LAMONI — Woodward-Granger traveled about as far south as one can go in Iowa Friday to play host Central Decatur in a Class 1A District 8 battle. As it turned out, the long miles were more than worth the time spent traveling, as the Hawks rallied late to steal a 22-20 win over the Cardinals.
W-G (4-3, 2-2) spent the 90-minute drive in a charter bus rather than a less-comfortable school bus, although after surging to their third consecutive win, any kind of transportation for the return trip would have felt fine.
“I told the kids three weeks ago when we were 1-3 that we had a five-game schedule left and it was up to them to decide what kind of record they wanted to finish with,” W-G head coach George Ashman said. “I am proud of the way they have responded so far.”
The game was played at Graceland University in Lamoni, but few blessings were evident for either team in the first half, which ended in a 6-0 lead for the Cardinals.
Peyton Pedersen was the chief thorn in W-G’s side, as his rushing TD had been the first points of the game, and his 85-yard TD reception of a Carter Boothe pass helped push the score to 12-0 early in the third quarter.
Hawk junior tailback Tanner Vermaas battered the Cardinal defense for 230 yards on 35 carries. He put W-G on the board for the first time midway through the third quarter when he ran off left tackle, plowed a would-be tackler to the ground and burst 40 yards to the end zone. Vermaas added the two-point conversion after a Cardinal penalty on the point-after, with the result a trimming of the W-G deficit to 12-8.
Vermaas was back at it again in the fourth quarter, this time bursting untouched up the middle from 17-yards out with 7:50 to play, with Cole Moran’s PAT boot moving the score to 15-12.
Perhaps taking a cue from the Hawk standout, Pedersen made a big to make himself the player of the game by returning the ensuing kickoff 74 yards for a touchdown, with a successful two-point try giving the hosts a 20-15 lead.
W-G promptly marched deep into Central Decatur territory, but were turned away on fourth down at the eight-yard line with just over three minutes left to play.
An incomplete pass and two short runs forced the hosts to punt the ball away, with the Hawks taking possession on the Cardinal 45-yard line.
Ashman had used two of his three timeouts after the two Cardinal running plays to stop the clock, and in order to reserve his final T.O. called two plays at once for the start of the final Hawk drive.
The first play resulted in an incomplete pass, with the offense quickly snapping the ball on second down as Vermaas ran off left tackle.
“I thought ‘oh no’ after we didn’t complete the pass, because now we were running on second-and-10 and maybe we shouldn’t be,” Ashman said. “Of course, I didn’t know Tanner would run it in.”
Vermaas stepped untouched through the line of scrimmage, made the safety completely whiff with a fake, then outran the pursuit for his third TD of the game. Moran’s PAT boot made the score 22-20 with just over a minute left on the clock.
The Cardinals had a final possession, but went nowhere on four consecutive plays and W-G was able to take a knee and celebrate the win.
Following a come-from-behind 20-13 overtime win at South Hamilton in non-district play Oct. 2, Ashman said Friday’s win showed the importance of both mental toughness and physical preparation.
“We believe in ourselves, even though there are some people who thought we might not win a game this year,” he said. “We are also seeing that how hard we condition is paying off, because we have been the fresher team down the stretch in the past few games and our kids see it. Several players said to me ‘Coach, they are getting tired’ in the fourth quarter, and that helps your morale when you sense that you are the fresher team.”
The loss sent Central Decatur to 3-4, 2-3 and imperils their playoff chances while greatly increasing the odds W-G will make the postseason. W-G hosts the top team in D8, Van Meter, Friday and ends the season with a trip to Des Moines Christian. Two wins would seal a postseason date, one would likely be enough to secure the fourth spot in D8.
Boothe was 6-of-18 for 173 yards in the air for the hosts, with Pedersen snaring three passes for 135 yards and a score. Pedersen ran for 42 yards and a score on 14 carries and also had a 74-yard kick return score. The Cardinals were held to just 71 yards rushing on 31 carries.
W-G quarterback Brendan Bird was 6-of-10 for 64 yards, hitting Race Brant (3-35), Logan Canova (2-15) and Johnnie Morgan (1-14) with passes.
Vermaas added to his stout offensive night with a team-best nine tackles, including three sacks. Tory Santi and Morgan aided the Hawk defense with five tackles apiece while Drew Jacobson added a sack and Josh Saak a fumble recovery.
