M-M-C beat Don Bosco, 51-16, on Thursday to win Iowa's 8-man football championship.CEDAR FALLS, IA (KTIV) -
Tanner Utesch scored three touchdowns, passed for two and caught a TD pass, leading Marcus MMC past Gilbertville Don Bosco 51-16 Thursday for the eight-player state championship.
The Eagles built a 37-0 lead when Utesch leaped between two defenders to catch an 8-yard scoring pass from running back Andrew Hoefling with 38 seconds left in the first half.
Don Bosco (12-1) was shut out until Jake Hogan threw two touchdown passes in the final 5 minutes.
"It feels like we're on top of the world," said head coach Kyle Oswald. "It feels like everything we've earned has paid off. It feels like everyone that told us it wasn't possible or that we didn't deserve it, it just makes it that much sweeter."
"We've taken the role of underdog and come back," said MMC junior Dylan Spieler. "We never put our heads down. It's been a great ride."
"We came out, we knew we could beat them by a lot if we stuck to our game and just played Eagle football," said MMC senior Andrew Hoefling. "So, it was pretty sweet."
"It's the greatest feeling I've ever had," said MMC senior Tanner Utesch. "I've never felt like this before. It's so great. Being state champs, never winning a game our freshman year and then going 14-0 this year, it's awesome. It's the greatest feeling ever."
MMC (14-0) dominated a Don Bosco team that had scored 78 points in the semifinals and capped a season of firsts. It was the school's first year of eight-player football, first appearance in the title game and it came under a first-year coach, Kyle Oswald.
