Class 5A Semis: Stars From WDM Valley, Southeast Polk

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Long-time rivals West Des Moines Valley and Southeast Polk will meet for the Class 5A state championship this week inside the UNI-Dome in Cedar Falls.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>For the Tigers, it was an interesting ride to this point, upsetting the likes of Pleasant Valley and West Des Moines Dowling. The Rams, meanwhile took care of Johnston to reach the finale in the state's largest classification.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>But for both, key players played key roles in making it all happen.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='247561' first='Ayden' last='Price'] - West Des Moines Valley</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The best player on the roster for the Tigers has been [player_tooltip player_id='247561' first='Ayden' last='Price']. And he played just like that in the stunning upset of Dowling. Price caught seven passes for 89 yards with a touchdown, adding a rushing score with his feet.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>However, it was his non-catch that was the biggest play. As Valley went for the game-winning two-point conversion, all of the Dowling defense focused in on him. Instead, Michael Provenza found Zay Robinson for the score. That kind of attention is just what the Valley coordinators expected, and they got. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Michael Provenza - West Des Moines Valley</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='104098' first='Jaxon' last='Smolik'] is headed to Penn State to play for James Franklin, but on this night, it was Valley quarterback Michael Provenza making the biggest plays. Along with his aforementioned conversion pass for the game-winning points, Provenza showed incredible moxy all game long, completing 17 of 23 for 167 yards without a score. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>He found [player_tooltip player_id='247561' first='Ayden' last='Price'] on a big 50-yard touchdown pass, and hit four receivers in all on the night, while adding 24 yards with his legs. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='246740' first='Abu' last='Sama'] - Southeast Polk</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Many of the names from the recent run by Southeast Polk have changed, but one remains in [player_tooltip player_id='246740' first='Abu' last='Sama']. The speedy back racked up 87 yards rushing and three touchdowns in a one-sided win over Johnston. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Sama has all the tools to be an elite college football player. He is fast, has tremendous field vision, great hands and a knack for finding the end zone. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='300100' first='Cole' last='Rogers'] - Southeast Polk</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Johnston superstar quarterback Will Nuss will be seeing [player_tooltip player_id='300100' first='Cole' last='Rogers'] in his nightmares for a while after Rogers picked off two of his passes in the semifinal round win for Southeast Polk. Rogers was a thorn in his side all night, recording four solo tackles and five stops in all. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The West Des Moines Valley passing game will need to really account for where Rogers is all game long in the finals, and one would have to believe he will face star [player_tooltip player_id='247561' first='Ayden' last='Price'] on more than one instance. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->