Remsen St. Mary’s, Iowa City Regina, North Scott Reign Supreme

The first championship day inside the UNI-Dome featured the crowning of three champions in Iowa as Remsen St. Mary’s flexed its defense, Iowa City Regina ignited the scoreboard and North Scott made history. After scoring over 100 points - yes, 100 - in the semifinals, Remsen St. Mary’s pitched a shutout, besting Fremont-Mills for the eight-player title. In A, Iowa City Regina, led by former University of Iowa and NFL standout Marv Cook, earned another title for the trophy case over Grundy Center. The tripleheader was capped off by North Scott denying Harlan the 3A crown by picking off seven passes. <strong>Eight-Player: Remsen St. Mary’s 48, Fremont-Mills 0</strong> After seeing the scoreboard break by posting over 100 - and allowing over 90 - in the semifinals, the Remsen St. Mary’s defense stepped up, shutting out Fremont-Mills. Blaine Harpenau scored two quick touchdowns in the first quarter, continuing his incredible run inside the UNI-Dome. Harpenau missed just one pass in nine attempts, throwing three touchdowns while racking up over 200 yards of total offense. <em>Harpenau is a gamer and a winner. He makes plays with his arm and his feet.</em> The Remsen St. Mary’s defense was led by Jaxon Bunkers, as the rising sophomore made 10 tackles including two sacks while forcing a fumble. <em>Keep an eye on Bunkers as he is set to possibly replace Harpenau at QB and remain a force on defense next year.</em> <strong>A: Iowa City Regina 52, Grundy Center 28</strong> [player_tooltip player_id="23835" first="Ashton" last="Cook"], Theo Kolie and Alex Wick watched several years ago as Iowa City Regina began its quest as one of the top programs in the state. The trio contributed their part to that legacy, highlighted by a memorable finals performance. Cook, the talented quarterback with a strong arm, tall frame and athletic ability, completed 17 of 24 for 325 yards with two touchdowns. <em>Cook might not look fast, but he is a smart runner and knows when to take off.</em> <em>Kolie hit paydirt five times, rushing for 124 yards. He appears to have just scratched the surface of his potential, flashing high-end speed, balance and great hands out of the backfield.</em> <em>Wick, meanwhile, caught nine passes for 226 yards including a touchdown. All of that was highlighted by an 88-yard reception in which he showed off all his tools. </em> In the title game, Wick set new 11-player state records for career receptions (242) and is third with 3,655 yards. <strong>3A: North Scott 30, Harlan 6</strong> Oliver Hughes took on the role of Mr. Do Everything to heart for North Scott. Hughes picked off a pass and returned it 61 yards for a touchdown to put North Scott up 13-6 in the third quarter. He kicked through the extra-point as well. Six minutes later, Hughes punched in a score from four yards out to extend the advantage. Then, early in the fourth, Hughes showed off his leg, kicking through a 40-yard field goal. In the title game, he averaged over 44 yards on punts and 57 yards on kickoffs. <em>In a time when special teams can get overshadowed, Hughes has been excellent. He has missed just a couple of kicks this year and is also a valuable punter. </em> Carter Markham put a cap on his brilliant career, throwing for 155 yards and two touchdowns while adding 96 yards and another score on the ground. <em>A fiery leader, Markham has all the athleticism to contribute at the next level.</em>