Photos by Kora Alesch
by Mari Radtke
West Sioux opened the semifinal Class A football tournament kicking off the the MMCRU Royals. Falcons showed tough defense forcing the Royals to 4th and out.
The Falcons were flagged on the punt return. The Falcons threw on 2nd and 10 ending in a Gage Johnson interception. This was JohnsonÕs 4th interception of the year and the Royals 26th team grab.
Still facing a tough D the Royals turned the ball over on downs.

The Falcons were forced to burn a time out in this series because of running the play clock very low. They came out of their time out with a long throw from senior quarterback Blake Wiggins to junior receiver Braylon Lopez put the Falcons on the RoyalsÕ 46 yard line. Facing more Royals top rated defense and forced to call another time out, during the series, the Falcons sufferend lost yards and were forced to punt.

The Royals took possession at their own 22. The Falcons pushed the skills of the Royals on the offense, but they were able to move the ball downfield. With 2:28 to go in the first quarter, A pitch to senior Michael Schmillen scored the first points of the game. It was his 12th TD catch of the season. This was also RoyalsÕ junior quarterback Eli HarpenauÕs 25th TD pass this season, marking a high.
West Sioux struggled with the kickoff ending up at their own 4 yard line. The Royals defense have had only 4 touchdowns scored agains their starting defense this season. Their series ended 4 and out.
And the Royals punted back. The Falcons were flagged during this series for holding, making it 3rd and 14 for the birds. A Wiggins pass to Lopez gave them a first down at the RoyalsÕ 33. The Falcons were 1st and 10 at the 39 when they were flagged again at 1st and 10 from the RoyalsÕ 39. That penalty took the Falcons to RoyalsÕ 44. The Falcons moved the ball to the 35 . The RoyalsÕ defense did what it does, pressured Wiggins for a throw away making it 4th and 6. The confident Falcons went for it, but turned it over on downs.
The Royals were 1st and 10 at their own 35. Harpenau threw a big pass to M. Schmillen. He threaded the needle between 2 defenders in the red zone. Schmillen caught the ball and took it to the house.
The West Sioux possession was tough for them ending in a punt.
In the Royals’ possession Harenau was sacked, showing signs of life from Red. At 4th and 11 and 15 seconds left in the half Harpenau connected another big throw with M. Schmillen for yet another Royals TD!

The 2nd half was quieter. With 3:10 to go in the 3rd and after trading possessions the Royals found themselves at 3rd down and a yard to go. A Harpenau run gave the Royals with a full set of downs. Then it was a bad snap and then a delay of game penalty for the Royals. 1st and 10 became 1st and 15 at the 36. A few plays later with small gains Harpenau lobbed the ball to senior Grayson Mulder to the 13. Then it was a Mulder 13 yard TD pass. The Royals now have marked 8 completions in the game with 4 of them being TDs. Gage Johnso was perfect on his PATs.
The kickoff ended the quarter.
The Falcons showed grit. They made it to the red zone in this possession. A Royals encroachment penalty gave them a little help. And then showed tough D. The Falcons hurt themselves again by committing another penalty. Another timeout was called because of the play clock by the Falcons at 4th and 15. Wiggins overthrew his target in the end zone, turning the ball over on downs.
A Harpenau pass starting the next series was intercepted deep in their own territory. And a the 11, the Royals grabbed their 27the team interception regaining possession.
West Sioux penalty and a forced fumble brought the ball back to the Royals, but they punted it away. Alesch deflected a pass by Wiggins making it 3rd and 7 late in the 4th. Another Falcon delay of game and more Alesch defense brought the game to a Royals 28-0 victory and an earned trip to the championship game on Thursday November 20 at the Unidome in Cedar Falls.