West Delaware seniors realize Dome dream with one last home win

MANCHESTER – Coy Roussell watched from the UNI-Dome stands the last time West Delaware reached the state semifinals.

He was in junior high and told his buddies that they would represent the Hawks there someday. Well, he was right.

The second-ranked Hawks shut out Decorah in the second half, earning a hard-fought 21-10 win in the Class 3A quarterfinals Friday night at Brown Field. West Delaware will face top-ranked and defending state champion Pella (12-0) on Thursday, beginning at 8:21 p.m.

'This is one of the biggest games I've ever wanted to win,” Roussell said. 'I've always wanted to go to the UNI-Dome, ever since I was little kid back in middle school watching them go to the Dome.

'It's just one of those things you always want to get to. It's just great.”

The Hawks improved to 12-0 this season, but most importantly they capped their careers never losing a home game, which dates back to those junior high years. West Delaware Coach Doug Winkowitsch praised the senior class.

'They've worked so hard,” Winkowitsch said. 'It's been such a focused group. They love football. I'm so happy for them.”

West Delaware was powered by a strong run attack and a defense that took control after halftime.

The ground game amassed 283 yards, including an impressive 202-yard effort from Coy Roussell. He helped the Hawks to a 14-10 halftime lead with a 10-yard TD run to cap an 83-yard drive to open the game.

Roussell, West Delaware's all-time leading rusher, added a 5-yard TD run with 58 seconds left before halftime, increasing the lead to 11 points. Max Ridenour pitched in 79 rushing yards with all of his positive yardage in the second half.

Roussell helped ice the game with a third TD run in the fourth quarter, scoring from 4 yards with 9:23 remaining.

'Coy is such a tremendous runner,” Winkowitsch said. 'I thought our guys up front did a great job getting that push and then just throwing Ridenour in there to keep them guessing. It's nice to have that quarterback threat, too.”

The Hawks' defense bent but didn't break, clamping down on the Decorah offense. They forced two interceptions and turned the ball over on downs in their own territory.

'We weren't doing a lot of things wrong,” said senior Owen Ward, who had one of the interceptions. 'We had a couple miscommunications in the first half. We made some minor adjustments and really shut them down in the second half.”

West Delaware held the Vikings to 89 yards of total offense the final two quarters.

'We felt like we could control the line of scrimmage,” Winkowitsch said. 'We felt early on we missed some tackles and didn't get off the ball as well as we could have. We really did a nice job in the second half.”

West Delaware combined both to take momentum. Decorah drove inside the Hawks' 30, but was stuffed on 4th and less than a yard. West Delaware took over on its own 27, needing seven plays for Roussell to find the end zone his second time.

Decorah responded to pull within four just 13 seconds before halftime. The Vikings started on their own 39 and reached midfield after two rushes. They called a timeout, setting a 50-yard pass from Cole Steffen to Dawson Meyer, who streaked down the center of the field all alone.

The Vikings weren't able to capitalize on key opportunities.

'I thought we moved the ball pretty well against them,” Decorah Coach Bill Post said. 'We just couldn't finish drives.”

Decorah ended the season 6-6, but played well in the postseason, knocking off two ranked teams to reach the quarterfinals.

'It's been a team effort,” Post said. 'Midway through the season we had a nice run going and then we took a little dip there. All of a sudden the guys came back to life again and they wanted to play. They played well. They really have taken to our coaching and doing what we've asked them to do, executing it very well.”

Now the Hawks face Pella, which has won 26 straight games. The Hawks soothed the sting of missing the UNI-Dome by one win last year.

'It's something we've been working for all season, but we're not done yet,” Ward said. 'We've come this far. We might as well go all the way.”

l Comments: (319) 368-8679; kj.pilcher@thegazette.com