Waukon football team secures first undefeated district championship in Class 2A era, first-round play-off game at home with 40-22 win over North Fayette Valley
Denying the defense ... Waukon football sophomore runningback Ethan O’Neill stiff arms this North Fayette Valley defender on his way to the endzone in the Indians’ 40-22 home victory over the TigerHawks Friday, October 19. O’Neill finished the game with nearly 150 yards of total offense, carrying the ball 20 times for 96 yards and catching seven passes for 48 more yards. View and find out how to purchase this photo and many more by clicking on the Photo Galleries link on this website.
Already knowing they had wrapped up a fifth State Play-Off berth since beginning play in the Class 2A field in 2012, the Waukon football team still had a great deal to play for when it hosted North Fayette Valley in the final game of the 2018 regular season and Class 2A District 4 play Friday, October 19. Regardless of the game’s final result, the Indians were going to have at least a share of this season’s district championship and guaranteed play-off qualification, but they also knew a win would give the program its first outright district championship and undefeated league mark since joining the Class 2A ranks, as well as the hosting of at least their first play-off game.
“It is quite an accomplishment for our small group of seniors,” Waukon football coach Chad Beermann said of his team’s district crown. “They had little success in junior high, not winning much in seventh or eighth grade and as a stand-alone class, but they were the mortar that held this wall together. I think my assistant coaches (Jed Hemann, Ted and Jon Snitker, along with Bob Wasson, Chris Dahlstrom, Blaine Snitker and volunteers Jarod Dahlstrom and Caleb Ferring) did a great job getting the juniors and sophomores to a position where they could play at a high enough level to fill in the gaps around the seniors.”
Finishing the regular season with an 8-1 overall record and an unblemished District 4 championship record of 5-0, the Indians will now make their fifth State Play-Off appearance in the last seven seasons since joining Class 2A. The grid Tribe will host a somewhat familiar foe in beginning its Class 2A postseason trail, as Union of La Porte City will come to town this Friday, October 26. Further details of the Tribe’s postseason possibilities appear elsewhere on these Sports pages in a shaded box.
“We’ve had a pretty extensive history with Union here at Waukon over the past several years,” Coach Beermann said, looking ahead to his team’s postseason possibilities. “They are always well coached and want to get after you on the line of scrimmage. We are glad to be playing them at home. On the other side, Cresco was one of our closest wins this year and it always is a challenge to play a team twice. Algona was undefeated through eight weeks, then lost a heart-breaker this past Friday. If we manage to win this Friday, we should get to host the quarterfinals as well.”
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