Waukon football team makes late fourth-down stop to secure 24-22 triumph over New Hampton, advancement down State Play-Off trail
The start of “The Stop” ... Members of the Waukon football defense converge on New Hampton runningback Braden McShane (#30) on the decisive final play that solidified the 24-22 Indian victory at home over the Chickasaws in the opening round of the Class 2A State Play-Offs Friday, October 21. Senior linebacker Sean Bieber (#8) awaits McShane head-on, with (left to right) seniors Logan Lubahn and Nash Pearson, junior Kole McCormick and senior Kael Crawford moving in to help finish off the stop that left McShane five yards shy of the goal line and short of a first down on the fourth down play with just 17 seconds left in the ballgame, clinching the two-point Indian win and their advancement on to the next round of the Class 2A State Play-Offs. View and find out how to purchase this photo and many more by clicking on the Photo Galleries link on this webpage.
Indians will host rematch with Crestwood Friday in Class 2A State Play-Off second round
In a battle of big plays vs. a big back, it was a big play against that big back that ultimately secured a big win, 24-22, for the Waukon football team in its opening-round Class 2A State Play-Off game against New Hampton at home Friday, October 21. That final big play in a series of several that were key to the two-point grid Tribe victory came on a final fourth-down attempt inside the Tribe’s 10-yard line with less than 30 seconds to play in the contest, where the Indian defense wrapped up one final rushing try by Chickasaw 6’2” 204-pound junior runningback Braden McShane short of a first down, and even more importantly, short of the end zone to preserve the two-point Indian victory.
“I think the feeling was that they were going to try to get the ball to McShane somehow, as he made plays for them all night long,” Waukon football coach Chad Beermann said of his team’s game-sealing defensive stand. “So, whenever or however he got the ball, we needed to get as many people to him as possible. I think six kids were involved in the tackle, two more had turned him back inside, and another two were within two yards of the tackle at the end of the play.”
The win improves the grid Tribe’s overall record to 6-3 and advances the Indians to a second-round State Play-Off contest that will be a rematch with another fellow Northeast Iowa Conference squad when Crestwood comes back to town this Friday, October 28. The Cadets had previously handed the grid Tribe a 44-20 loss in a third defeat as part of a 0-3 non-district start to this season for the Indians, holding the Tribe to just 30 yards rushing while racking up 235 yards and five touchdowns of their own via the rushing game.
“Some aspects will be similar, but we have several kids playing in different positions than we did when we played seven weeks ago,” Coach Beermann said of his team meeting up with the Cadets once again. “Crestwood had over 400 yards rushing against North Fayette Valley, mostly by their QB. Their line does a great job blocking for him. So, we will again be challenged up front.”
Game time this Friday is scheduled for 7 p.m. Tickets will be on sale ONLY through the online Hometown Ticketing service, as required by the Iowa High School Athletic Association. There will be no tickets available for cash purchase at the gate the night of the football game. Tickets can only be purchased at https://www.iahsaa.org/tickets/. For any questions regarding the Hometown Ticketing service, call 1-866-488-4849 and enter Option 1.
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