TR PHOTO BY ROSS THEDE – Gladbrook-Rhinebeck head coach John Olson, left, poses with senior quarterback Drew after Thursday’s eight-man state football championship game at the UNI Dome in Cedar Falls. Comfort Eilers. The Rebels were denied the title in the first eight-man state final as Remsen vs. St. Paul. Mary’s defeated GR 51-12, winning for the third time in the past five years.
CEDAR FALLS — Two years after winning back-to-back Class A state championships, the Gladbrook-Rhinebeck football program experienced growing pains of playing a new game.
Six years later, the Rebels finally found their way back to the state title game, with all the pain that came with it.
Gladbrook-Rhinebeck lost to No. 1 Remsen St. Louis. Mary’s won the eight-man championship game Thursday, 51-12, at the UNI Dome in Cedar Falls, ending the season in the Dome for the second straight year.
Starting in 2018, GR lost four consecutive games in the first round of the playoffs, but finally advanced to the quarterfinals in 2022. The Rebels are in the running for one more win each season, coming off a heartbreaking loss to Bedford in last year’s state semifinals on Thursday. Remsen Street Mary experienced an unparalleled amount of heartache.
The Hawks (13-0) scored the first 21 points and the last 22 points of the game, handing Gladbrook-Rhinebeck (11-2) their first loss since the season opener.
TR PHOTO BY ROSS THEDE – Gladbrook-Rhinebeck seniors Hunter Roberts (22), Michael Boyd (21) and Drew Eilers (2) meet Dubuque Senior Athletic Director Brent, a Rhinebeck native. • Accepting the Rebels’ eight-player state runner-up trophy from Cook after Thursday’s championship game at the UNI Dome in Cedar Falls. The Rebels lost to No. 1 Remsen St. Louis. Mary’s, 51 wins and 12 losses.
“It just kind of got away from us,” GR head coach John Olson said. “An inch here, an inch there…I know they say it’s an inch game, but I felt like that’s exactly what it was. It was 10 inches, 10 different plays. I did it at 10 different times and was successful on 9 of them.
“For some reason it didn’t go the way we wanted it to, and it wasn’t because of the kids’ efforts. They were spanking us the whole time.”
Remsen Street Mary’s improved to 58-2 under fifth-year head coach Tim Osterman and won its third state title in the past five seasons. The Hawks withstood GR’s first attack with their 4th and 3rd basemen near the goal line, and the Rebels did their best to catch up with Remsen St. Louis. Mary came from there.
The Hawks went on a 10-play, 76-yard drive that found them in the end zone on a 27-yard pass from Landon Waldschmidt to Keaton Hapenau to Remsen St. Louis. Mary took it well from there. The Hawks hit paydirt on their next four possessions, but Gladbrook-Rhinebeck was unable to catch up.
“They’ve been a very explosive offense all year long, including last year,” Osterman said. “But we kind of knew we could play our best on defense, make stops, make plays and run the football.
TR PHOTO BY ROSS THEDE – Gladbrook-Rhinebeck sophomore Trayvon Herron (9) is pulled out of bounds by Remsen-St. Mary defender Brady Wirth, 11, during the second quarter of Thursday’s eight-man state football championship game at the UNI Dome in Cedar Falls. Herron gained 24 yards on that play.
“They’re a great defense. We saw it all day, and we just made a few more plays than them.”
The Hawks won GR 399-253 and held the Rebels to just 10 first downs. Senior quarterback Drew Eilers scored both Gladbrook and Rhinebeck touchdowns on the ground, scoring on runs of 14 and 25 yards. The first was to get GR back within 21-6 late in the second quarter, but not slow enough to catch Remsen St. Louis. Mary’s failed to score again before the first half. Waldschmidt smashed the ball into the end zone for the second of his five touchdown runs, putting the Hawks ahead 29-6 at intermission.
Eilers scored a long touchdown run on 4th and 2nd base to cap GR’s possession early in the second half, but that was the final dent the Rebels made on Remsen St. Louis. Mary’s persistence.
The Hawks entered the game allowing just 10.2 points per game, the second-best mark in eight-man football this season, and they proved it on the biggest stage.
After the game as Remsen Street, Mary’s accepted the state championship trophy on the field, and Eilers, with tears in his eyes, held up the GR state runner-up trophy while watching the replay on the jumbotron.
“It was embarrassing because we lost,” Eilers said of the outpouring of emotion at the end of the game. “I thought they were a good team, we were a good team, but sometimes you just don’t get it done. They must have worked harder than we did.”
GR, a team averaging 54.5 points per game, encountered a stationary object at Remsen St. Paul. Mary didn’t break through often enough to qualify for Thursday’s finale match.
“There are 67 teams in eight-man football and we are one of the last two teams,” Olson said. “We played a lot of tough games. Don Bosco came within an inch and we got that inch. Tonight there were 10 different inches in 10 different plays, but whatever the reason. , we couldn’t quite come up with that. You have to give credit to Remsen Street, because they put on a play like that when you mattered. did.
“When the game got tough, they made big plays. We’ve made those big plays all season, and today was a clash of two really good football teams.”
Waldschmidt rushed 33 times for 177 yards and five touchdowns and completed 10-of-15 passes for 156 yards and two scores. He and the Hawks’ impressive offensive line had an answer for everything GR threw at them.
“We took it little by little, little by little, little by little, and that was the way we did it,” Osterman said.
The Remsen Street Marys went 9 of 12 on third down conversions and relented every time the Rebels had a chance to make a stop. The Hawks converted their only fourth down attempt, setting up a 17-yard touchdown pass from Waldschmidt to Halpenau to make it 21-0 with 5:57 left in the second quarter.
Eilers gained 83 yards on 19 carries and Rebel scored on both. He completed 12 of 23 passes for 118 yards and an interception. Late in the third quarter, Halpenau made a long pass to Hudson Clark, stopping GR from making a comeback.
“I thought we gave it our all, but it’s kind of disappointing to lose by 39 points in the state championship,” Eilers said. “I’m proud of our players. We knew we had to put in the extra effort in the weight room and we did it. We gave it our all and gave it our all.” I think it was my goal to come here since middle school, so I’ve come this far, but I think I was one game short.
“Everyone cared so much and everyone wanted to be here. I couldn’t have found a better group to play with.”
After the game, Olson consoled Eilers as the senior signal caller tried to take responsibility for the loss.
“There’s not much I can say, so I just don’t say anything,” Olson said. “We just play together and cry together. It’s hard. There’s nothing to say because they can’t play soccer in GR anymore.”
Clark had seven receptions for 70 yards and Trayvon Herron had three catches for 33 yards. Trevor Mathern added one catch for 11 yards, but the Rebels couldn’t get past Remsen St. Paul. Mary’s defense when absolutely necessary.
Colin Homan, the Hawks’ 6-foot-6 defensive end, recorded 8.5 tackles, 3.0 tackles for loss, one quarterback sack, and also stopped GR’s first extra point attempt.
Senior end Michael Boyd led the Rebels with 12.5 stops. Herron added 10 tackles and Clark 7.5 tackles.
“We have a team that wants to work hard and that’s what’s getting us here,” said Herron, a sophomore. “I’m really happy to be on this team. We’re hoping to win next year. We went to the state championship, but we’ve got to come back and keep working harder.”
state football playoffs
at the UNI Dome in Cedar Falls.
championship finals
Thursday, November 21st
8 players
Remsen Street Mary’s 51, Gladbrook Rhinebeck 12
Class A
Tri-Center 14, West Hancock 10
Class 1A
Grundy Center 28, Dyke New Hartford 7
class 4A
North Polk 24, Pella 14
Friday, November 22nd
class 2A
Spirit Lake (11-1) vs. West Lyon (12-0), 10 a.m.
class 3A
Dubuque Vallert (12-0) vs. Humboldt (11-1), 1 p.m.
Class 5A
West Des Moines Valley (10-2) vs. Southeast Polk (8-4), 7 p.m.
Remsen Street Mary’s 51, Gladbrook Rhinebeck 12
GR 0 6 6 0 — 12
Remsen-SM 6 23 8 14 — 51
1st quarter
RSM — Keaton Harpenau, 27 passes (incompleted passes) from Landon Waldschmidt, 2:08.
2nd quarter
RSM — Waldschmidt 5 runs (Brady Wirth pass from Colin Homan), 10:01.
RSM — Halpenau 17 Pass from Waldschmidt (Homan kick), 5:57.
GR — Drew Eilers 14 runs (kick block), 5:57.
RSM — Waldschmidt 5 runs (Harpenau pass from Waldschmidt), :58.
3rd quarter
GR — Eilers 25 runs (missed runs), 8:34.
RSM — Waldschmidt 3 runs (Harpenau pass from Waldschmidt), 5:17.
4th quarter
RSM — Waldschmidt 5 runs (Homan kick), 9:19.
RSM — Waldschmidt 3 runs (Homan kick), 4:37.
team statistics
GR RSM
First down 10 22
Rush Yards 30-135 48-243
Passing Yards 118 156
Comp-at-Into 12-23-1 10-15-0
Total attack 53-253 63-399
Lost fumble 0-0 0-0
Penalty Yards 3-24 2-10
The era of pos. 22:15 25:45
personal statistics
Rushing — GR: Eilers 19-83, Trayvon Herron 9-44, Hudson Clark 2-8. RSM: Waldschmidt 33-177, Halpenau 8-44, Braxton Kneipp 5-13, Cade Tentinger 2-9.
Pass — GR: Eilers 12-23-118-1; RSM — Waldschmidt 10-15-156-0.
Receiving — GR: Clark 7-80, Herron 3-33, Trevor Mathern 1-11, Michael Boyd 1-(minus-6). RSM: Halpenau 3-58, Kneipp 5-57, Homan 1-26, Brady Wirth 1-15.
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