands and almost it seems like they're almost blitzing every single time, but they're only rushing four and they're doing a really good job. Obviously two on the back end as well. You know garden guys up making them take some time to throw D line has been impressive for Nevada.

Speaker: He's parents at Nevada. Make sure those big guys are fed. They have a tradition every week they go down to nearby Ames and they have a hot meal every week.

Speaker: I love.

Speaker: That every Tuesday night.

Speaker: I love that.

Speaker: They're going to be feasting probably this weekend. And celebratory mode.

Speaker: They deserve it.

Speaker: See if Heelan can find the end zone late for Noah Conley fourth down and 11. Deep drop. Conley lifts it up into the air and it's batted away. Egeland got a hand in it, and that is going to be it. Nevada 34 seconds away from a little bit of history here in 2025.

Speaker: And they controlled it. I would say they controlled the game from start to finish. They were they were ready for this. Very impressed by them. Very impressed with their approach to this game. They came out with a lot of energy and a lot of confidence.

Speaker: It's been a special season, no doubt about it. Andrew Kleeman and this group of Cubs you go back to week two, they won that game on a Hail Mary play. In the final moments of the contest. So you had an inkling? Well, maybe this could be special. Then they had a couple of key injuries in week five. They lose their linebackers. Jayden Grimm, Carson Clem. They get Grimm back late. They have a star in the backfield and Austin Waldera they have a physical, offensive and defensive line, and they have a quarterback who doesn't make mistakes. And he engineers this show. You put it all together and for the very first time in the long school history of Nevada football, Andrew Kleeman has brought home a state championship. Nevada your 2020 53A state champs.

Speaker: Six.

Speaker: [APPLAUSE]

Speaker: He never won a state title as a player. In fact, his team went for two in the postseason on two separate occasions in semifinal games. And he says those plays he still thinks about so close to playing for a state championship two different occasions as a player. For Andrew Kleeman, he was denied an opportunity to play in a championship game. But now as a coach, he has led a program to their first ever. What a feeling this must be.

Speaker: He deserves it. You know the amount of time and effort these coaches put into this is absolutely insane. And when I asked him about that two point conversion, I was like, would you, if you were coaching, would you do it? He goes, if my kids wanted me to, I would. And that's that's the that's the type of coach he is. Belief in his kids, belief in the program.

Speaker: A championship that's. Quarterback Drake Hinson. Happy bunch of Cubs. And rightfully so. Celebrating with his offensive line. Isaac Harrington Jaycee Rangel-bello who was all over. There's Lucas Anderson the center. They opened up some holes today. Waldera 34, carries 173 yards. He is just two rushes off from setting a new state record mark for most carries in a championship. And you look back at this game and Waldera set the tone early in the first half. Touchdown run. Then Nevada inside the red zone twice and they had to settle for a field goal and goal from Gavin Egeland. Then they go into the bag of tricks. This is when Helen was trying to get back in, but Egeland the receiver, throwing the touchdown to Lucas Brown. And let's listen in as we get ready for the trophy presentation happening right now.

Speaker: Today's runner up in championship trophies are members of the IHSAA staff and Board of Control. The state runner up finishes the 2025 season with a record of ten and three. In 40 playoff appearances. Please help us congratulate the student athletes, coaches and supporters from Sioux Bishop Heelan.

Speaker: [APPLAUSE] [APPLAUSE]

Speaker: As for Nevada, you can say you are now state champions.

Speaker: 2025 and 11 Jayden nine. References.

Speaker: Andrews title.

Speaker: For the Cubs. Congratulations to head coach Andrew Kleeman and your Nevada.

Speaker: Cubs.

Speaker: It's a special.

Speaker: Feeling, Pat, when you win a state title. I don't care if it's number one like it's in this situation, or if you're in the case of Helen, they have been here so much. Yeah, a lot of hard work and it becomes a reality.

Speaker: No, absolutely. All these kids have thought about this since they were little. I remember our group like it was great. It's your whole life, you know, it's it's really cool to see.

Speaker: Well, let's check in with Paul. He is with the star of today's game.

Speaker: Austin Waldera heck of a tournament for you winning a state championship. What's that meant to.

Speaker: You?

Speaker: It means a lot. I mean, everyone said we were on a Cinderella run, and, I mean, it feels good to come out and prove we're the underdogs and play smash mouth football and come out on top. You know.

Speaker: This group was behind you the whole way. What's it like to have this fan base and these guys with you?

Speaker: Absolutely. I mean, we all work together. I mean, we're a great team. Like, it's more than a team. We're family at this point. It's awesome.

Speaker: [APPLAUSE]

Speaker: I love it.

Speaker: Describe your running style because I mean, it clearly had frustrated a lot of guys. You know, quit. No, all the time you're busting it. Why? How?

Speaker: I like to get hit, but, I mean, it helps when I got the big guys, making a hole for me makes it easier.

Speaker: So congratulations.

Speaker: Enjoy it.

Speaker: Thank you, sir. That's all right. Austin's awesome. And Andrew Kleeman a little different ending than when you were here as a player. Yeah, yeah, it.

Speaker: Is. Certainly. What a special feeling for these young men. They're high character, high motor and just have played their best football when it mattered.

Speaker: This community behind you, it's not yours, but it is yours. Now you win the first title. They'll remember you for a long time in Nevada. What does that mean.

Speaker: To you? How about our fans? How about our fans showing up? I mean, the amount of people here, the amount of people in white, it makes me a little emotional seeing this. I'm just so grateful for our community and our kids and just all the above.

Speaker: You told us this week that your team's a smashmouth group. You clearly physically dominate in a lot of aspects. How'd you do that?

Speaker: That's what we are at Nevada. That's what we've established. And we've had a lot of great teams and great players over the years that have helped chip away at this, and I think this is really gratifying for everybody who has put on a uniform for us the last ten years.

Speaker: Have a good call with your sister.

Speaker: Yeah I will, thanks, man.

Speaker: Thanks. All right.

Speaker: Boy, you can bet his sister Jen, they talked last week after the semifinal win about their late father, Joe. And. Yeah, Joe was proud last week. He's really proud this week. What a showing by Nevada.

Speaker: 100%. Super impressive from start to finish. They definitely earned it today.

Speaker: Well, another champion has been crowned here in Cedar Falls for the first time in school history. Nevada is your football state champions and Class 3A 27 to 6. They take down Bishop Heelan. Don't forget one more championship trophy to be earned. It is tonight. Prime time football. Hope you can join us. We're back on at 7:00 right here on Iowa PBS.

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