Southeast Valley ends Waukon’s 2A state football title reign

CEDAR FALLS — Rough start. Rough day.

Waukon fumbled away the opening kickoff, turned it over twice more in the first half and had no answers for Kolson Kruse and the Southeast Valley attack.

The result was a 50-14 Class 2A football semifinal stroll for the Jaguars on Saturday at the UNI-Dome, and an end to the Indians’ title reign.

“It all starts with the five guys up front that I can trust,” said Kruse, a senior quarterback who was responsible for 468 yards (229 rushing, 239 passing) and had a hand in all seven Jaguars touchdowns.

“They helped me look like a stud out there. It was them that were opening the holes for me. And our wide receivers ... I’m confident in our connection.”

Kruse shared the credit. And yet ...

“He’s a hell of a player,” Waukon’s Lincoln Snitker said. “We didn’t execute our game plan, but he made some really great plays and there was nothing we could do about it.”

» Photo gallery: Waukon vs. Southeast Valley in state football semifinals

Both teams shared the No. 3 ranking in the final 2A Gazette poll. But the Jaguars (11-1) were far superior on the field on this day.

Their reward is a date with No. 6 West Lyon (10-2) for the 2A championship at 10 a.m. Friday.

Last year’s champion, Waukon (10-2) saw it get away quickly. The Indians received the opening kickoff, but fumbled it away at their own 35-yard line at the end of a good return.

Kruse carried the ball six straight times, capping it with a 7-yard touchdown drive.

“We gave it to them right away, and it put us in the hole,” Waukon Coach Chad Beermann said. “And when you’re facing a quarterback as hot as he was, it’s tough.”

Kruse had 252 yards of total offense — 199 passing, 53 rushing — in the first half to propel Southeast Valley to a 28-0 halftime lead.

“Getting the ball right away on the kickoff was a huge momentum boost,” Kruse said. “We wanted the ball (to start) the second half, and we ended up getting the ball both halves.”

Kruse ran for five touchdowns and passed for two. Southeast Valley finished with 509 total yards.

Waukon totaled 324 yards, led by 240 in the air by quarterback Noah Hatlan.

“We were able to move the ball, but we didn’t finish drives,” Hatlan said. “The key is to finish, and we turned the ball over too many times.”

Waukon finished with four turnovers. The Indians’ two late touchdowns came on a 1-yard plunge by Snitker and a 50-yard pass from Hatlan to Pat Hennessy.

The Indians returned only three starters from last year’s 2A title team. After a season-opening loss to Waverly-Shell Rock, they rattled off 10 consecutive victories and returned to the Dome.

“We’ve got a lot of juniors who will be back to build on that,” Beermann said.

Southeast Valley 50, Waukon 14

AT CEDAR FALLS

TEAM STATISTICS

First downs: SEV 24, Waukon 15

Rushes-yards: SEV 45-270, Waukon 19-84

Passing yards: SEV 239, Waukon 240

Passing: SEV 12-17-1, Waukon 11-21-1

Total yards: SEV 509, Waukon 324

Fumbles-lost: SEV 0-0, Waukon 3-3

Punts-average: SEV 1-36.0, Waukon 1-48.0

Penalties-yards: SEV 2-5, Waukon 3-20

SCORING SUMMARY

Southeast Valley 14 14 6 16 — 50

Waukon 0 0 7 7 — 14

SEV — Kolson Kruse 7 run (Lathe Muench run)

SEV — Eli Johnson 20 pass from Kruse (pass failed)

SEV — Kruse 2 run (run failed)

SEV — Trey Fisher 6 pass from Kruse (Kruse run)

SEV — Kruse 3 run (pass failed)

Waukon — Lincoln Snitker 1 run (Dylan Hogan kick)

SEV — Kruse 46 run (Caden Larson pass from Kruse)

Waukon — Pat Hennessy 50 pass from Noah Hatlan (Hogan kick)

SEV — Kruse 48 run (Colton Brant pass from Kruse)

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

Rushing

Southeast Valley — Kolson Kruse 35-229, Lathe Muenche 10-41. Waukon — Pat Hennessy 10-70, Lincoln Snitker 4-11, Braxton Stewart 1-11, Noah Hatlan 4-(minus 8).

Passing

Southeast Valley — Kruse 12-17-1-239. Waukon — Hatlan 11-21-1-240.

Receiving

Southeast Valley — Tre Fisher 5-96, Colton Brant 5-85, Caden Larson 1-38, Eli Johnson 1-20. Waukon — Hennessy 3-93, Noah Pearson 3-76, Snitker 3-58, Vincente Quiroz 2-13.

Comments: jeff.linder@thegazette.com