Wapsie Valley scored with 1:39 left to beat Hinton, 21-14, in the Class A championship game.CEDAR FALLS, IA (KTIV) -
Wapsie Valley scored the go-ahead touchdown with 1:39 left in the fourth quarter and the Warriors beat Hinton, 21-14, in the Class A championship game Thursday in the UNI-Dome. The unranked Blackhawks finish the season with a 10-4 record while the Warriors win their fifth state title with a perfect 14-0 record.
After a scoreless first quarter, Wapsie Valley scored first on a 10-yard run from Tyler Odneal. Hinton answered with a 32-yard touchdown pass from Morgan Wenzel to Jake Hasselquist to tie the game at 7-7 at halftime.
Odneal's 50-yard touchdown run in the third quarter gave Wapsie Valley a 14-7 lead. Hinton again tied the game in the fourth quarter when Jason VanderKooi caught a six-yard scoring pass from Wenzel.
Wapsie Valley scored the final points of the game on a one-yard run from Stone Kane.
"It's a huge deal," said Hinton senior Morgan Wenzel. "Obviously, it's a huge bummer to lose and all of that, but we went out and gave it all we had, we just came up a little short."
"To come through district one and make it all the way through to the finals is something to hang your hat on," said Hinton senior Jason Vander Kooi. "I'll always look back on this day as a senior and I don't have any regrets."
"It's just been a lot of fun and we leave here today with no regrets," said Hinton co-head coach Bruce Held. "We played as hard as we could. We did what we could. A couple balls didn't bounce the right way but we accept that. We know that's a part of high school sports."
Wapsie Valley outgained Hinton, 289 yards to 240, with the Warriors getting 178 yards on the ground and 111 through the air. Hinton had 210 passing yards but just 30 rushing yards on 29 attempts.
