I.C. Regina rolls forward, chasing sixth straight title

IOWA CITY - It certainly wasn't perfect, but Iowa City Regina continued its unprecedented march toward a sixth straight state football championship on Wednesday night with a 41-20 win against Bellevue.

The Regals used a 35-0 first half to essentially put this one to bed before the Comets even had a chance. Coach Marv Cook had a business-as-usual approach after the game, saying as good as the win was, there are still things to work on.

As it has been the last five years, that's bad news for the rest of Class 1A.

'I thought, offensively, we were pretty good in the first half. I think we scored on all but one possession,” Cook said. 'We made a couple miscues, but other than that it was pretty clean. Our defense scored a touchdown. We've just got to play better in the second half and finish. Ultimately it's a great win.”

The final stat book wasn't indicative of the score, with Regina at 293 total yards and Bellevue at 289. The Regals got whatever they wanted offensively in the first half, but went three and out twice and gave up a 30-yard fumble return for touchdown to start the third quarter.

The Comets got 30 carries for 150 yards and a touchdown from running back Lucas Anderson, who could barely stand after his 31-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter.

Cook and the Regals didn't make any excuses for the late scores from Bellevue, saying they were well tested.

'(The Comets) were smart. They hurried up; they challenged us. I thought they played very hard,” Cook said. 'These guys have played at such a high level, and we're dealing with a couple guys who are nicked up a little bit. We'll hopefully get them healed up in the next couple of days. The good thing is our young guys were forced to step up and play, so we got some good, quality minutes for them.”

Regina quarterback Nathan Stenger finished 10 of 16 for 134 yards and one touchdown. He ran three times for 22 yards and also was targeted on a few pass plays, though he didn't have a catch.

Cook said after the game he wanted to try some different looks on offense in the second half, and wanted to use Stenger's talents in a variety of ways. He was an all-state receiver last year, after all. As the opponents get tougher, Regina doesn't want to be predictable.

'I just like doing what the coaches tell us to do. Honestly, they just put us in the best position possible,” Stenger said. 'We all have full trust in that.

'They played really tough in the second half. We have to know that we have to come out in the second half with the same intensity (as the first half).”

As with all the other winners Wednesday night, the Regals face that quick turnaround for a Monday game against a to-be-determined opponent. Cook said the team will do a walk-through Thursday, then practice Friday and Saturday headed into the game.

It's a time now to get healthy and refresh on what they've learned, as a sixth state title still is up for grabs.

'You've got to know what to do looking ahead, especially now that we're seniors, knowing nothing is ever guaranteed,” Stenger said. 'The coaches do everything (to plan for the next game), they watch film and put us in position. It's all them.”

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