South Winn's 'great ride' reaches the 1A finals

South Winneshiek has produced its most successful football seasons in school history.The Warriors reached the playoffs for the third time in school history and first since 2003. The most important thing, however, they expected to be here even if others didn't.“Our No. 1 goal was making it to and winning a state championship,” Warriors senior Jordan Andera said. “The goals were crazy for South Winn that hasn't ever had experience and hardly been in the playoffs before, but that's what we wanted.”The Warriors are in position to reach those wild goals Saturday when they take on No. 2 Council Bluffs St. Albert in the Class 1A state championship game at the UNI-Dome in Cedar Falls. Kickoff is 10:05 a.m. The team's march to the school's first ever title game has become the rage in the community. “The community is just thrilled,” South Winn Coach Jason Ohrt said. “The parents and everybody else are just going crazy about it. It's been really exciting around here.”They showed the enthusiasm filling a side of the UNI-Dome with what looked like all of Winneshiek County in the Warriors 14-7 semifinal win over No. 3 West Branch. The support has provided a boost for the Warriors, who call them their “12th man”.“There's no doubt we've been able to feed off the energy,” Ohrt said. “The last few games in particular our crowd has just been tremendous wherever we go. It's been like that all season for us.”As the wins grew so did the crowds. Andera recalled three charters, a school bus and a group of others who drove to the first-round playoff game at Emmetsburg.“It was amazing,” Andera said. “We had more fans on our sidelines than Emmetsburg did.”The fans have had plenty to cheer for. The Warriors (12-1) have scored 520 points this season, running a spread offense.Andera leads the with at 1A high 2,041 rushing yards. He's also ran for 23 TDs, while passing for 12 TDs. He's a versatile weapon.“He's a kid that can do it all,” Ohrt said. “He can catch the ball, he can throw the ball (and) he can run the ball.”Ohrt praised Andera more for his leadership and unselfishness.“He wants the ball, but he's not going to complain if he doesn't get it,” Ohrt said. “He wants to see everybody excel.”Sophomore QB Jared Holien has thrown for 1,046 yards and 15 TDs. His success has benefitted the Warriors, opening up their offense.“It's really helped our offense,” Ohrt said of Holien. “It keeps the opposing defenses guessing.”South Winn's defense has been just as effective. ranking among the state's best in points allowed. They stifled the Bears last week, giving up only one score. “We wouldn't be as far as we are right now if it wasn't for our defense,” Ohrt said. “Our defense has been outstanding all year and has played some really good offenses.”The unheralded unit is tough and gritty. It functions by each player taking care of their own responsibility. “You know the next guy is going to do their job,” linebacker Tanner Hageman said. “I have faith in the other 10 guys on the defense that are getting the job done. Don't have to worry about anyone else.”Whatever Saturday's outcome may be, this Warriors' team will go down in history and be remembered for a while. “It really has sunk in,” Andera said. “We have one more goal that we really want to achieve so it kind of masks everything. “I know I'm going to look back on it and be extremely proud of all my teammates. It's been a great ride.”