Plainsmen get statement win

BELLE PLAINE — Belle Plaine senior Ty Alcott knew undefeated and ranked Iowa Valley would be no easy test coming to town Friday night to close out the 8-player regular season.

“That’s a great team,” Alcott said of the Tigers. “They’ve showed it all season, but we practiced hard all week and we knew what we were capable of.”

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The Plainsmen certainly showed that and executed their style of play in a 30-24 victory.

“We did a good job controlling the line of scrimmage,” Belle Plaine head coach Todd Bohlen said on the win.

Physicality up front offensively and defensively were key for the Plainsmen all night.

“Up front we blocked like crazy tonight,” Alcott said. “That’s where it all starts, you can’t do much without a good line performance and ours did a good job on both sides of the ball.”

The Tigers struck first, driving down the field and finishing with a Nolan Kriegel run from three yards out. The two-point conversion was no good.

The Plainsmen responded instantly. Alcott ran the ball in from three yards and Belle Plaine made the conversion for an 8-6 lead.

The Plainsmen made the first of multiple fourth down stops, shutting down a run up the middle on fourth-and -four.

Alcott connected deep with Lane Vokoun for a 27-yard touchdown pass which extended the lead to 16-6.

Just before the half, after a 46-yard run by Dane Smith, the Tigers had the ball at the 10.

Downs wen to fourth-and-10, but two straight pass interference calls on the Plainsmen defense gave the Tigers another chance at the three.

The Plainsmen got a pass deflection and a key stop to keep the momentum and the 16-6 lead into half.

Coming out of the half, the Tigers drove the ball down the field and faced fourth and goal from the seven.

The Tigers drew up a nice play to get the receiver open but could not come down with the catch.

Two plays later, Alcott broke free on an outside run and sprinted 74 yards for a touchdown, making it 22-6 Plainsmen.

One play later, Layne Peska connected with Caleb Haack for a 40-yard score.

After a defensive stop, Kriegel connected with Haack, this time for a 56-yard score. For the third time in a row, the Tigers could not convert the two-point conversion.

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“We actually practiced a lot on trying to defend some of their two-point and short yardage plays,” Bohlen said.

The Plainsmen were able to move the ball down the field again, but after a holding call, it was first-and-20 at the 21-yard line.

Alcott threw the ball up to Aidan Timm, who made a spectacular one-handed catch that set up an Alcott touchdown run — his third of the night.

On the ensuing possession, after a few first downs, the Tigers had the ball inside the 10 again.

On fourth and three, Dane Smith took a reverse to the outside and scored.

After another failed conversion attempt, the score was 30-24 with 5:31 remaining.

The Plainsmen melted some clock and punted the ball to the Tigers’ six with 2:16 remaining.

After a first down run by Peska, the Tigers threw the ball deep. It was intercepted by Alcott with 1:06 remaining, sealing the game victory for the Plainsmen.

“This win gives us a lot of confidence,” Alcott said. “Losing to Montezuma, that helped fuel the fire. That one really hurt, and we really wanted this one.”

The 8-player playoffs begin next Friday as both teams finish their regular seasons at 7-1.

“We want to be playing our best football now and I think we are,” Bohlen said. “The Montezuma game helped prepare us for this.”

Both teams will have first-round home playoff games Friday. The Plainsmen welcomes Bedford, and Southeast Warren will travel to Iowa Valley.

Belle Plaine 30, Iowa Valley 24

(AT BELLE PLAINE)

IV BP

Rushes-yards 35-215 49-300

Passing yards 134 47

Comp-att-int 6-13-1 3-6-0

Total yards 349 347

Fumbles-lost 0-0 0-0

Punts-average 1-30 2-34.5

Penalties-yards 7-65 9-68

Iowa Valley 6 0 12 6 — 24

Belle Plaine 0 16 6 8 — 30

IV — Nolan Kriegel 3 run (conversion no good)

BP— Ty Alcott 3 run (Alcott run)

BP— Lane Vokoun 27 pass from Alcott (Alcott pass to Vokoun)

BP— Alcott 74 run (conversion no good)

IV— Caleb Haack 40 pass from Layne Peska (conversion no good)

IV — Haack 56 pass from Kriegel (conversion no good)

BP— Alcott 1 run (Alcott run)

IV— Dane Smith 3 run (conversion no good)

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

Rushing — Iowa Valley: Dane Smith 7-84, Nolan Kriegel 20-78, Chance Hoyt 5-32, Layne Peska 1-20, Ian Smith 2-1; Belle Plaine: Alcott 31-212, Wade Sankot 8-37, Vokoun 6-34, Aidan Timm 4-19

Passing — Iowa Valley: Kriegel 5-10-94-1, Peska 1-3-40-1 Belle Plaine: Alcott 2-3-45-1; Timm 1-3-2

Receiving — Iowa Valley: Caleb Haack 3-110, Ian Smith 2-15, Owen Bral 1-9; Belle Plaine: Vokoun 1-27, Timm 1-18, Alcott 1-2