Decorah loses a heartbreaker to North Scott in 4A state football quarterfinals

DECORAH — In the deliriously happy postgame scrum of parents, players and coaches on the field, Chase Smith and Kye Smith finally bumped into one another.

“Sorry about that pass, man,” the North Scott quarterback told his wide receiver, shaking his head.

Kye Smith just smiled, patted him on the shoulder and told him it was no biggie. Which it wasn’t in the end.

A quick backstory here. Chase Smith fired high over the middle to his 6-foot-5 target earlier in what turned out to be a scrumptious Class 4A state playoff football quarterfinal.

Kye Smith made the reception, but took a major hit from a Decorah defensive back that knocked him out of the game for a little bit. He’d return, with Chase Smith throwing him a pass in the final minute that ended up knocking Decorah out of action instead.

The two Smiths, who are not related, hooked up for a 25-yard touchdown with 29 seconds left to give their team a 28-24 win. This fade pattern to the left corner of the end zone was perfectly executed.

“I checked into a fade,” Chase Smith said. “He’s 6-6 going against a corner that’s 6-foot. I’m going to take that matchup every day. I wasn’t sure if he was good to go, but he made a catch down the sideline that helped us get into their territory. So I knew he was 100 percent.”

Seventh-ranked North Scott (9-2) returns to the 4A semifinals for the second time in three seasons after knocking No. 2 Decorah (10-1) out of the postseason for a second consecutive year. The Lancers beat the Vikings in the 2023 first round, 35-7.

This win was significantly more difficult. In fact, North Scott led only for the final 29 seconds.

“Obviously these games go down to a couple of plays here and there,” Decorah Coach Mike Tangen said. “Of course, all of us are going to be questioning this and questioning that. But you have to give credit to those guys. Those guys executed well, their quarterback was throwing well. Those wide receivers made some unbelievable catches down the stretch. You can always narrow down to a play here and there, but they ended up just making a few more plays than we did. I’m proud of our guys.”

The offensive dichotomy here was something, as North Scott threw it all over the field (including lots of quick wide receiver screen plays) and Decorah used its traditional method of ground and pound.

Ground and pound appeared to be the winning way, as Decorah scored the game’s first touchdown, led at halftime, 10-7, and after three quarters, 17-7. The Vikings got 237 yards rushing, including 132 and two touchdowns from junior quarterback Tanner Caddell.

Wearing the un-QB jersey number of 35, he was forced into action very late in the regular season because of an injury to starter Louis Bucksa.

“I thought this week was our best week of preparation,” Tangen said. “He really started to handle the offense. We were able to expand it a little bit. We’re excited about him in the future.”

Chase Smith, meanwhile, ended up completing 24 of 33 passes for 351 yards and three TDs: the winner and completions of 53 and 50 yards to Carson Lage. The senior wide receiver caught 13 passes for 207 yards in the game.

A reverse pass from receiver Cash Bowe to Chase Smith for a 12-yard touchdown on the first play of the fourth quarter brought North Scott within 17-14. A good kickoff return and 15-yard late-hit penalty on NS gave Decorah the ball at the Lancers 35, with Caddell’s second TD run of the game making it 24-14 with 7:25 to go.

But North Scott came right back, burning a Decorah blitz with a wide receiver screen play to Lage, that he brought for 50 yards and a score by coming all the way across the field from left to right. Chase Smith’s extra point made it 24-21 with 6:09 left.

North Scott then forced a Decorah punt, with the return muffed, and the Vikings recovering at the NS 24. But Decorah was unable to do anything with the ball, turning it over on downs at the 20 with 3:00 to go.

Chase Smith completions and scramble runs moved it to the 25. You know the rest.

“We fought all the way to the end,” Tangen said. “We controlled the ball, executed our game plan to a T. Last week we came out on top and were super elated. Tonight it’s just the opposite. It is what it is. We just needed one more first down.”

Decorah needed some fortune and timely plays late to escape Newton in the first round, 15-14. North Scott avenged a regular-season loss last week to Western Dubuque.

“It’s great to be here,” Kye Smith. “But I knew from the start, this was a special team. It’s great to be here, great to go to the Dome, great to be with my buddies.”

North Scott 28, Decorah 24

AT DECORAH

North Scott 0 7 0 21-28

Decorah 7 3 7 7-24

Dec-Trevor Kuennen 10 run (Brayden Wemark kick)

NS-Carson Lage 53 pass from Chase Smith (C. Smith kick)

Dec-Wemark 32 FG

Dec-Tanner Caddell 4 run (Wemark kick)

NS-C. Smith 12 pass from Case Bowe (C. Smith kick)

Dec-Caddell 4 run (Wemark kick)

NS-Lage 50 pass from C. Smith (C. Smith kick)

NS-Kye Smith 25 pass from C. Smith (C. Smith kick)

Team Statistics

First Down – North Scott 19, Decorah 14. Rushing-Yards – North Scott 21-41, Decorah 49-237. Passing – North Scott 24-33-0-351, Decorah 4-7-0-71. Total Yards – North Scott 392, Decorah 308. Punts-Average – North Scott 1-38.0, Decorah 3-35.7. Penalties-Yards – North Scott 5-45, Decorah 7-70. Fumbles-Lost – North Scott 2-1, Decorah 1-1.

Individual Statistics

North Scott – Rushing: Jerrod Lee 7-21, Evan Krause 7-16, Chase Smith 6-6, Team 1-(minus) 2. Passing: Chase Smith 24-33-0-351. Receiving: Carson Lage 13-207, Kye Smith 4-68, Cash Bowe 6-64, Chase Smith 1-12.

Decorah – Rushing: Tanner Caddell 22-132, Trevor Kuennen 15-47, Gavin Groux 9-40, Peyton Webb 2-9, Carter Dlhy 1-9. Passing: Tanner Caddell 4-7-0-71. Receiving: Will Larson 1-35, Trevor Kuennen 1-13, Noah Milburn 1-12, Gavin Groux 1-11.

Comments: jeff.johnson@thegazette.com