Cook carves up Alburnett

IOWA CITY - Drew Cook's 36-yard heave to the end zone with no time left in the first half appeared like it might be intercepted.

Instead, receiver Payton Raso jumped and somehow wrestled it away from the defensive back in a better position. It was that kind of night for top-ranked Iowa City Regina.

Cook totaled 250 yards and four touchdowns as the Regals rolled to a 66-7 win over Alburnett in a Class 1A opening round playoff game Wednesday night at Regina Stadium.

'I like where our heads are at right now,” Cook said. 'We're definitely a focused group. That was a good start.”

Regina (9-1) started its run for a historic fifth-straight state championship with a dominant performance, racking up 518 yards and a season high in points.

Running back Jake Brinkman ran for 111 yards and two touchdowns. Cook threw for 142 yards and three scores and rushed for 108 yards and a TD - all in the first half.

The Regals settled for a 32-yard field goal on their opening drive, then scored touchdowns on nine-straight possessions.

'Everything didn't go the way we wanted at first, but as the game went forward we got better and made plays,” Cook said.

With Regina leading 24-0 late in the first half, Cook hit Eric Bracken for a 29-yard score with 2:22 left in the half.

Regina got the ball back at midfield with less than a minute left. After a quick completion, Raso hauled in the jump ball from Cook as time expired to give the Regals a 38-0 halftime lead.

'To get the ball right there at the end of the half, we had a really well-executed play to get down to a manageable situation,” Regina Coach Marv Cook said. 'Then Payton just went up and got it.”

Drew Cook's most impressive play may have been the 85-yard touchdown run in the second quarter.

Cook kept the ball on a zone read, busted through one defender and out-sprinted everyone to the end zone.

'We have a lot of playmakers,” Cook said. 'Anytime I can make a play, it's good.”

Regina's explosive plays continued in the second half. Phillips weaved past several would-be tacklers for an 84-yard kickoff return touchdown in the third quarter.

In the fourth, backup quarterbacks Tommy Rapp and Michael Conlon added TD runs of 54 and 71 yards, respectively.

Alburnett (5-5) got on the scoreboard with quarterback Dillon Caves' 80-yard touchdown run in the third quarter.

Caves threw for 110 yards and rushed for a team-best 77 yards.