Burgess bombs boost Braves; Mishandle hurts Hawks

Eddie Burgess threw for 575 yards and eight touchdowns, plus a rushing score, to lead No. 5 Montezuma to a 62-35 thrashing of No. 8 Easton Valley in the 8-player quarterfinals Friday at Badger-Gabriel Field in Montezuma.

It's the first time the Braves (10-0) will make the trek to the UNI-Dome since 2006. The River Hawks (9-2) stumbled in the final eight for the second straight year.

Burgess, a junior, had 413 yards in the first half as Montezuma had three of its final five first-half drives go one play, each of them 50 yards or more on the score.

A trifecta of Braves receivers - Cole Watts, Trey Shearer and Kodie Strong - each finished with over 135 yards and all had multiple touchdowns.

- Zach Martin, Quad-City Times

NORTH SCOTT 24, WEST DELAWARE 21 - No. 8 North Scott snuck out a victory after No. 9 West Delaware fumbled at the 2-yard line going in for the go-ahead score late in the game. Instead of a Hawk win, the ball bounced into the end zone, and the Lancers recovered in a Class 3A state quarterfinal Friday in Eldridge.

North Scott (7-1) advances to play top-ranked Cedar Rapids Xavier (10-0) in the state semifinals at 7:30 p.m. Thursday in Cedar Falls.

Wyatt Voelker scored three touchdowns for West Delaware (10-2), which led 21-7 at halftime.

Hunter Davenport had a big interception for the Lancers that led to a TD that made it 21-14. Max Solis scored the game-tying touchdown for North Scott, and Oliver Hughes kicked the game-winning field goal.

The Hawks were trailing 24-21 when, on the last drive of the game, quarterback Jared Voss dove for the end zone and lost the football, and the Lancers got the fortuitous recovery.

- Andrew Thill, Dubuque Telegraph Herald