Tigers fall to No. 5 WACO

WAYLAND — it was 10th-ranked Iowa Valley versus No. 5 WACO in a Class 8 District 6 showdown last Friday night at Wayland, and when everything was said and done, the Warriors owned themselves a 46-22 win over the Tigers.

Led by junior quarterback Clayten Miller, WACO built a 20-0 halftime and stretched that to 32-6 in the third quarter before getting outscored 14-12 over the final 12 minutes.

But for Iowa Valley, it was too little, too late.

Miller did damage with both his legs and arm, rushing 13 times for 125 yards and two touchdowns and completing 5 of 7 passes for 84 yards and two more scores.

Junior running back Loudon Huisenga caught both TD passes from Miller and rushed for 84 yards and two more scores as the Warriors finished the night with 312 yards of total offense.

The Tigers, on the other hand, were held to 215 yards and turned the ball over three times on two interceptions and a fumble.

Juniors Carter Hassebroek and Owen Bral, on runs of five and four yards, and Nolan Kriegel, on a pass to Caleb Haack, accounted for Iowa Valley’s scoring.

Kriegel, a freshman, completed seven passes for 109 yards and Haack, a junior, was his favorite target with four receptions for 88 yards and the TD.

It was the first loss of the season for the Tigers, who fell to 2-1 overall, 0-1 in the district. The Warriors improved to 2-0, 1-0.

Iowa Valley coach Casey Krull said this was a “very physical game and Waco is a really good team. We did some positive things, offensively and defensively, throughout the game and had our chances to make big plays, but just couldn't quite get it done. WACO deserves all the credit. They are really good up front and made it hard for us to run the football.”

The Tigers will try to get back on the winning track this Friday night at home against New London (0-2), while the Warriors, in a game that’s still early but could decide the district championship, travels to third-ranked Winfield-Mount Union (2-0).