WACO edged by Don Bosco in second round battle

GILBERTVILLE — WACO football’s season came to a close on Friday night as the No. 10 Warrior’s were edged by No. 8 Don Bosco in a tightly contested matchup.

The Dons won the 8-Player second round battle 28-20 over the Warriors.

Right out of the gate, Don Bosco marched the ball all the way into the Warrior 20, but WACO stood tall.

WACO stunted Don Bosco four straight times to force a turnover on downs and to kick off its first offensive drive.

The Warriors didn’t miss a beat offensively early, as they put together a seven-play drive that spanned 60 yards, ending with a pass from Clayton Miller to Colton Leichty for the first touchdown of the night.

The score gave WACO a 7-0 lead, but it was short-lived as Don Bosco answered back.

The Dons’ Kaiden Knaack finished off an eight-play drive with a rushing score to knot the game at 7-7.

WACO kept on the gas on its second drive of the evening as the Warriors finished with six once again.

This time the Warriors ran 14 plays and went over 64 yards, finishing with a touchdown run from Reece Oswald.

With the touchdown and extra point, WACO held a 14-7 advantage at the break.

With the ball in their hands to start the second half, WACO had a great opportunity to create additional separation, but a fumble in its own half gave Don Bosco great field position.

Despite the turnover, the Warriors defense came up big again and earned a take-away themselves as Joel Meyer picked off the Dons pass on a tipped ball.

However, WACO couldn’t capitalize and after punting back to Don Bosco, the Dons tied the game at 14-14 heading into the fourth quarter.

To begin the fourth, the Warriors again broke the tie as a 41-yard touchdown from Miller to Leichty put the Warriors up 20-14. WACO missed the extra point, which meant Don Bosco needed just one touchdown to tie it.

The Dons did just that.

After a long return by Knaack, the Dons scored on their next play for their first lead of the contest.

From then on out, WACO couldn’t get back into an offensive rhythm and a 41-yard touchdown pass to Ben Belew extended Don Bosco’s lead to eight, which would be enough to win it.

Clayton Miller went 6-for-16 in the loss with 99 yards and two passing touchdowns.

On the ground, Louden Huisenga ran for 88 yards. Miller tallied 47 yards and Reece Oswald finished with 20 yards and one score.

Colton Leichty led the Warriors with three catches for 70 yards and two touchdowns.

On defense, Huisenga finished with 12 tackles, followed by Leichty with 11.

With the win, Don Bosco moves on to face Winfield-Mt. Union with a trip to the UNI Dome on the line.

WACO ends its 2023 campaign with a 7-2 record.

The Warriors say goodbye to a stout group of seniors in Hunter Hughes, John McLaughlin, Brian Neal, Colton Leichty, Reece Oswald, Chase Waterhouse, Traic Bird, and Jonathan Heather.