Regina converts when it counts in battle of top-two teams

IOWA CITY - Cameron Lynch saw the football in the green grass and pounced. Even a defensive lineman knows the value of a possession late in the fourth quarter, and that was the difference in the game as No. 1 Regina defeated No. 2 West Brach, 35-28, Friday night in a 1A quarterfinal at Regina.

Regina (11-1) kept its dream of a sixth consecutive championship alive with the victory, while the Bears (11-1) suffered their first loss of the season.

The game was tied at 28 in the final quarter, and after the Bears forced a punt they started to move the ball on the ground. On a second-and-eight Bear quarterback Cooper Koenig dropped back but was pressured. He tried to run forward to escape with the ball in his right hand.

'Joe Keating stripped the ball. I saw it so I immediately dove on it of course,” Lynch said. 'There was a real fight for it, but I came out on top.”

He understood the importance of the play.

'Oh I held that ball. I gave it to the ref,” Lynch said. 'I looked to the crowd and I knew.”

Regina took over with 7:41 left in the game. Nathan Stenger engineered an 11-play, 39-yard drive that ate up more than five minutes and resulted in the go-ahead TD.

'That was a big momentum point, and when we got in the huddle we said, ‘This is what we've worked for all year,'” Stenger said. 'Let's put together a drive.”

Stenger ran on seven of the plays in the drive and he was the bellcow for the Regals in the absence of speedster Nick Phillips, who was injured against Xavier and is out for the season. Stenger ran 31 times for a game-high 251 yards. He showed speed and toughness and his number was called again and again.

But really this game was dead even with both offensive lines doing the job, and it might still be in overtime but for the turnover and Regina's ability to punch it in.

'It was a great football game,” West Branch Coach Butch Pedersen said. 'It's what high school football games are supposed to be. I thought both teams played extremely hard. This is a football team that I'll never forget at West Branch.

'The turnover hurt. They have a good team; we have a good team. It's a shame we had to meet tonight.”

Luke Lenoch gained 173 yards for the Bears and Koenig passed for almost 150.

'Everybody played their heart out and I couldn't be more proud of everybody,” Stenger said. 'West Branch, they're a great team and I've got a lot of respect for them.”