Cascade trips No. 1 Waukon, 25-20

CASCADE — Austin Lieurance wore a wristband, grass-stained beyond recognition. And a smile that wouldn't stop.

'This is the happiest I've ever been in my whole life,' he said.

John Supple caught a 21-yard touchdown pass from Haris Hoffman with 6:35 left, then seventh-ranked Cascade withstood two late deep marches to upset No. 1 Waukon, 25-20, in a Class 2A District 4 football showdown Friday night at O'Meara Field.

The thriller contained four lead changes.

'It came down and we were able to hold them off,' Cascade Coach Tim Frake said. 'You've got to keep it in perspective, but yeah, it's a big win for our program. The kids battled all night long.'

Cascade (4-0 overall, 2-0 district) has made do with a makeshift line after injuries have taken their toll on several of the men up front.

'We have a lot of juniors up there that hadn't played a varsity game until recently, and they really stepped up. They fought, and they fought hard,' Lieurance said.

Down 19-8 entering the fourth quarter, Waukon (3-1, 1-1) scored two touchdowns in a 34-second span to take a 20-19 edge. Abraham Schwartz hit Mitchell Snitker for a 7-yard score, then — after an interception gave the Indians the ball back — Schwartz found Isaiah Welch all alone beyond the secondary for the go-ahead score.

But the Cougars had the final answer, marching 67 yards in six plays with Hoffman connecting with Supple on the left side of the end zone.

Waukon drove to the Cascade 30 before Supple intercepted a pass with 3:44 left, then got it back with 1:01 to go. But the Cougars forced four straight incompletions at the 20 and held on.

Cascade took a 12-8 lead into intermission when Blake Simon hauled in a 20-yard, jump-ball pass from Hoffman with 2 seconds left in the half.

Waukon fumbled the ball away three times in the first 6 minutes, including once after trying to advance the ball after blocking a punt deep in Cascade territory. The Cougars capitalized on that miscue, driving 83 yards in five plays for the game's first score, a 54-yard sprint by Lieurance.

The Indians gained the lead late in the first quarter when Snitker broke free for a 76-yard scoring jaunt. Abraham Schwartz's QB keeper made it 8-6.

Cascade entertains Monticello next week; Waukon hosts Waterloo Columbus.

l Comments: (319) 368-8857; jeff.linder@thegazette.com