It was state championship week in Iowa, and for two Iowa commits that meant one last shot at a dream ending to their prep careers. Elsewhere, five other Iowa commits were in action hoping to take another step in their respective state playoffs.
The games themselves lived up to the moment. One Iowa state championship game came down to a 4th-and-goal play from the 3-yard line. Out in Arizona, an Iowa commit saw his team battle back from a 17-0 deficit late in the fourth quarter. And in Florida, an Iowa commit recovered a late onside kick to give his team one final chance to steal a victory.
Here's the full rundown:
Player of the Week
Weisskopf became the first Iowa commit to win a state championship this year as Williamsburg earned a 20-0 victory in Class 3A over Sioux City Bishop Heelan.
Midway through the first quarter, Weisskopf forced a fumble near midfield that Williamsburg recovered. Just over a minute later, Weisskopf found Braylon Wetjen on a 6-yard touchdown pass to put Williamsburg up 6-0.
The Weisskopf-Wetjen connection struck again 3 minutes later, this time on a 57-yard touchdown pass. Williamsburg scored a rushing touchdown midway through the third quarter to put the game away.
On offense, Weisskopf was 10-of-18 for 150 yards and two touchdowns. He also threw an interception. Weisskopf wasn't as effective with his legs, as he ran seven times for just 14 yards. Defensively, Weisskopf had 6 tackles, a pass breakup, and the key forced fumble.
Other Iowa Commits
With eight seconds remaining in the state championship game against Van Meter, Vander Zee and Central Lyon looked like they were set up for a storybook ending. The Lions were down 24-21 but had the ball at 4th-and-goal at the Van Meter 3-yard line. A touchdown would seal a near-walk off victory.
Unfortunately, there's a reason storybook endings are mostly fiction. Pre-snap Vander Zee saw something he didn't like and walked to the line to change the play. As he shouted out instructions, the center thought he heard the snap signal and snapped the ball.
The ball shot over Vander Zee and down the field. Vander Zee eventually recovered the fumble, but Central Lyon turned it over on downs and the game was effectively over. The Lions lost 24-21 on one of the more brutal endings you'll ever see in a football game.
The entire game went back and forth. Van Meter led 10-7 in the second quarter, before Central Lyon scored touchdowns late in the second quarter and midway through the third quarter to take a 21-10 lead. Van Meter then responded with two fourth quarter touchdowns to take the lead and the win.
On offense, Vander Zee went 12-of-15 for 116 yards and two touchdowns. He also ran the ball 22 times for 97 yards and another touchdown. On defense, Vander Zee had four tackles and a pass breakup.
Watson and Central Catholic continued to roll their way through the Ohio state playoffs with a 41-6 victory over Tiffin Columbian. Central Catholic now advances to the state semifinals. Watson found the end zone twice in the quarterfinal victory.
The first touchdown came on 4th-and-2 at the Columbian 13 when Watson lined up as the wildcat quarterback and ran it in for the score. The second was a 55-yard touchdown pass where Watson blew by the secondary and caught a deep ball.
Video of the touchdowns are here:
Brophy Prep defeated Casteel 31-17 to advance to the Arizona 6A state semifinals, but the win didn't come easily. With 1:07 left in the third quarter, Brophy Prep trailed 17-0. From there, momentum swung quickly.
It started with a high snap on a punt that turned into a safety. Brophy scored a touchdown on its next drive, and suddenly it was 17-9.
Brophy struck again with six minutes left in the game, then converted a two-point conversion to tie the game at 17. Brophy tried a squib kick on the subsequent kickoff, and it bounced off a Casteel player before Brophy recovered. Six plays later, Brophy had the lead.
Casteel still had a chance to tie, but Brophy's defense forced a fumble and its offense sealed the game with another late touchdown. Some of Kennedy's highlights from the game are here.
Armwood fell to Tampa Bay Tech 27-22 in the Florida Class 3M regional semifinal. Armwood got the ball back with a couple minutes remaining down 20-16, but threw a pick-six to seemingly end the game.
Armwood responded with a quick touchdown, and then Godfrey recovered the onside kick to give Armwood hope. Armwood got the ball to the 20 and had four shots to score, but couldn't complete any of them and were eliminated from the playoffs.
Lincoln Way East rolled to a Class 8A state championship game appearance with a 49-6 victory over Barrington. Lincoln Way East forced six Barrington turnovers in the game. The Griffins now face Loyola in a rematch of last year's state championship game that Loyola won.
Westminster Christian's run to the Missouri Class 3 quarterfinals came to an end with a 47-29 loss to Blair Oaks. Blair Oaks jumped out to a 28-3 lead in the game, and it was effectively over before halftime. Highlights from the game are here.
