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The Wapsie Valley Warriors (10-0) were tested Friday in the second round of the Class A playoffs by the Maquoketa Valley Wildcats (7-3). The Wildcats had an upset on their mind and came close to achieving one but were held off by a determined Warriors squad. Wapsie Valley remains undefeated and will move on to the quarterfinal round Friday.

The intensity level was set on high from the first set of downs.

Wapsie Valley had the opening possession, but the drive was shut down immediately as Hunter Curley fumbled on the first play from scrimmage, turning the ball over to the Wildcats on the Wapsie 16-yard line. Maquoketa Valley’s quarterback Brady Wall found Anderson Holtz in the endzone for a touchdown on their first play. With only 21 seconds taken off the clock, the Wildcats were up 7-0.

Wapsie Valley found themselves with good field position, returning the ensuing kickoff to the Wildcats’ 46-yard line. On first down, Wapsie running back Cadyn Dana took a handoff from quarterback Caleb Hogan, blew through the defensive line, and outran the secondary to tie the game at 7-7. There was still 11:24 remaining in the first quarter.

After forcing a Wildcats’ three-and-out, the Warriors found themselves with good field position again, taking over near midfield. On a second down run play running back Hunter Curley ran to his left, broke a tackle, and followed the sideline to the endzone to put the Warriors ahead 14-7 with 8:21 left in the first.

The Warriors were deep in their own territory on their next possession and suffered a scare as Curley came out of the game with what appeared to be an ankle injury. More misfortune came the Warriors’ way on a fourth and six punt. A snap over punter Andrew Tiedts’ head forced a fumble that was recovered by the Wildcats at the Warriors’ seven-yard line. Maquoketa Valley running back Dylan Knipper tied the game at 14-14 on a five-yard touchdown run with 2:12 remaining in the first.

Both teams struggled with turnovers in the second quarter. Maquoketa Valley threw two interceptions and fumbled once while Wapsie Valley had one interception in the quarter. Neither offensive squad were able to capitalize off the turnovers and the half ended in a 14-14 tie.

The beginning of the second half was a defensive battle with neither team posing a scoring threat until late in the third quarter. The Warriors moved into scoring position on a 13-yard run by Dana and a Maquoketa Valley facemask call. Curley walked off his first quarter injury and added some yardage on carries, putting the ball inside the ten-yard line of Maquoketa Valley. Hogan completed a nine-yard pass to Landon Moulds on a fourth and four call and put the Warriors up 21-14 with 3:01 left in the third.

Wapsie Valley threatened again late in the third, moving into scoring position on a 46-yard run by Dana to put the Warriors on the Wildcats’ 18-yard line. The Maquoketa Valley defense shut down the drive, setting up a fourth and goal at the seven-yard line. Warriors’ kicker Reece Hagenow added some insurance points with a 24-yard field goal with 9:04 left in the game.

Any offensive threat by the Wildcats was thwarted by an unyielding Wapsie defense in the fourth quarter. Wapsie Valley forced a Maquoketa Valley interception and a turnover on downs as the clock worked against the Wildcats. A last gasp Maquoketa Valley drive late in the fourth was stopped on an interception by Warriors’ linebacker Blake Hesse. Hesse picked off Wall’s pass and returned it 40-yards to the Wildcats’ 22-yard line. The Warriors took a knee and allowed time to expire, coming away with a 24-14 victory.

The win moves Wapsie Valley to the Class A quarterfinal round. The game will pit the Warriors against the Lynnville-Sully Hawks (9-1) on Friday at Wapsie’s Jerry Southmayd field.

Duane Foster, head coach of the Warriors, had this to say about the game against Maquoketa Valley. “Friday was a hard fought win for our guys. They fought through a lot of adversity and I am proud of them for that. A lot of guys stepped up and made plays for the team. Maquoketa Valley gave us a lot of trouble moving the ball but our guys stayed the course and did what they had to do to win the game.�

Looking forward to the quarterfinal game, Coach Foster said, “Next Friday will be another tough test for our guys. Lynnville-Sully has a lot of tremendous players. They have an offense that puts a lot of stress on teams. They have a lot of moving parts which makes it difficult to prepare for. We are excited for the opportunity for our guys and another opportunity for them to show what they have worked so hard for.�

The game with Lynnville-Sully begins at 7:00 on Friday.

1 2 3 4 T

Maquoketa Valley 14 0 0 0 14

Wapsie Valley 14 0 7 3 24

Wapsie Valley individual offensive stats

Passing: Caleb Hogan, 4/8 – 44 yards, 1 TD, 2 INT.

Rushing: Cadyn Dana, 19 — 138 yards; Hunter Curley, 17 — 82 yards; Caleb Hogan, 2 – 6 yards; Gavin Henry, 1 – 1 yard; Andrew Tiedt, 1 – neg 18 yards.

Receiving: Carter Kaufman, 1 – 25 yards; Landen Moulds, 2 – 14 yards; Braden Bantz, 1 – 5 yards.

Wapsie Vallley individual defensive stats

Tackles: Carter Kaufman, 6.0, 6 solo, 2.0 TFL, 2.0 sacks; Andrew Tiedt, 5.0, 3 solo, 1.0 TFL; Cooper Adair, 4.0, 3 solo, 1.0 TFL; Gavin Henry, 4.0, 4 solo; Cadyn Dana, 3.5, 2 solo, 1.0 TFL; Braden Bantz, 2.0, 2 solo; Blake Hesse, 2.0, 2 solo; Landen Moulds, 2.0, 2 solo; Luke Riordan, 2.0, 1 solo; Hunter Curley, 1.5; Hayden Ryherd, 0.5; Carver Schares, 0.5.

Fumbles: Carter Kaufman, 1 FF; Cooper Adair, 1 REC.

Interceptions: Carver Schares, 2 – 0 yards; Blake Hesse, 1 – 52 yards.

Wapsie Valley special teams stats

Kick returns: Braden Bantz, 2 – 85 yards.

Punt returns: Landen Moulds, 3 – 35 yards.

Kicking: Reece Hagenow, FG 1/1 – 24 yards, PAT 3/3; Carter Kaufman, KO 3 – 165 yards.

Punting: Braden Bantz, 5 – 169 yards.

Two-point conversions: 0/0