WACO to battle Don Bosco in round two

DON BOSCO — One more win for WACO and the Warriors will be heading back to the Class 8-Player quarterfinals.

The No. 10 Warriors downed Baxter in their first round matchup, 55-20, but now WACO will take on an even tougher Don Bosco unit.

In the Dons opening round, they routed West Central 58-0.

WACO and Don Bosco both enter with just one loss, with the Warriors sitting at 7-1 and the Dons 8-1.

WACO’s lone loss came against No. 1 Winfield-Mt. Union, while Don Bosco’s only loss came in the first game of the season against previous No. 1 Gladbrook-Reinbeck.

WACO has given teams trouble on both the ground and through the air this season.

In the run game, Louden Huisenga has been stellar.

The junior has rushed for 676 yards and 11 touchdowns. He’s also a big part of the passing attack as he’s caught 14 balls for 191 yards and five touchdowns.

Quarterback, junior Clayton Miller can get it done with his arm or leg.

Miller has thrown for 743 yards and 16 touchdowns with just one interception.

On the ground he’s tallied 278 yards with five scores. Senior Reece Oswald helps that running attack with 244 yards and eight touchdowns.

Miller’s top target this season has been senior Colton Leichty. Leichty has reeled in 17 catches for 203 yards and three scores.

Gage Samo (134 yards) and Isaac Rich (102 yards) both have over 100 yards receiving as well.

Defensively, Huisenga and Leichty both lead with 42 tackles. Huisenga had 10 tackles for a loss, while Leichty leads the Warriors with 15.5.

Much like last year, WACO has been phenomenal at taking the ball away with season. The Warriors have 23 takeaways, 15 interceptions and eight fumble recoveries.

Senior Hunter Hughes has a team-high five interceptions. Miller, Huisenga and Leichty all have two fumble recoveries a piece.

Don Bosco likes to ground and pound the ball.

Senior Kaiden Knaack is averaging 10.6 yards per carry with 1,482 yards and 31 touchdowns.

It doesn’t end there for the Dons, as sophomore Ty Christensen has 783 yards and 14 touchdowns on an average of 10.4 yards per carry. Junior Kyler Knaack follows with 537 yards and seven scores on 11.4 yards per carry.

Kaiden Knaack at quarterback is 32-for-52 on the year with 452 yards and eight touchdowns.

Junior Ben Belew and Christensen each have 11 catches for 224 and 96 yards respectively. Belew has four touchdowns to lead.

On defense, Kyler Knaack has a team-high 51.5 tackles with 8.5 tackles for a loss. Zach Belew has a high of 14.5 tackles for a loss.

The Dons have 22 takeaways on the season as well.

Friday nights game will take place at 7 p.m. with the winner taking on either Winfield-Mt. Union or Moravia.