Big 2nd half propels Iowa Valley to 45-9 high school football victory over Springville

SPRINGVILLE – Iowa Valley needed a couple quarters to knock off the rust.

Once the Tigers did, they were a well-oiled machine powered by quarterback Nolan Kriegel and a stifling defense.

Kriegel rushed for four touchdowns and 201 yards – three scores and 136 yards after halftime – and No. 5 Iowa Valley rolled to a 45-9 victory over Springville in an 8-Player high school football game Friday night at Allison Field.

“We made a few adjustments,” Iowa Valley Coach Casey Krull said. “We started executing a little bit better, and that definitely showed in the second half.”

Iowa Valley (1-0) posted 16 points, which is a modest total for top 8-Player teams. The production didn’t satisfy the Tigers, so they focused on improved blocking and making changes to break things open.

“We’re a team that likes to score points, and we didn't have very many points at the start (of the second half),” Kriegel said. “We came out ready to roll. We were ready to score some touchdowns and that's what we did.”

Iowa Valley needed less than three minutes to nearly double its first-half total.

Springville held Kriegel to just two double-digit runs in the first half, but the all-stater showed his explosiveness after the break. On the first play of the third, Kriegel faked a pitch left and went untouched down the right sideline for a 55-yard TD.

“That was huge,” Krull said. “Coming right out of half, we told them we have to be ready to go. For him to be able to do that was huge for us. He kind of set the tone there, but he doesn't do that without everybody else executing up front. We finally got that out of our front.

“He's pretty special when he gets out in space. He can make a lot of plays.”

The following possession only lasted two plays, including Kriegel’s 48-yard scoring jaunt. Kriegel took the sweep to the left sideline, made a diagonal cut through defenders to the right side again and was gone, making it 30-3 with 9:21 left in the third.

“They just made a hole for me,” Kriegel said about the offensive line. “It let me do what I needed to do. Once I find a hole, I'm good in the open field. They did that.”

Chance Hoyt added a 5-yard TD run in the third and Kriegel capped the Tigers outburst on a 13-yard for a 45-3 lead with 8:21 left. Dane Smith rushed for 70 yards for the Tigers. Kriegel finished with 250 yards and had his hands in five TDs, hitting Josh Read for a 19-yard scoring strike on the first play of the second quarter.

“We were running the ball – run, run, run, run,” Kriegel said. “We decided let's try a pass and they obviously weren't ready for it. It worked.”

Iowa Valley’s defense held Springville to 138 yards of total offense, including 38 through the air. The Tigers recorded 11 tackles for loss and didn’t allow a first down until the Orioles sixth and final possession of the first half.

“We've got some guys on defense that play really fast,” Krull said. “Layne Peska does a really good job of coming down and setting our defense. We’ve got a couple linebackers in the Hoyt brothers (Chance and Mason) that will just fly to the football, man. Those guys are fun to watch. It's really fun watching those three guys fly the ball, and then we have corners do a really good job of staying on guys.

“Our (defensive) line takes on blocks so everybody else can make plays. They played complementary football tonight, so that was awesome to see.”

Springville (0-1) got on the board in the final seconds of the first half. Jace March’s strip and fumble recovery gave the Orioles the ball at the Tigers’ 39.

The Orioles drove to the 9, settling for a 31-yard field goal from Christian Anguiano and a 16-3 halftime score.

Springville managed a late touchdown. Braden Jordan scored on a 10-yard run with 1:41 remaining. Luke Lansing led Springville with 104 rushing yards on 15 carries.

The game was not on the original schedule for both teams but materialized when Lone Tree canceled its varsity season due to low numbers, leaving a date open.

Iowa Valley welcomed the game over the previously planned intrasquad scrimmage, especially leading into the Week 1 home game against No. 8 Don Bosco.

“We had to play hard for four quarters, so I think that helps our guys just knock off that rust and we have a whole game on film now,” Krull said. “We can see what we need to clean up, going into that week, because if we don't clean that stuff up, it's going to be a long game for us.”

Springville hosts No. 7 Montezuma next week.

IOWA VALLEY 45

SPRINGVILLE 9

AT SPRINGVILLE

IV S

First Downs 16 8

Rushes-yards 35-304 37-100

Passing yards 49 38

Comp-att-int 5-8-0 3-7-0

Total yards 349 138

Fumbles-lost 4-1 3-0

Punts-avg. 0-0 6-37.0

Penalties-yards 2-15 2-15

Iowa Valley 8 8 22 7 -- 45

Springville 0 3 0 6 -- 9

IV – Nolan Kriegel 4 run (Kriegel rush)

IV – Josh Read 19 pass from Kriegel (Kriegel rush)

S – FG Christian Anguiano 31

IV – Kriegel 55 run (Kriegel rush)

IV – Kriegel 48 run (pass failed)

IV – Chance Hoyt 5 run (Kriegel rush)

IV – Kriegel 13 run (Mason Hoyt kick)

S – Braden Jordan 10 run (rush failed)

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING – Iowa Valley: Kriegel 17-201, Dane Smith 9-70, C. Hoyt 6-47, Brahn Hawkins 1-4, Garrett Penning 1-(minus 1), Team 1-(minus17). Springville: Luke Lansing 15-104, Jordan 14-14Isaac Hill 5-1, Connor May 1-0, Conlin Rouse 1-(minus 3), Team 1-(minus 16).

PASSING – Iowa Valley: Kriegel 5-7-0-49, Layne Peska 0-1-0-0. Springville: Jordan 3-7-0-38.

RECEIVING – Iowa Valley: Peska 4-30, Read 1-19. Springville: Jace March 2-24, Rouse 1-14.

Comments: kj.pilcher@thegazette.com