PRZ Iowa | Playoff Juggernauts | 2021 Semifinals

The IHSAA semifinals were full of mighty performances, jaw-dropping stat lines, and clutch moments. The playoff juggernauts featured below stepped up in big ways to propel their team forward into the State Championship, one step closer to the ultimate goal. Find out what these athletes did to send their opponents packing and help their teams earn a chance to win it all. Tanner Te Slaa, QB, Boyden-Hull/Rock Valley, <a href="https://twitter.com/tannerteslaa">Twitter</a> 14/21, 334 YDS, 4 TD, 1 ATT, 24 YDS Te Slaa had a lot of success with his deep game, including 67 and 55 yard touchdown strikes, as the Nighthawks cruised to a 42-0 victory and a trip to the championship game. His 55 yarder, a deep post, fell right into the basket of his receiver at the goal line. Te Slaa dropped, spotted his target, stepped into his release, and got the ball out quickly on a throw that traveled perfectly through the air and into the end zone. His 67 yarder came on the smoothest flick of a wrist right over the top of coverage to hit his target in stride on a seam. [player_tooltip player_id="23967" first="Colin" last="Kadolph"], RB, Ankeny, <a href="https://twitter.com/KadolphColin">Twitter</a> 25 ATT, 183 YDS, 2 TD, 1 REC 52 YDS Kadolph, who now owns every single season and career rushing and scoring record in Ankeny history, helped the Hawks avenge a regular season loss and return to the finals. He scored from 62 yards on a perfectly blocked and executed GH Power. Kadolph’s Guard kicked out, H pulled through, he cut behind their blocks, and was off to the races. He later scored again on the same play, this time to the left, on a goal line opportunity from 5 yards out. Watching Kadolph’s footwork and ability to glide into the end zone never gets old. [player_tooltip player_id="23999" first="Dalten" last="Van Pelt"], RB, Van Meter, <a href="https://twitter.com/DaltenVP">Twitter</a> 29 ATT, 172 YDS, TD, 1 REC, 7 YDS Van Pelt ran hard and blocked his tail off in Van Meter’s dominant semifinal win over Beckman Catholic. The Bulldogs chipped away all game on the ground for big chunks of yards. They used formations to get alignments they wanted and went right at them with Van Pelt on Inside Zone, Zone Read, and Power. He took the ball right up the gut on his touchdown and bounced outside beating everyone to the pylon. His best carry went for 33 yards on a play Beckman bottled up; he somehow stayed upright and popped through the pile. [player_tooltip player_id="148854" first="Landyn" last="Van Kekerix"], RB, Boyden-Hull/Rock Valley, <a href="https://twitter.com/VanLandyn">Twitter</a> 4 ATT, 56 YDS, TD, 5 REC 140 YDS, 2 TD, 7.5 TKL, .5 SACK, .5 TFL Van Kekerix, the Nighthawks leading rusher, receiver, and tackler, had another elite and well-rounded outing that helped BHRV reach the 3A State Championship. His rushing touchdown hit from 45 yards out on a very well executed direct snap. Van Kekerix stepped right in front of his Quarterback, who faked that the snap had gone over his head, and blasted right up the middle and straight downfield to the end zone. Van Kekerix also scored on two long passes that showed off just how fast and versatile of an athlete he is. [player_tooltip player_id="104113" first="Jonathan" last="Humpal"], RB, Lewis Central, <a href="https://twitter.com/JonathanHumpal1">Twitter</a> 28 ATT, 189 YDS, 2 TD Humpal had another humongous helping of playoff action as Lewis Central busted their game wide open in the second half to advance. Humpal had success on Split Zone, Inside Zone, G Sweep, and Power. He picked up big chunks of yards behind great blocking and fought hard against second level defenders to maximize gains. Humpal cut back into the A gap on Inside Zone and flew to the end zone untouched for his first score. He broke four tackles on Power at midfield and outran everyone else to score his second and seal the game. Carter Bultman, RB, West Sioux, <a href="https://twitter.com/CarterBultman">Twitter</a> 15 ATT, 94 YDS, TD, 4 REC, 63 YDS, TD, 4 TKL Bultman’s ability to pound the rock for 6.3 yards per carry against a Dike- New Hartford defense that had only allowed an average of 3.7 throughout the playoffs proved to be key in the Falcons Semifinal win. West Sioux lost the turnover battle 3-1 in a game that went down to the wire in double overtime. Bultman showed off plenty of versatility in how he scored his 2 touchdowns. He flew behind coverage to haul in a 56 yard touchdown reception and then later pounded one in by trucking a defender on a short yardage goal line dive. [player_tooltip player_id="104720" first="Lucci" last="Fidone"], WR, Lewis Central, <a href="https://twitter.com/FidoneLucci">Twitter</a> 8 REC, 114 YDS, 2 TD Fidone was a little quiet last week against Indianola catching just 2 passes for 8 yards; that was not the case this week. Fidone was a reception and big play machine who provided a terrific dose of balance to compliment the Titans rushing game. One of his touchdowns came on a Bubble into the boundary at Waverly’s 40 yard line. The defense was in quarters coverage to that side of the field and the other Titans receivers blocked the two high defenders perfectly. Fidone made the underneath zone defender miss and was gone. [player_tooltip player_id="23955" first="Ryan" last="Crandall"], DB, Ankeny, <a href="https://twitter.com/ryancrandall4">Twitter</a> 6.5 TKL, 5 SOLO, 1 TFL The first time Ankeny and Valley met the Tigers put up 38 points and 436 total yards of offense. This time around they only managed 13 points and 250 total yards. Crandall and the Hawks made a big statement. His open field tackling and support in the box didn’t allow any big plays, which was what beat them the last time around. He flew all the way down from his two-high alignment to crush a Valley ball carrier on Jet into the boundary. There were several plays Valley looked like they were going to break one, Crandall didn't let them. Obald Niyonkuru, DL, Southeast Polk, <a href="https://twitter.com/Obaldn">Twitter</a> 9.5 TKL, 7 Solo, 1.5 TFL, 1 INT Southeast Polk held a 23-0 lead at halftime over Iowa City High despite having fewer total yards; that was the result of a strong defensive effort and a big assist from Niyonkuru. He intercepted a screen pass after making a perfect read on his block to set the Rams up on the Little Hawks’ 15 yard line. He was excellent throughout. Niyonkuru also made a tackle for loss by getting under a trap and deflecting a pass on the outside contain of a stunt against roll out. His run defense and gap domination was especially impressive. [player_tooltip player_id="23942" first="Xavier" last="Nwankpa"], DB, Southeast Polk, <a href="https://twitter.com/xaviernwankpa01">Twitter</a> 1 REC, 16 YDS, TD, 6.5 TKL, 4 RET, 207 YDS, TD Nwankpa, known for his ballhawking skills, put some additional layers from the repertoire on display in the semifinals. He made big contributions on defense as the Little Hawks were forced to attempt more passes. Nwankpa lit up the scoreboard in this one as much as he did City High’s skill players. His receiving touchdown was a spectacular catch; he leapt for the ball then got both feet down before going out of bounds. He then housed the second half kickoff; terrific vision took him up the middle before he broke to the sideline at midfield.