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Washington Evening Journal
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Dome sweet dome!
WMU football back to semifinals for 1st time since 1999
GILBERTVILLE — Nearly 25 years after the last Winfield-Mount Union football team played at the UNI-Dome in Cedar Falls, the Wolves are finally going back.
Top-ranked WMU survived an absolute dogfight on the Don Bosco football field in Gilbertville. A heavyweight fight saw the Wolves staging to a five-point lead in the final seconds, when the final Don Bosco drive ended with a throw to the end zone, where senior Cole Milks lept up and picked off the potential game-winning pass right at the goal-line on the final play of the game.
Milks, who had been landed on awkwardly in the first half, was playing with a bad shoulder, yet somehow managed to come up with the game-saving play in front of a raucous crowd of both home and visiting fans.
“I barely caught it,” said Milks. “I don't know how. I gave it everything I had left.”
Don Bosco had rallied from a 34-22 fourth quarter deficit. Star quarterback Kaiden Knaack scored on a run with 6:29 remaining, and had marched his team down the field on a drive that started with 2:35 left on the clock, inside the Dons’ 15-yard line. Knaack had already run for three touchdowns and thrown for one in the contest.
“I don't know if I even remember it happening,” said WMU head coach Scott McCarty about the final play. “I watched him. He squirted out, and I was worried he was going to take off.”
On a drive that included a 4th-and-9 conversion, Don Bosco had a first down at the 12-yard line with 26 seconds on the clock. The Dons had run out of timeouts, but the Wolves’ backs were squarely against the wall.
Not only was Milks playing hurt, but two of WMU’s best defenders had been knocked out of the game. Junior Lane Genkinger, who has been a postseason standout was injured on the opening drive, and senior Cam Buffington, who came into the game hurt, went out in the fourth quarter.
Genkinger, Buffington, and what seemed like the entire WMU school district stood inches away from the field, trying to will the Wolves’ defense to one final stop.
“My gut was just wrenched,” said Buffington. “If something happened when I wasn't in there, I wouldn't have been able to live with myself.”
After a first down incompletion, Knaack fell victim to a sack when Eli Miller and Cooper Buffington bull rushed into the backfield, and the ladder wrestled Knaack down to the ground. The Dons had to waste the third down play on a spike, and that left just one more chance to win it.
Fortunately, Milks’ interception was instead the exclamation mark on the Wolves’ run to the Dome.
“Our defense has been huge all night,” McCarty said. “I'm super proud of our defensive guys.”
After falling into an early hole when Don Bosco scored on the first drive, WMU took its first lead midway through the first quarter when Jake Edwards found Abram Edwards on a 23-yard touchdown pass. The 2-point conversion made it 8-6, where it stood until the end of the opening period.
WMU stretched that lead to 14-6, when Jake Edwards found Miller on a nine-yard touchdown pass early in the second quarter. Don Bosco, however, would tie it at 14-14 shortly after.
Cam Buffington’s first carries of the game came late in the third quarter after an Abram Edwards fumble recovery. The senior star, who came in with a lower-body injury, carried the ball twice in a row from the 11-yard line. The first took the ball to the goal line, and the second punched it in. The two-point conversion made it 22-14.
Don Bosco scored a big touchdown with just 24 seconds left in the half. The Dons completed a 23-yard touchdown pass, and the two-point conversion tied the game at 22-22 before halftime.
Despite being hampered with injuries and giving up momentum before the half, WMU was the sharper team in the third quarter. The Wolves broke the tie on a 56-yard touchdown pass, as a scrambling Edwards found Carter Loyd wide-open down the sideline for the biggest offensive play of the night.
“We've been run-heavy all year,” said Abram Edwards after the game. “We showed today that we can come out and pass the ball.”
WMU scored once more in the third, giving the ball to Cam Buffington from two-yards out. Both two-point conversions failed, however, leaving the score at 34-22.
After Don Bosco’s fourth-quarter score made it 34-29, the Wolves were forced to punt, leading to the final intense drive, which was ended by the Milks interception.
Jake Edwards threw for 214 yards and three touchdowns in the game. The junior quarterback spread the ball out to three receivers, but Loyd had the biggest night, catching three passes for 106 yards and one touchdown.
Abram Edwards caught three passes as well. He went for 75 yards and one score. Miller caught three balls for 25 yards and a touchdown.
Milks had just four carries on the night, but he led the team with 54 yards. Cam Buffington ended the night with 46 yards and two touchdowns.
Kael Johnson led the defense with 10 tackles on the night. Loyd had nine tackles, and both Miller and Abram Edwards had eight.
Abram Edwards’ fumble recovery and Milks’ interception were the only two takeaways in the game.
The top-ranked Wolves, now 11-0, will face Bishop Garrigan (10-1) in the Class 8-Player semifinals on Wednesday at 10 a.m. No. 3 Bedford (11-0) and No. 7 Gladbrook-Reinbeck (10-1) will play in the second semifinal.
“The whole town basically came out today,” said Jake Edwards. “I can only imagine what it's going to be like next week when we're playing for a lot more.”
