Early goal-line stands trigger Anamosa to a 41-0 rout of No. 7 Northeast

ANAMOSA — At the time, it was devastating.

“When we lost to West Liberty (in Week 5), the kids felt like their world came crashing down,” Anamosa football coach Caleb Huss said.

It was a turning point in the Blue Raiders’ season. And they came out the other side, all the better.

So much better.

Anamosa’s defense stymied a pair of goal-to-go situations in the first half, held Class 2A No. 7 Northeast to negative yards in the second half and emphatically claimed the 2A District 4 championship, 41-0, Friday night at Downing Field.

“We’ve had a good defense all year,” linebacker Miken Wheeler said. “We never give up, even when the other team is at the 1-yard line.”

Anamosa (7-1 overall, 4-1 district) scored on its second drive for a 7-0 lead, but Northeast (7-1, 4-1) was on the verge of tallying the equalizer, facing first-and-goal at the 3.

After yielding a 2-yard gain, the Blue Raiders stuffed QB Gavin Kramer for no gain, then forced an incompletion.

On fourth down at the 1, they stopped Kramer for a 2-yard loss.

Huge.

“We tell the kids, when the other team gets close, we have to make them earn it,” Huss said. “It’s easy to get down and let them score, but the kids kept fighting.”

With Anamosa in front, 14-0, Northeast drove to the Anamosa 5 late in the second quarter. The Rebels eventually turned it over on downs at the 24.

That turned out to be the Rebels’ last gasp. In the second half, Anamosa churned out 198 yards and held Northeast to minus-8 yards and no first downs.

The final damage was 355-83.

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Austin Scranton paced an efficient Anamosa attack, rushing for 138 yards on 28 carries, scoring three touchdowns (29 yards, 5 and 1).

“When we get rolling, it’s hard to stop us,” Scranton said. “We’ve got a dual attack. We can run it at you, or Vince (Diers) can throw dimes.”

Scranton’s younger brother, Hunter, added two touchdowns (one rushing, one receiving). Diers completed 14 of 18 passes for 135 yards.

Anamosa won its first four games; then came that dispiriting loss to West Liberty.

“We came back the next week and had our best practices of the season,” lineman Jackson Watters said.

Both teams will host 2A playoff games next Friday. Their first-round matchups will be released Saturday morning by the Iowa High School Athletic Association.

Anamosa 41, Northeast 0

At Anamosa

TEAM STATISTICS

First downs: NE 7, ANA 19

Rushes-yards: NE 23-49, ANA 45-220

Passing yards: NE 34, ANA 135

Passing: NE 5-16-0, ANA 14-18-0

Total yards: NE 83, ANA 355

Fumbles-lost: NE 1-1, ANA 0-0

Punts-average: NE 4-36.3, ANA 1-38.0

Penalties-yards: NE 6-55, ANA 6-40

SCORING SUMMARY

Northeast 0 0 0 0 — 0

Anamosa 7 7 7 20 — 41

ANA — Austin Scranton 29 run (Eli Breitbach kick)

ANA — Hudson Scranton 8 pass from Vince Diers (Breitbach kick)

ANA — A. Scranton 5 run (Breitbach kick)

ANA — H. Scranton 5 run (Breitbach kick)

ANA — Diers 4 run (Breitbach kick)

ANA — A. Scranton 1 run (Breitbach kick)

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

Rushing

Northeast — Grant Gray 8-26, Gavin Kramer 13-17, Santiago De La Cruz 2-6. Anamosa — Austin Scranton 28-138, Hudson Scranton 6-46, Kinnick Reiss 4-29, Vince Diers 3-18, Team 4-(minus 11).

Passing

Northeast — Kramer 5-16-0-34. Anamosa — Diers 14-18-0-135.

Receiving

Northeast — Jade Mielk 2-18, Gray 2-16, Michael Frame 1-0. Anamosa — Adam Brophy 4-78, Dane Owen 4-20, Nate Fischer 3-18, H. Scranton 2-11, Jacob King 1-8.

Comments: jeff.linder@thegazette.com