The champion vs. the favorite

GILBERTVILLE - At this time last year, the New London and Don Bosco football teams were in an eerily similar position. The Tigers had just used a big win over Montezuma to earn an at-large bid into the Class 8-Man playoffs, and Don Bosco was getting set to enter the postseason as one of the big favorites to win it all.

The Tigers were all set to hit the road to take on Gladbrook-Reinbeck, a district champion that had earned a shot to host the first round. The Dons were getting ready to play their first game in the comfort of their own hometown.

In 2018, both New London and Don Bosco walked off the field with wins. The Tigers made a statement by blasting Gladbrook-Reinbeck 60-12, and Don Bosco ran through a solid Central City team 62-37.

When the two teams meet on Friday night, the Dons will be wearing their home uniforms and the Tigers will fill the visiting sideline, just like the year before. This time, though, only one team will survive.

For New London, it's the fifth do-or-die game in a row. After falling to 1-2 in district play with losses to Lone Tree and HLV respectively, the Tigers found their backs against the wall going into the second half of the season.

'When we lost our second game, we never stopped believing,” said head coach Mark McSorley, the man who led the Tigers to their first ever state title last year. 'We knew we would have to win the rest of our games in the district, but knew we were capable of doing that. It would have been real easy to write off the season and give in, but this team is not like that. We have a lot of seniors this year and kids who played in the dome last year and they were not going to let that happen.”

Not only did the Tigers win their last four games of the season, but they did it in style. The New London offense was unmerciful in the final four games of the season, averaging an incredible 73 points per game. Those four wins included two against would-be playoff teams, Iowa Valley and Montezuma. The Tigers beat IV 68-32 and Montezuma 94-68, spoiling their postseason hopes and leaping both in the RPI rankings along the way.

The Tigers made a somewhat surprising leap back into the playoff picture in 2019. New London only lost six seniors from last season, but that included an All-Star cast. The Tigers said goodbye to their starting quarterback, running back, top two pass-catchers and kicker.

New London knew going into the season it would have to lean on its power running game in order to make up for the losses of their top-four skill players. What they did not know is they were about to lose their leading returner as well.

Jordan Johnson, a senior running back who scored six touchdowns in the playoffs last season, and two in the state championship game alone, went out with a season-ending knee injury before the first game even kicked off. He and Shae Summerfield, who was coming back from his own season-ending injury the year before, were hoping to share the load and carry the offense back into the playoffs.

'This team has been through a lot this year, not just the players but coaches as well,” Coach McSorley says. 'Trying to figure out how to fill those holes left by our graduating seniors last year wasn't an easy task. Jordan no doubt would have been a key player on our team this year, offensively and defensively. Unfortunately, he has been sidelined the whole season. He has been an inspiration to the coaches and players with his presence at practice every day. He continues to show his leadership even though he isn't able to be out there on the field.”

Even with all those players out, the team showed its offensive muscle early. The Tigers beat up on Williams Bay, Wisconsin 60-0 in the first game of the year. They dumped Moravia 71-12 in their home opener, and then outlasted WACO 56-50, in three overtimes, to start the year 3-0. In just the Moravia and WACO games alone, Summerfield tallied up 590 yards rushing and 11 touchdowns. It was clear, the Tigers were still a forced to be reckoned with.

Still though, New London didn't reach the height of its offensive potential until the midway point. Against one of the toughest districts in the class, the Tigers have went four games in a row with 50 points or more, almost all of it on the ground.

'Our offense has started clicking,” Coach McSorley said. 'We got all of our lineman back from last year championship team. These kids know what it takes to win, work hard, lead, and win the big games. We have been able to score a lot of points by our execution and commitment to the run game. A great combination of a good offensive line and good running backs to get the ball into the end zone.”

Summerfield, once told he may never play high school sports again, has become the most unstoppable force in not just the class, but the entire state of Iowa. He leads the state in rushing yards (2,117) and touchdowns (34).

And it's not only their senior powerhouse that is biting off huge chunks of yards. Summerfield averages 11.1 yards per carry, but second-leading rusher Blaise Porter, although currently sidelined with an ankle injury, averages 13.2. In total, the Tigers have nine players averaging five yards or more on the ground.

As a team, New London leads the class in rushing yards (3,431) and touchdowns (61). They are also fifth in total points, sitting at 543. Sophomore quarterback Ethan Streeter has only had to throw the ball 48 times, completing exactly half of those passes for 328 yards, seven touchdowns and two interceptions.

The Tigers, however, face two major problems this Friday ... Don Bosco's offense, and Don Bosco's defense.

The offense, led by star running back Thomas Evan (1,416 yards, 25 TDs) and dual-threat quarterback Cael Frost (1,684 total yards, 35 TDs, 1 INT), has scored the second-most points in the class, with 568. In fact, the lowest scoring game for the Dons was a 44-0 win at Gladbrook-Reinbeck at the beginning of the season. Since then, they've scored at minimum 56 points in every game.

The Don Bosco defense did just have its worst outing of the year, giving up 18 points against Riceville. That was the first time the Dons had given up more than 14, and only the second time an opponent has reached double-digits.

The Dons also have quite the chip on their shoulder, despite being the odds on favorites to win it all this year. They suffered a stunning second-round upset last season against Rockford. After pummeling them 80-6 at Rockford early in the season, Don Bosco was shocked 32-26 on their own home field. That Rockford team, of course, is the team New London thrashed 55-14 in last year's state championship game.

Something's got to give on Friday night. Who will prevail? Will heavily-favored Don Bosco hold home field and finally put an end to New London's reign, or will the defending champions add Don Bosco to its list of postseason victims?