Saint Ansgar runs over West Branch

CEDAR FALLS – The West Branch football team has traveled this road before, and unfortunately for the Bears it led to the same destination.

This time it ran directly to a roadblock in 10th-ranked Saint Ansgar.

West Branch suffered its fourth straight defeat in the Iowa High School Athletic Association Class 1A semifinals, giving up its second-highest point total of the season Saturday in a 32-19 loss to the Saints at the UNI-Dome.

TEAM STATISTICS

Saint Ansgar

West Branch

First downs

23

11

Rushes-yards

66 - 370

29 - 97

Passing yards

17

166

Comp-Att-Int

2 - 3 - 0

10 - 18 - 1

Total yards

387

263

Fumbles-lost

1 - 0

2 - 1

Punts-average

0 - 0.0

2 - 30.0

Penalties-yards

5 - 35

4 - 30

Rushing:

 Saint Ansgar –

John Sievert 29-127 ,

Tony Heimer 15-83 ,

Cael Halfman 11-74 ,

Dylan Johnson 6-48 ,

Kyle Hanson 4-40 ,

Team 1--2

 West Branch –

Brandon Young 14-65 ,

Cade Jones 14-29 ,

Bo Bower 1-3

Passing:

 Saint Ansgar –

Halfman 2-3-0-17

 West Branch –

Young 10-18-1-166

Receiving:

 Saint Ansgar –

Kyle Hulshizer 1-14 ,

Hanson 1-3

 West Branch –

Jesse Lumpa 2-103 ,

Bower 3-44 ,

Conor Paulsen 1-15 ,

Sid Thompson 2-4 ,

Eli Elliot 1-2 ,

Jones 1--2

Saint Ansgar

14

12

6

–

32

West Branch

7

6

6

–

19

SA - Hulshizer 14 pass from Halfman (Hulshizer kick)

SA - Hanson 38 run (Hulshizer kick)

SA - Halfman 3 run (kick blocked)

WB - Lumpa 63 pass from Young (Brandon Wasion kick)

SA - Sievert 1 run (rush failed)

WB - Elliot 2 pass from Young (kick blocked)

SA - Heimer 9 run (rush failed)

WB - Bower 12 pass from Young (pass failed)

The Bears faced a 20-0 deficit a little more than four minutes into the fourth quarter and it proved to be too big of a hole to climb out.

“I was actually impressed by our desire to not quit,” West Branch Butch Pedersen said. “We stayed in the game. We played hard. We represented our community and themselves and the way high school football is supposed to be represented. I have nothing but praise for my football team.”

The Bears noticed doubters after a 1-2 start, but battled back to produce a nine-game win streak entering Saturday's game. The Bears' seniors joined Class A semifinalist Madrid as the only group in 11-man football to reach the semifinals each year. None, however, resulted in a championship game.

“We started off 1-2 and started getting on a roll and felt like we could get over this semifinal hump,” senior quarterback Brandon Young said. “We just came up short.”

The Saints stonewalled the Bears' championship quest by dominating the line of scrimmage. Saint Ansgar's advantage up front allowed them to remain one-dimensional with its vaunted running attack and forced the Bears to throw to the move the ball.

“We wanted to make sure we tried to assert ourselves as much as we could,” Saint Ansgar coach Drew Clevenger said. “It's no secret what we're going to do. We're going to try to run the ball as much as possible.”

The Saints were too big and strong for the Bears, amassing 370 rushing yards with five different players having at least 40 yards on the ground. Fullback John Sievert, listed as 6-foot-3 and 218 pounds, led Saint Ansgar with 127 yards on 29 carries.

“Our linemen did a hell of a job,” Sievert said. “They got things done.”

They were able to grind the clock even on three drives the Bears defense made a fourth-down stop. That includes almost a six minute drive that ended with a 1-yard TD run by Sievert and 26-7 lead with 41 seconds left in the first half.

“We spend as much time as it takes to get it down there,” Sievert said about ball control. “We'd like to run it all if we can.”

As successful as the Saints were in running the ball, they were more successful in stopping West Branch's top rusher Cade Jones, who entered the game with 1,740 rushing yards and ranked fifth in 1A. Jones managed just 29 yards and 24 came in the second half.

“We knew he was going to be the focus,” Clevenger said. “We weren't going to let him beat us. Try not to anyway.”

Saint Ansgar benefited from great field position thanks to a pair of West Branch miscues. A third-down quick kick on the Bears' 6-yard line traveled less than 20 yards and was returned to the 16, setting up the Saints first score. Quarterback Cael Halfman hit Kyle Hulshizer on a 14-yard pass – one of only three thrown by Saints Ansgar – for a 7-0 lead with 4:24 in the first.

Hulshizer fell on a Bo Bower fumble on the next possession, and the Saints went 43 yards on three plays, capped by Kyle Hanson's 38-yard TD run.

Hanson followed Hulshizer's lead, forcing a turnover intercepting Young, which led to a 10-play, 67-yard series that ended in a Halfman 3-yard TD run.

“We made a couple turnovers that hurt us early,” Pedersen said. “The quick kick didn't help us as well. You can't do those kinds of things against a quality football team.”

Much of that resilience pivotal in overcoming a slow start to the season was displayed as the Bears tried to battle back. Clevenger credited the Bears for sustaining a strong effort the entire game.

Much of that came from Young's arm. Young put West Branch on the board, hitting Jesse Lumpa for a 63-yard bomb to cut the lead to 20-7.

He also led the Bears on touchdown drives for two of their three second-half possessions. Young hit Eli Elliot for a two-yard score in the third, pulling with 26-13. He also hit Bower for a TD on 4th-and-goal from the 12 to end scoring with 4:07 left.

They took advantage of what was given to them at the time.

“They knew we wanted to run the ball,” Young said. “When they stopped the run, it opened up the pass. We have great receivers. They found holes and sat there. They made it easy for me to pass it.”

The loss doesn't put a damper on what the Bears were able to accomplish. Pedersen will focus on the positive, including the way the players and coaches rallied around each other.

“I'm going to remember all the improvement that they made and the fact that they were a tight group chemistry-wise,” Pedersen said, “and that they were really hard workers.”

The Saints (11-2) advance to the 1A championship next Saturday against second-ranked Council Bluffs St. Albert (13-0), who advanced with a 24-6 win over No. 1 Emmetsburg. It is the Saints' first state championship appearance.

“We're happy to be in the first state championship game in school history,” Clevenger said. Certainly, we're not satisfied.

This group has made a tremendous amount of improvements from Week 1. When we do what we do, we like our chances against anybody.”

TEAM STATISTICS

Saint Ansgar

West Branch

First downs

23

11

Rushes-yards

66 - 370

29 - 97

Passing yards

17

166

Comp-Att-Int

2 - 3 - 0

10 - 18 - 1

Total yards

387

263

Fumbles-lost

1 - 0

2 - 1

Punts-average

0 - 0.0

2 - 30.0

Penalties-yards

5 - 35

4 - 30

Rushing:

 Saint Ansgar –

John Sievert 29-127 ,

Tony Heimer 15-83 ,

Cael Halfman 11-74 ,

Dylan Johnson 6-48 ,

Kyle Hanson 4-40 ,

Team 1--2

 West Branch –

Brandon Young 14-65 ,

Cade Jones 14-29 ,

Bo Bower 1-3

Passing:

 Saint Ansgar –

Halfman 2-3-0-17

 West Branch –

Young 10-18-1-166

Receiving:

 Saint Ansgar –

Kyle Hulshizer 1-14 ,

Hanson 1-3

 West Branch –

Jesse Lumpa 2-103 ,

Bower 3-44 ,

Conor Paulsen 1-15 ,

Sid Thompson 2-4 ,

Eli Elliot 1-2 ,

Jones 1--2

Saint Ansgar

14

12

6

–

32

West Branch

7

6

6

–

19

SA - Hulshizer 14 pass from Halfman (Hulshizer kick)

SA - Hanson 38 run (Hulshizer kick)

SA - Halfman 3 run (kick blocked)

WB - Lumpa 63 pass from Young (Brandon Wasion kick)

SA - Sievert 1 run (rush failed)

WB - Elliot 2 pass from Young (kick blocked)

SA - Heimer 9 run (rush failed)

[gallery columns="2"]

WB - Bower 12 pass from Young (pass failed)