A Lone Tree turnover led to a 43-yard house call and a two-touchdown lead for Iowa Valley with three minutes left in Friday’s game. But senior Drew Gauley wasn’t content to just watch the clock run out on the final game of his Lion football career.
He received the kickoff at the 12-yard line and followed his blocks toward the right side of the field. He saw an opening between the last line of Tiger defenders and he was gone.
Trailing 28-22, Gauley’s onside kick was recovered by freshman Emmett Burke and the Lions celebrated as the offense took the field with a chance to win.
However, the Iowa Valley sideline argued that the onside attempt had been an illegal “pop-up” kick, and after a lengthy discussion, the officiating crew agreed.
Iowa Valley recovered the rekick and scored three plays later to defeat Lone Tree 36-22 in the final game of the regular season.
“It's so hard in situations like that, because your emotions are so raw,” Lone Tree coach Joe Donovan said. “Life is kind of like this too. Sometimes things happen that you don't understand. And you just have to learn to take the next step and lean on each other a little bit.”
Donovan was proud of the leadership and effort on display in the Lions’ regular season finale.
Early in the game, it seemed unlikely that the Lions would be within one score in the fourth quarter. Lone Tree, who had lost each of the last three games by at least 25 points, was without starting quarterback Ethan Bockelman, who had rushed or thrown for over 80 percent of the team’s total yards.
While Iowa Valley started senior Evan Kearney, ranked second in the state in total touchdowns, Lone Tree countered with sophomore Maddox Jondle, who had completed just one pass in a varsity game.
The situation seemed even more dire after the Tigers finished their first possession with a touchdown and Lone Tree fumbled the ball away on its first play. But Iowa Valley, who entered the game averaging 52 points per game, would not score again in the first half.
A fourth down stop kept the fumble from hurting Lone Tree, set up by a tackle for loss by senior Caden Smith. The Lion defense forced punts on the next two possessions.
In the second quarter, Lone Tree allowed just one first down and 26 total yards, half of which came on a third-and-12 scramble from Kearney.
“All you can say is they played the whole game — they competed till the end,” Donovan said. They gave themselves a chance. So you're proud of their effort, you're proud of the way they compete. And that's what we're asking for.”
Senior Joe Boxwell led the defense with 11.5 tackles. Braden Viers, Mitch Koedam, Andrew Hotz, Brody Magruder and Gauley all made stops in the Tiger backfield.
The offensive line of Koedam, Hotz, and Jack Buser paved the way for 239 rushing yards. Burke had eight carries for 37 yards. Jondle carried the ball 35 times for 198 yards and two touchdowns.
His 19-yard touchdown rush gave Lone Tree a 14-8 lead early in the third quarter.
Lone Tree did not attempt a pass until the final possession of Friday’s game. Jondle’s touchdown runs of 15 and 19 yards were the only plays of over 11 yards for Lone Tree.
Without a passing game or big-play potential, it was critical for the Lions to avoid short gains or losses.
“Sometimes coaches will take a down to try to throw it, and if you're not a good throwing team, it's incomplete,” Donovan said. “Now you put yourself behind the sticks a little bit, so we thought with four downs, we could get the first down. We just tried to stay with that philosophy — it shortens the game and keeps us in the game a little longer.”
That philosophy worked well until Iowa Valley finally connected on some long passes in the third quarter. Caden Knapp caught a pass of 37 yards on third-and-8 before Kearney found Zane Keim for a 19-yard score on fourth down.
Iowa Valley was again facing third-and-long at midfield on its next possession. Two passes from Kearney to Pierce Kienitz covered the 42 yards and gave the Tigers the lead for good on the final play of the third quarter.
In addition to the reversal of the initial result of the Lone Tree’s onside kick, another key call impacted a fourth-and-1 play in the fourth quarter. Trailing 20-14, Jondle picked up the first down and reached the end zone on a 17-yard run, but a flag was thrown. No penalty was announced, but instead an inadvertent whistle resulted in a Lone Tree first down at the 15. On second down, a Lone Tree fumble was recovered by Iowa Valley.
Iowa Valley won the turnover battle 3-0. It looked like the Lions might be headed for another blowout loss after the first fumble, but Lone Tree trailed by just six points after Gauley’s kick return touchdown in the fourth quarter.
“We talked to the seniors and just asked them to keep competing,” Donovan said. “And that’s the message. Win or lose, you have to learn to compete.
“Football does resemble life a lot, and you just try to just try to show the kids how these experiences will someday work in their advantage and help them deal with some things and they’ll lean on each other in hard times.”
Lone Tree finishes the season with a record of 3-5, with all five losses coming to playoff qualifiers.
