The Iowa high school football season comes to end this week with the crowning of six state champions at the UNI-Dome in Cedar Falls. Gladbrook-Reinbeck is hoping to win the Class-A title.

The Rebels (12-1) play Logan-Magnolia (13-0) in the championship game at 1:36 p.m. today (Thursday, November 20, 2014).


Gladbrook-Reinbeck High School Logo
Gladbrook-Reinbeck High School Logo
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Gladbrook-Reinbeck's Road To The Dome: The third-ranked Rebels are in the title game for the second time. Their only previous trip to the state finals ended with a runner-up finish in 2004. This is the school's ninth playoff appearance (Gladbrook, a 1984 semifinalist, and Reinbeck each qualified once). The Rebels are 11-8 all-time in post-season play.

Gladbrook-Reinbeck dropped its season-opener to Class-2A La Porte City Union, but has since won 12-straight games. The Rebels played strong in earlier playoff tilts this season, beating Belmond-Klemme (49-18), No. 13 BGM of Brooklyn (56-14) and fourth-ranked Pekin of Packwood (28-6). They beat Denver (21-8) in the state semfinals.

Head Coach John Olson is in his ninth season with Gladbrook-Reinbeck and has a 69-26 career record. He was an assistant with the Rebels prior to being promoted. He is a graduate of Denver and the University of Northern Iowa. This is his sixth playoff team, with the previous five all coming in succession.

About Gladbrook-Reinbeck: The Rebels feature a balanced offensive attack, keyed by junior running back Eric Stoakes and senior quarterback Cam Kickbush. Stoakes has rushed for nearly 2,300 yards and averages nearly 10 yards per carry. His 34 rushing trips to the endzone are good for 204 points -- best on the team. Kickbush has completed over 60% of his passes for over 1,000 yards and 15 touchdowns. Big play receivers Phillip Zimmerman (309 yards on 9 receptions for 5 TDs), and Jake Schuman (262 yards on six grabs for 4 scores) lead the way. Possession receivers Josh Cooley and Colton Dinsdale have 259 and 245 yards, respectively. Kicker Bennett Petersen has connected on 65 of 69 point-after touchdown tries and has a field goal to his credit. Defensively, Bryce Ehlers tops the tackles chart with 91. Zach Pierce has a team-high 16 solo tackles for loss six and six sacks. Gladbrook-Reinbeck has 25 take-aways, including 13 fumble recoveries.

Game Snapshot: Gladbrook-Reinbeck averages nearly 44 points on offense and allows just under 11 on defense. Back-up quarterback Jake Schuman will get his third start of the season in the title game. Starting signal-caller Cam Kickbush suffered a season-ending shoulder injury in the semifinal win over Denver last week.


Logan-Magnolia's Road To The Dome: The top-ranked Panthers are in the title game for the third time. Logan-Magnolia was the Class-1A runner-up in 1989 and the Class-A champion in 1990, teams on which Coach Matt Straight starred. This is the school's 14th playoff appearance.The Panthers are 18-12 all-time in post-season play.

After an unbeaten regular-season, Logan-Magnolia advanced to the title game by beating Griswold (49-20), No. 13 West Sioux of Hawarden (40-0) and ninth-ranked Woodbury Central of Moville (27-14). The Panthers beat No. 8 Mount Ayr (28-7) in the state semfinals.

Head Coach Matt Straight, a former All-Stater at Logan-Magnolia and a two-year starter at Iowa State University, has a 108-38 record. Straight is in his 14th season as Logan-Magnolia's coach. This is his 10th playoff team.

About Logan-Magnolia: The Panthers pin their hopes on a strong ball control attack. They feature a balanced offensive attack. Senior Brady Charbonneau and junior Riley Wohlers are the top rushers and both average close to 10 yards per carry. Charbonneau has logged 1,367 yards with 17 endzone visits while Wohlers has 976 ground yards and 18 TDs. Sophomore fullback Austin Haner has 675 yards and 13 touchdowns to lead three others with 400 or more yards. Kicker Nic Heller has connected on 74 of 77 conversions after touchdowns. Defensively, seven players have 34 or more tackles. Senior Drake Cohrs and Haner top the stop list with 72 and 66 tackles, respectively. Charbonneau (13) and Wohlers (11) lead the team in tackles for a loss. Logan-Magnolia has 24 take-aways, including 17 fumble recoveries.

Game Snapshot: Logan-Magnolia averages nearly 46 points on offense and allows less than 9.5 on defense, which leads the state.

 

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