STATE CHAMPS
Third time is the charm for Armstrong-Ringstedby Matt Heinrichs - Sports Writer
Article Photos
Fact Box
First Quarter
Lenox - Connor Lange 29-yard field goal, 6:30
A-R - Tyler Tonderum 13-yard run, 2:03
Lenox - Dylan Douglas 58-yard pass from Austin Hancock (Lange kick failed), 3:26
Second Quarter
A-R - Craig Tigges 33-yard pass from Spencer Clausen (Tonderum rush failed), :30
Third Quarter
A-R - Tonderum 58-yard run (Ethan Eisenbacher kick), 11:14
A-R - Brett Thackery 44-yard int. return (Eisenbacker kick failed), 10:20
Lenox - Lange 7-yard run (Lange kick), 7:44
A-R - Tigges 43-yard pass from Clausen (Eisenbacher kick), 6:12
Lenox - Douglas 29-yard pass from Hancock(Lucas Dalton rush failed), 5:08
A-R - Tigges 28-yard pass from Clausen (Eisenbacher kick) 1:36
Fourth Quarter
A-R - Eisenbacher 22-yard field goal, 9:20
A-R - Tonderum 14-yard run (Eisenbacher kick failed) 3:58
Lenox - Christensen 18-yard pass from Hancock (Christensen rush), 2:13
LenoxA-R
First Downs
Rushing Yards
Passing Yards
Comp-Att.-Int
Total Offense Punts-Ave
Fumbles-lost
Penalties-yards
Time of Poss.
Individual stats
Rushing: Lenox - A. Christensen 15-83; Austin Hancock 18-64; Eric Hensley 13-54; Connor Lange 1-7: TEAM 1-(-1). A-R - Tyler Tonderum 19-141; Spencer Clausen 12-67; Dakota Odermann 1-12
Passing: Lenox - Hancock 7-18-1-150; A-R - Clause 9-12-0-244.
Receiving: Lenox - Dylan Douglas 4-117; A. Christensen 2-19; Connor Lange 1-14. A-R - Craig Tigges 5-179; Dakota Odermann 2-11; T. Hantelman 1-37; Tyler Tonderum 1-17.
Interceptions: Lenox - none. A-R - Brett Thackery 1-44.
Fumbles: Lenox - none. A-R - Spencer Clausen 1-0.
Sacks (UA-A): Lenox - none. A-R - Craig Tigges 1-1; Bryson Rezac 1-1; Ethan Jensen 0-1; Brett Thackery 0-1.
Tackles (UA-A): Lenox - DJ Brown 8-0; Austin Hancock 7-2; A. Christensen 5-1; Lucas Dalton 4-0; Eric Hensley 4-0; Landon Maynes 2-0; Dylan Douglas 1-1; Monty Maynes 1-0; Connor Lange 1-0. A-R - Spencer Clausen 9-2; Dakota Odermann 7-4; Brett Thackery 7-1; Tyler Tonderum 6-1; Travis Hantelman 6--1; Craig Tigges 4-4; Bryson Rezac 3-4; Ethan Jensen 1-2; Ty Irmiter 0-1
CEDAR FALLS - The third time was the charm for the Armstrong-Ringsted Mustangs as they finally captured an elusive state championship in a rematch against Lenox by a final score of 49-30 on Friday in Cedar Falls.
"Being there three times in a row, we kind of had that monkey on our backs," said A-R coach Robert Zotz. "Finally being able to get one is just a great feeling."
While the Mustangs were able to come out on top at the end, things looked shaky to begin the game.
The A-R defense came out fired up and after yielding just one first down on Lenox's opening drive it appeared the Mustangs would gain possession following a punt. Unfortunately several Mustang players ran into the punter and were called for roughing the kicker, giving the Tigers an automatic first down and new life.
Two plays later, Lenox took advantage of yet another penalty, this time a face-mask call, giving them a first down at the Mustang 13-yard line. A blitzing Tyler Tonderum stuffed a run in the backfield on second down before Bryson Rezac and Travis Hantelman teamed up to stop the Tigers' Eric Hensley on third down to force a field goal.
Connor Lange's 29-yard attempt split the uprights with 6:30 left in the first quarter to give Lenox a 3-0 lead.
Although the penalties hurt the team, Zotz was happy that they could still hold Lenox to a field goal.
"It was a little scary at first," he said. "It seemed like we were stopping them pretty good and then we had those two penalties, but to hold them to a field goal was a big victory for us."
After the following kickoff sailed through the end zone, the Mustangs took over at their own 15-yard line.
On A-R's very first play from scrimmage, quarterback Spencer Clausen faked a handoff to Tonderum and then launched a 41-yard bomb down the middle of the field to a wide open Craig Tigges, giving the Mustangs a first down at the Tiger 24-yard line.
Coming into the game, the Mustangs wanted to use the play-action pass to create big plays.
"Last year [Lenox] stacked the box so we wanted to go play action early," said Clausen. "Craig got past the defense and I was able to hit him and he made a great play on the ball."
Two plays later, Tonderum took it in from 13 yards out with 4:27 left in the first quarter. Ethan Eisenbacher's extra point attempt was a success and the Mustangs took a 7-3 lead.
On the Tigers' next possession it once again appeared as if the Mustang defense would come up big, forcing Lenox into a third-and-10 situation. However, a pass from Austin Hancock to Dylan Douglas barely cleared the finger tips of a leaping Clausen, and Douglas galloped the rest of the way for a 58-yard touchdown. Lange missed the kick, making the score 9-7 with 3:26 left in the opening period.
The Mustangs again started at their 15-yard line but this time failed to put together a drive. On third-and-long a Clausen pass fell just out of the reach of an outstretched Hantelman, forcing A-R to punt.
A line-drive punt by Eisenbacher took a Mustang bounce, rolling all the way to the Tiger 6-yard line, a 53-yard boot.
Lenox's next possession was the start of the second quarter. The Tigers methodically moved the ball into Mustang territory. However, the A-R defense stiffened, forcing the Tigers to attempt a 40-yard field goal with a little over 9:00 left in the half. Lange's attempt missed wide right and the Mustangs took over at their 30-yard line.
On the first play from scrimmage, Spencer Clausen broke free off the left side for a 37-yard run. Soon after, Tonderum took a long gain of his own off the right side giving the Mustangs a first down at Lenox's 18-yard line. This time the Tiger's defense came up big, tackling Clausen and Tonderum for losses on consecutive plays and forcing A-R to attempt a 31-yard field goal. Eisenbacher's attempt was blocked, giving the Tigers the ball back at their 25-yard line.
The Mustangs' defense struggled to get off the field as the Tigers converted two crucial third downs and moved the ball into A-R territory, before Rezac sacked Hancock for a 3-yard loss on third down with 1:24 left in the half forcing the Tigers to attempt a 29-yard field goal. Lange's attempt banged off the left upright, giving the Mustangs the ball at the 15-yard line again.
Between possessions Zotz pulled his team together. "I told them we weren't going to kneel out the clock. We were going to take it down field and score before halftime," he said.
The Mustangs did just that. It took just three plays and 50 seconds for the Mustangs to move the ball 65 yards. After two completions to Hantelman of 37 and 14 yards, the Mustangs were called for an illegal shift moving the ball back to the 33-yard line. The penalty didn't faze them, however, as Clausen connected with Tigges on a 33-yard touchdown pass with 30 seconds left in the half.
The final drive was a thing of beauty. "It just kind of worked out nice for us," Zotz said. "We put some guys in motion, moved some people around and hit the open man."
Unfortunately for the Mustangs, Hantelman broke his collar bone on the touchdown drive and was forced to miss the rest of the game.
"Losing Hantelman hurt us a lot," said Zotz. "Not only because he's a great athlete but we were already missing one starter (Looft) and had to reconfigure our team. Then we lost another and had to switch things around again."
After an incomplete pass on first down, Lenox decided to kneel on the ball, making the halftime score 13-9 Mustangs.
At halftime Zotz talked to his team about correcting the little errors. "Basically in the first half we had some guys out of place at times so we pretty much talked about making the right reads and executing. We went over the Xs and Os in hopes of getting things right in the second half."
The Mustangs opened the second half on offense. It took just two plays before Tonderum broke free on a 58-yard touchdown run. Eisenbacher drilled the PAT giving A-R a 20-9 lead just 46 seconds into the second half.
The boost in momentum was something Tonderum really wanted to give his team.
"I knew I had to make a big play because that's what the team relies on me to do," said Tonderum. "I knew our team needed that sort of thing to get rolling in the second half and thankfully I was able to come through for us."
The Mustangs defense was not to be out done, however, as Brett Thackery intercepted a Hancock pass in the left flat and returned it 44 yards for a touchdown with 10:20 left in the third quarter, giving the Mustangs a 26-9 lead.
Like a seasoned veteran, Thackery sat in the passing lane perfectly, reading the quarterback's eyes the whole time.
"When I saw that pass floating I just went up and got it," said Thackery. "I looked ahead and saw the endzone, but I'm not very fast, so I was hoping that Craig Tigges would come back and make a block for me and he did and I went all the way. It was pretty exciting."
Despite giving up those two big plays, Lenox was not shaken. The Tigers drove the ball right into the heart of the Mustang defense, scoring on a 7-yard run by Lange with 2:36 left in the third quarter after a 7-play, 65-yard drive to pull the Tigers within 10 points.
The game suddenly changed from a defensive showdown to a high-scoring shootout, as the Mustangs answered back, driving 65 yards on four plays and scoring on a 43-yard pass from Clausen to Tigges in just 1:32 to make the score 33-16.
Lenox responded, making the score 33-22 after a three-play, 45-yard drive culminated in a 29-yard touchdown pass from Hancock to Douglas with 5:08 left in the third quarter.
On their ensuing possession, the Mustangs again found little trouble moving the ball downfield. On fourth-and-three from the Tiger 26-yard line, the Mustangs elected to go for the first down.
Tonderum took the snap out of the Wildcat formation and found running room up the middle, gaining just enough to give the Mustangs a first down with 2:30 left in the third quarter.
After a false start penalty, the Mustangs were backed up to the 28-yard line. On second-and-15 Tonderum again took the snap out of the Wildcat and pitched the ball to Clausen who lofted a perfectly thrown ball into the end zone for Tigges. The senior receiver hauled it in for his third touchdown of the game, giving the Mustangs a 40-22 lead with 1:36 left in the third period.
After holding Lenox to a three-and-out, Tonderum returned a punt by Hensley 30 yards to the Lenox 26-yard line.
After a 7-play, 21-yard drive stalled, Eisenbacher drilled a 22-yard field goal to give the Mustangs a 43-22 lead with 9:20 left to play.
"Even though we were up big when I hit that field goal, it still felt pretty good," said Eisenbacher. "They were getting a good rush on us all game long so to finally connect on one was great."
After the Eisenbacher kickoff sailed out of bounds, Lenox took over on their own 15-yard line. Consecutive sacks on the first two downs, first by Rezac and Ethan Jensen and then by Tigges and Thackery, made it third-and-22. A completed pass from Hancock to Douglas gained the Tigers 10 yards but they were forced to punt on fourth down. A-R took over at their own 35-yard line.
Tonderum capped off a 7-play, 45-yard drive with a 13-yard touchdown run with 3:58 left in regulation to give the Mustangs a 49-22 lead.
Down, but not out, the Tigers put together one final drive after Hensley returned the ensuing kickoff 29 yards to the Lenox 30-yard line. The Tigers mounted a terrific drive that ended in an 18-yard touchdown pass to Austin Christensen with 2:13 remaining but it was too little to late as the following onside attempt was recovered by Thackery, sealing the Mustangs' 49-30 state championship victory.
Tigges was named the Player of the Game after compiling five catches for 179 yards. His three touchdowns set a state championship game record and he also made eight stops on defense, including one and a half sacks.
"It feels great to receive this award, but I couldn't have done it without my teammates," said Tigges. "It's a team effort. The line had to give Spencer time to throw and Spencer threw it where I had a chance to make a play on it."
Although the senior was thrilled with the honor, he was even more excited about finally being a state champion.
"After all these years, it feels great to win a championship," he said. "We all kept going into the offseason and working as hard as we could and finally we have our opportunity to be a state champ."
After the game Zotz didn't quite know how to feel. "I can't tell how I feel yet because I'm still soaking it in," he said. "I'm excited for our kids and I want to say thank you to all the fans-we are all champions."
Tonderum, the only player on the roster to have played in all three championships, was excited to end his high school career as a state champion. "Finally to get it done is a great relief," he said. "It's something that I've wanted to bring home for the past two years. It's a great achievement and I'm very happy with how we played."
Thackery produced some of the major plays in the game and was excited to earn a championship. "It feels great," he said. "Losing by two points last year kind of hurt and then beating them fair and square this year feels really good."
The Mustangs senior kicker Eisenbacher was also thrilled to finally be a state champ. "It feels pretty dang good, especially after losing by two points last year and having the last second field goal blocked."
Mustang seniors competing in their final game of their high school careers were Tonderum, Tigges, Eisenbacher and Jensen. Dylan Looft, another senior, was unable to compete in the championship game after breaking his leg in the semifinal against Adair-Casey.
"Our seniors are great kids, with great heart and they deserve it," said Zotz. "They deserve it so much more than anybody on that field because of the insane amount of time they put in the weight room and just keeping guys going, keeping guys together. As coaches we guide, but you've got to have that senior leadership to be successful and this championship is a testament to how good of leaders these kids are."
