Regina returns to title game

CEDAR FALLS - Drew Cook was on the sidelines when Iowa City Regina started its state title run.

He was in eighth grade, serving as a ball boy for his dad's 2010 team. Now, Cook helped the Regals move a win away from an unprecedented fifth straight state crown.

Top-ranked Regina rolled to a 56-18 win over No. 3 South Winneshiek in an Iowa High School Athletic Association Class 1A state football semifinal Saturday at the UNI-Dome. Regina (12-1) will face No. 7 West Lyon (12-1) in the 1A championship game Friday at 11:06 a.m.

Three state titles and 55 games later, 54 of them wins, Cook and the Regals can make history.

'I have the shirt and everything,” Cook said about the 2010 season. 'I was on the sideline watching people make plays.

'To go out and win another one Friday would be awesome. Just keep that streak going.”

Big plays powered the Regals and they didn't have to wait long for the first that knocked South Winn on its heels.

Nick Phillips fielded the opening kickoff at the 11, burst up the middle of the field, spun to shed a tackler and sprinted for an 89-yard touchdown return and early lead.

'Nick is an incredible athlete,” Cook said. 'When he has the ball good things are going to happen. The kickoff return was huge.”

The Regals set the tone through special teams play and its first series. The offensive line created good running lanes as Regina drove 72 yards on 11 plays, including 10 rushes. Running back Jake Brinkman, who finished with 105 yards and a touchdown, had 32 of those yards and Cook capped the drive with an 11-yard touchdown run.

'It was tough,” Marv Cook said about blocking South Winn's stunting defensive front. 'Jake was running hard and getting six, seven or eight (yards), but they were making us work hard for it. Then we started throwing a little bit with the passing game that forced them to soften up a little bit.”

The Regals settled in and made big pass plays look easy. Cook threw for 203 yards and four touchdowns, hitting Nate Stenger for a 38-yard scoring strike that gave Regina a 21-0 first-quarter advantage. Cook also hit Stenger for a 30-yard touchdown, making it 28-6.

'We took advantage of some long throws with Nathan getting over the top,” Marv Cook said. 'Those really helped to separate us a little bit from South Winn.”

Stenger, a convert from quarterback, had a game-high six receptions for 133 yards. Stenger and Cook are friends off the field and make a potent passing combination, hooking up again for a 21-yard TD pass in the final minute of the second quarter and taking a 49-12 lead into halftime.

'He's been working really hard at receiver,” said Drew Cook, who also hit Conner Brown for a 65-yard TD. 'He's been playing extremely well for us.”

The Regals had a few miscues, including four first-half fumbles. South Winn recovered three, getting their first touchdown from a 55-yard fumble return by Mitchell Herold early in the second.

The one fumble the Regals didn't lose resulted in a bizarre play. Nick Phillips returned a punt to the Warriors 41. While fighting for yards, the ball popped out, bounced off a defender and back in the hands of Regina's Payton Raso, who went the remaining 41 yards for the touchdown.

'We made some mistakes,” Marv Cook said. 'I made some mistakes coaching, and our kids were able to overcome them. I'm just happy with that.”

The Regina defense contained South Winneshiek for most of the game. The Warriors averaged 389.9 yards per game, including 269.9 on the ground. The Regals held them to less than 200 yards of total offense and a mere 48 rushing.

'They had a very complicated offense,” Brinkman said. 'We had to get the ball out of their athletes' hands.”

South Winn still burned Regina at times, including a 76-yard TD reception by wideout Jordan Rommes from Logan Schweinefus. Rommes had 126 receiving yards to finish second on Iowa's career receiving list with 3,341 yards and 43 touchdowns.

Ryan Hageman capped a third-quarter drive with an 8-yard scoring run and lead the Warriors with 47 rushing yards.

The loss doesn't overshadow one of the best season's at South Winneshiek (12-1). The Warriors reached the playoffs for the fourth straight season and eighth time overall. They advanced to the UNI-Dome for only the second time and first since a 1A runner-up finish in 2009.

'We made a lot of history this year, first undefeated regular season in over 30 years,” South Winneshiek Coach Jason Ohrt said. 'We won our fourth straight district title and got back to the Dome. All of those are great accomplishments.

'I couldn't be more proud of my kids.”

l Comments: (319) 368-8679; kj.pilcher@thegazette.com