Iowa City Regina shuts out Wilton for eighth straight trip to UNI-Dome

IOWA CITY - A familiar team heading to familiar land.

Following last week's double-overtime scare, Iowa City Regina experienced a night that was easier on the pulse, as the third-ranked Regals (9-2) booked their eighth straight trip to the UNI-Dome by coasting past No. 10 Wilton, 35-0, Friday night at Regina.

The Beavers (9-2) offense was a bit of a one-trick pony. Wilton ran 58 plays, 50 of them were runs or throws by quarterback Jerome Mays. The Regals were fully prepared to stop him.

'(Mays) was really fast,” Regina defensive lineman Luke Stein said. 'We really game-planned all week on how we were going to contain him. We knew what we had to do. We just came in and executed it.”

These District 4 rivals met back in Week 6, with the Regals using a big second quarter to breeze to a 49-7 win. The Beavers needed to catch some early breaks to have hopes of pulling the upset. An early break is exactly what they caught.

On the game's first play, Jacob Phillips caught a short pass and fumbled. The Beavers pounced at the Regina 39.

Wilton was able to gain a pair of first downs. Faced with fourth-and-6 at the Regina 14, the pocket collapsed on Mays as he went down for a sack.

Following a Regina punt, the Beavers moved deep into Regals territory again. Faced with fourth down from the 18, Wilton opted for a field goal, but the kick sailed wide right.

Just as they did in Week 6, the Regals found their footing in the second quarter. Plodding along to that point, Isaac Vollstedt finally got loose for 16 yards to the Wilton 30. He ripped off runs of 7 and 19 to set up first-and-goal. Following four straight Vollstedt runs, quarterback Michael Conlon faked to Vollstedt and rolled into the end zone untouched. The Regals ran the same trick for a two-point conversion as Regina grabbed an 8-0 lead.

'Big plays really helped get momentum on our side,” Vollstedt said. 'It just kind of got the ball rolling for us and really helped our offense.”

Following an interception, Phillips scored from three yards out for a 15-0 halftime lead.

Regina forced a three-and-out to begin the second half. Powered by Vollstedt, the Regals methodically moved the ball down the field and Conlon scored on a keeper from a yard out.

The final nail came as Cory Anderson muffed a punt. Phillips secured the ball at the Wilton 6. Vollstedt scored on the next play for a 28-0 lead.

The Regals advance to the 1A semifinals for a 2016 playoff rematch against Pella Christian (11-0) at 10:06 a.m. next Saturday.