Wilton rallies past Iowa City Regina late to reach state football semifinals for first time

IOWA CITY — The ball finally bounced Wilton’s way.

The Class 1A eighth-ranked Beavers (10-1) downed No. 7 Iowa City Regina (9-2), 21-14, Friday in the quarterfinal round of the Iowa high school state football playoffs in Iowa City.

With the win, Wilton makes its first appearance in the state semifinal round next Friday at the UNI-Dome.

Friday’s victory also ended a 14-game losing streak against the Regals dating back to 2008.

“It means a great, great deal to us to get to this point,” Wilton Coach Ryan Hetzler said. “I played here. A lot of our coaches played here. It’s so exciting and I’m so excited for these guys.”

With 4:35 remaining, the Beavers trailed 14-7 and started a drive at their own 43.

Five plays later, Owen Hassell sprinted in for a 14-yard score leaving 2:18 on the clock.

Wilton went for the lead, but Regina’s defense stuffed quarterback Drew Keith’s 2-point conversion attempt at the line of scrimmage.

Down one, the Beavers recovered a perfectly placed onside kick at Regina’s 49.

“A couple of plays could have bounced either way,” Regina Coach Dustin Elsbury said. “Sometimes they just don’t bounce your way, which is how the cookie crumbles sometimes.”

On the eighth play of Wilton’s final drive, Hassell found paydirt from 10 yards out for the game-winning score.

“Regina, kudos to them — a great program and it always has been,” Hetzler said. “They’ve always stood atop that podium, in my opinion, of small schools in Eastern Iowa. And I told the guys last week, who else would you rather go through to get to the Dome than the team that’s stood in your way for so long?”

Wilton’s win avenged a Week 8 loss earlier this season and a second-round playoff loss to the Regals last year.

“We had a heck of a year,” Elsbury said. “I’m excited for Wilton. I’m rooting for them. I hope they go far in the Dome.”

For Regina, postgame was all about thanking its seven seniors for their dedication to the program — and looking to build on this season’s success.

“I’m super proud of this senior group,” Elsbury said. “We didn’t have a lot of seniors, but the ones we had were super high-quality leaders.”

This year marked Regina’s sixth straight postseason appearance and 21st overall.

“I told the guys, I’m super proud of them and what they accomplished this year,” Elsbury said. “This one should sting for me and for them because we wanted more, but hopefully we can build on this.”

Wilton 21, Iowa City Regina 14

AT IOWA CITY REGINA FOOTBALL FIELD

TEAM STATISTICS

First downs: WILT 23, ICR 18

Passing yards: WILT 233, ICR 188

Rushing yards: WILT 179, ICR 131

Comp-att-int: WILT 23-35-233-0, ICR 18-29-188-4

Fumbles-lost: WILT 1-1, ICR 0-0

Total yards: WILT 412, ICR 319

Punts-average: WILT 4-31.5, ICR 3-39

Penalties-yards: WILT 7-55, ICR 7-60

SCORING SUMMARY

Wilton 0 7 0 14 — 21

Iowa City Regina 0 7 7 0 — 14

Wilton — Kale McQuillen 18 pass from Drew Keith (Gatlin Rogers kick)

Iowa City Regina — Tate Wallace 27 pass from Kyle Tracy (Gabriel Hegelheimer kick)

Iowa City Regina —Kyle Tracy 7 run (Gabriel Hegelheimer kick)

Wilton — Owen Hassell 14 run (two-point conversion failed)

Wilton — Owen Hassell 10 run (Kale McQuillen 2 pass from Drew Keith)

Individual Statistics

Rushing – Wilton: Drew Keith 9-48, Owen Hassell 21-125, Hayden Hill2-16, Misc. 2-(minus 10). Iowa City Regina: Savion Miller 8-28, Kyle Tracy 15-115, Tate Wallace 1-(minus 2), Misc.2-(minus 10).

Passing – Wilton: Drew Keith 23-33-233-0, Owen Hassell 0-1-0-0. Iowa City Regina: Kyle Tracy 18-29-188-4, Tate Wallace 0-1-0-0.

Receiving – Wilton: Kale McQuillen 9-58, Cade Souhrada 5-80, Jordan Dusenberry 8-73, Owen Hassell 2-20, Gatlin Rogers 1-18. Iowa City Regina: Will Aitchison 8-93, Tate Wallace 4-58, Drew Greve 3-9, Savion Miller 1-19.