CEDAR FALLS — An outstanding defensive performance and a big game from running back Carter Kunze gave Tri-Center its first state football championship with a 14-10 victory over No. 1 West Hancock on Thursday at the UNI-Dome.
“It feels great,” said Kunze. “I’m so proud of these guys. It just means so much. I’m pretty speechless right now. I know it means everything to the school, the players, the coaches and the community. We did it for them.”
Tri-Center had been dominant all through the playoffs in outscoring its four postseason opponents by an average score of 47-12. But West Hancock was unbeaten and the defending Class A state champion. The Eagles had won three state titles since 2019.
Tri-Center knew it had to slow down West Hancock’s potent power rushing attack. The Eagles entered the game averaging 357 yards per game on the ground. They were held to 207 by the Trojans on Thursday.
With 3:47 left in the fourth quarter, West Hancock gained possession of the ball on its own 16. The Eagles got one first down, but the Trojan defense held on, forcing West Hancock to turn the ball over on downs.
Athan Chessmore pressured Eagle quarterback Zephyr Jamtgaard and forced him to throw an incompletion with 1:57 left to secure the win.
“Our mentality going in is bend, don’t break,” said Kunze. “If you have bend, don’t break you can let them drive down the field if you stop them in the red zone, like we did.”
Tri-Center forced West Hancock to turn the ball over on downs late in the first quarter after the Eagles drove down to the Trojan 11.
West Hancock took the opening kickoff of the second half and drove into the red zone, only to settle for a 25-yard field goal from Zach Beukema. That ended up being the final points of the game.
Kunze had 7.5 tackles, Brenton Kramer 4.5 and Jayden Johnson and A.J. Peters four apiece for Tri-Center. Kunze also had 3.5 tackles for loss
As strong as Tri-Center was on defense, the Trojan offense also came through in a big way. Especially Kunze.
Kunze set the tone for the game early in the first quarter when he hauled in a 38-yard touchdown pass from A.J. Harder to give Tri-Center an early 7-0 lead. He later added a 4-yard touchdown run late in the second quarter.
Kunze finished the game with 168 yards rushing on 36 carries and two catches for 62 yards.
“Every week I go in knowing I’m going to get the call most of the time,” Kunze said. “I know the team leans on me a lot, and every time I get the ball I’ve just got to run hard. Put my foot in the ground and try and get as many yards as I can. Every little yard helps, especially in a game like this.”
Harder also rose to the challenge on the biggest stage. The Trojan signal-caller completed 17 of 24 passes for 207 yards and one touchdown with no interceptions.
Harder’s biggest completion came near the end of the first half when he converted a 4th-and-6 play with a 12-yard completion to Zach Nelson to set up Kunze’s go-ahead touchdown run.
“He’s only a sophomore, but he has great poise in the pocket,” Kunze said. “He’s so calm for only being a sophomore. It really surprises me. He has great instincts, and I think that helps him out a lot.”
Tri-Center finished with a 12-1 record. West Hancock also ended its season at 12-1.
West Hancock was seeking the fifth state championship in program history. The team gave another great effort on Thursday, but coming up with only three points in two crucial trips to the red zone proved costly.
“I can’t fault our kids’ effort,” said West Hancock coach Mark Sanger. “We moved the ball, (but) we’d get a penalty (and) we’d shoot ourselves in the foot. I made some decisions coaching-wise that weren’t exactly the smartest thing. I don’t fault our kids’ effort — it was a heck of a high school football game.”
Brady Bixel, who entered the game with 1,852 yards and 37 touchdowns rushing, finished with 100 yards on 14 carries and Gustavo Gomez had 87 yards, including a 49-yard touchdown run in the first half, for the Eagles.
Gomez also had eight tackles and a fumble recovery, and Teague Smith made 7.5 stops for West Hancock.
Joe Randleman covers high school sports for the Ames Tribune. Contact him at jrandleman@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @JoeRandleman
This article originally appeared on Ames Tribune: Tri-Center upsets West Hancock to win the Class A state championship
