Iowa High School Football Playoffs: Spirit Lake Holds On, Central Lyon/George-Little Rock Rallies In Class 2A

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The Class 2A Iowa high school football playoffs featured two of the closer games of the week on Saturday at the UNI-Dome in Cedar Falls.

After Spirit Lake took advantage of a late mistake by Alburnett to advance, Central Lyon/George-Little Rock rallied to defeat Roland-Story. Those two will collide next week for the state championship.

Ty Higgins Accounts For Multiple Touchdowns In Spirit Lake Win

Ty Higgins ran for two touchdowns and threw for another, as Spirit Lake defeated Alburnett, 26-21.

Higgins completed 9 of 11 for 141 yards, hitting Jaizik Miller on a score. He ran for 76 yards and scored touchdowns in both the second and third quarters. The 38-yard TD to Miller late in the third provided the eventual game-winning points.

Brayden Sullivan ran for 120 yards on 29 carries, as Miller finished with three receptions for 68. Bennett Stecker caught two passes for 42 yards, as the Indians used several players to move the football.

For the Pirates, Laken Caves closed out his incredible high school career with 137 rushing yards and a TD, adding a 70-yard receiving touchdown. Caves will return to Cedar Falls for his college, as he has committed to the University of Northern Iowa.

Brody Kaestner was 4 of 6 passing for 167 yards, as he also hit Liam Carolan on a 71-yard touchdown strike.

Spirit Lake went up early when Kyson Jalas hit the end zone on a 9-yard run. Kaestner answered right back, finding Carolan on the long TD pass.

Higgins had back-to-back touchdown runs of 39 and nine yards to make it 19-7 in favor of Spirit Lake before Caves scored on a short run.

Alburnett cut into a 15-point deficit on the Kaestner-to-Caves 70-yard touchdown pass with seven minutes to play.

On defense, Stecker had a sack, 2.5 tackles for loss and a pass breakup, as Jalas led with seven tackles. For the Pirates, Cooper Franklin recorded 17 tackles, as Caves and Eaghan Fleshman each had 12.

Logan Koob Kicks Central Lyon/George-Little Rock To The Finals

With no time showing on the clock, Logan Koob gave Central Lyon/George-Little Rock fans a reason to celebrate.

Koob kicked a 31-yard field goal to lead the Lions to the championship, stunning Roland-Story, 31-28.

Central Lyon/George-Little Rock erased a 28-17 deficit in the second half, as Koob also made a 30-yard field goal around a touchdown run by Brady Kirch with just over a minute to play.

Koob also made a 32-yard field goal to start the scoring, as the Lions went up 10-0 when Tynan Schipper broke free on a 44-yard scamper to paydirt.

Roland-Story would answer, as Colin Willis hit Luke Thoreson, Cooper Triggs and Ben Mazyck for touchdowns to put them up, 21-10, midway through the second quarter. Willis added fourth passing TD in the third when he hit Thoreson again.

Willis finished 21-for-30 for 370 yards with four touchdowns and no interceptions. Thoreson caught eight passes for 178 and Triggs had three for 119. Jake Knoll had 22 tackles and Wyatt Ramus 12, with Sam Scarrow and Chance Georgius each recording a sack.

For Central Lyon/George-Little Rock, Michelet Sedam ran for 90 yards, Jephte Raymond had a 70-yard TD run and Tynan Schipper finished with 54 yards on the ground. Raymond had 2.5 tackles for loss and two quarterback hurries, as Wyatt Minter recorded seven tackles.