Waukon football will play for chance at second State Championship in three seasons against OABCIG this Friday
The top-rated and top-seeded Waukon football team has played its way to the Class 2A State Championship game for the third time in the last seven years and the second time in the last three seasons, facing a fourth-seeded OABCIG (Odebolt-Arthur-Battle Creek-Ida Grove) team that will be making its first-ever State Championship appearance in the history of any of the football programs that make up that consolidated program. The Indians come off a 32-14 semifinals win over 11th-seeded Williamsburg and OABCIG defeated third-seeded Algona, 41-32, in a battle of two other undefeated teams. Their championship game will be played this Friday, November 22 at 1 p.m. in the UNI-Dome in Cedar Falls.
OABCIG has racked up more points than any other Class 2A team this season, 555, with the Indians next in line with 507. The Indian offense has totaled 426 points in comparison to the Falcons’ 414 points scored either on the ground or through the air, with the Falcons also adding 72 points on touchdown returns from six interceptions, one fumble recovery, one kick-off return and three punt returns to paydirt. OABCIG is fueled by a passing attack that has racked up 3,356 yards to lead Class 2A and rank second among all teams in the state of Iowa on 223-for-380 passing with 41 touchdowns and 14 interceptions, with the Indians managing a Class 2A seventh-best 2,285 yards through the air on 145-for-244 passing with 31 touchdowns and eight interceptions. That Falcon air attack features a pair of 1,000-yard receivers after this past Saturday’s semifinals game, but one of those, sophomore Easton Harms, suffered a leg injury that forced him out of the game late and had him on crutches after the game, but not until after he amassed 228 yards and two touchdowns on 15 receptions.
The Indian ground game ranks second among Class 2A teams with 2,758 yards, with OABCIG’s rushing attack amassing just 1,654 yards to rank in the middle of this season’s 54 Class 2A teams, although the Falcons’ 8.3 yards per carry ranks best among Class 2A teams, just ahead of the Tribe’s second-best 8.0 yards per carry. OABCIG junior quarterback Cooper DeJean has racked up more than 1,100 yards on the ground, with his combined passing and rushing efforts totaling more than 4,400 yards to lead all players in the entire state of Iowa this season.
OABCIG’s defense leads Class 2A with 39 turnovers this fall, including a Class 2A-leading 21 interceptions that have been returned for a state-leading seven touchdowns. The Indians rank third in Class 2A with 18 interceptions and sixth with 15 fumble recoveries.
