West Branch makes statement; Decorah, Beckman win

Bo Bower scored two touchdowns and Cade Jones rushed for 167 yards and a game-clinching socre to lead West Branch to a come-from-behind, 27-20, second-round Class 1A playoff victory Monday night over Turkey Valley in Jackson Junction.

The Bears, trailing 20-7 in the second quarter, used a strong second-half defensive performance to limit the Trojan offense to just 33 rushing yards after gaining 230 in the first two quarters.

“This was a statement victory,” West Branch Coach Butch Pedersen said. “You prove that when you get down, you can stand up and rise again.”

The Bears (9-2), winners of eight in a row, will host Alburnett in a quarterfinal Monday.

Bower scored on runs of 5 and 3 yards and Jones on a 5-yard run with 2:20 left in the fourth. Quarterback Brandon Young added 122 rushing yards and passed 44 yards to Jesse Lumpa for a touchdown.

(From Jason Miller, correspondent)

DECORAH 24, CLEAR LAKE 8 - Kyle Hove rushed for 126 yards and a touchdown on 20 carriesto lead Decorah to the win at Clear Lake.

Josie Jewell added 14 carries for 63 yards, and  Blake Moen added touchdown run of 9 yards and 1 yards as Decorah (9-2) rushed for 224 yards on its way to the quarterfinals.

(From Darin Svenson, correspondent)

DYERSVILLE BECKMAN 41, SOUTH WINNESHIEK 6 - Ty Troutman scored on a pair of returns and Derek Haman rushed for 128 yards and two tochdowns as the Blazers rolled at home.

Troutman scored ona 93-yard kick return adn a 57-yard punt return. Hamann, who carried the ball 18 times, scored on runs of 16 and 2.

Mitch Steger and Grant Hamman also scored for Beckman, Steger on a 23-yard pass from Ethan Brehm and Hamann on an 11-yard run.

The Warriors turned the ball over seven times.

(From Rita Mulcahy, correspondent)

LONE TREE 14, BGM 13 - It wasn't as easy as the first time, but the Lions prevailed at home.

Averaging 46.7 points per game, Lone Tree struggled to score against the Bears (8-3), a team it had beat, 32-6 in the regular season.

The Lions (10-1) now face another Lions in Lisbon in a Class A quarterfinal.

MAQUOKETA 42, GRINNELL 14 - Eighth-ranked Maquoketa rolled at home in a Class 3A second-round game, improving to 10-1.

Maquoketa will play in Monday's quarterfinals.

POSTVILLE 27, DON BOSCO 21 (OT) - Postville advanced in Class A with an overtime win at home.

Postville (10-1) will play in the quarterfinals on Friday.

MASON CITY NEWMAN 31, NORTH TAMA 7 - North Tama ends the season at 9-2 with the loss at Mason City.