Waukon football team wraps up non-district schedule with 28-19 upset triumph at home over Class 3A top-10 rated Independence
Corraling a Mustang ... Waukon football junior Carson Hager wrestles down an Independence ball carrier in the Indians’ 28-19 home triumph over the Class 3A top-10 rated Mustangs Friday, September 8. Hager had this one solo tackle for loss of yards and also caught two passes for 30 yards. View and find out how to purchase this photo and many more by clicking on the Photo Galleries link on this webpage.
For those who didn’t give the Waukon football team much of a chance in hosting Class 3A top-10 rated Independence in the Tribe’s final non-district game of this regular season Friday, September 8, the Indian grid gang made believers out of many, while others may have walked away from that match-up with thoughts of “unbelievable” coursing through their mind.
Whatever the thought, there was no denying the final score, nor the effort that produced it, as the yet winless football Indians went toe-to-toe with the undefeated Mustangs from the larger school. Coming up with timely plays when they needed to, the grid Tribe slugged out just a 7-0 halftime lead and then held off a second half comeback effort by its Independence guests to claim a 28-19 triumph.
“We realize we are young, especially in football experience,” Waukon football coach Chad Beermann said. “Our staff has been teaching Football 101 to this group as we move along. The kids have stayed positive, continued to work and grow, and we’ve seen improvement week by week. Both teams were playing without their starting tailback, but I believe our injury occurred earlier in the week so we had more time to prepare.”
The Indians will now open up their Class 2A District 3 schedule at North Fayette Valley this Friday, September 15. The TigerHawks played through a winless non-district schedule of three games, but all three of those games were against teams ranked among their respective class peers, including a 50-22 season-opening loss at home to the Independence team the Indians just upset. North Fayette Valley also comes off a 27-14 road loss at Sumner-Fredericksburg and a 35-14 defeat at home against Denver this past Friday, September 8.
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