Grundy Center-West Hancock Class A Title Game Standouts

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Grundy Center rolled to victory in the Class A State Championship Game Thursday afternoon at the UNI-Dome. The Spartans downed Britt West Hancock, 27-0, for their fourth state title and first since 1988. The defending-champion Eagles finished up 12-1. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://twitter.com/IHSAA/status/1593356798022541313?s=20u0026t=OMjV2U5Aj18WxKAAwrEnSg","type":"rich","providerNameSlug":"twitter","responsive":true} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/IHSAA/status/1593356798022541313?s=20&amp;t=OMjV2U5Aj18WxKAAwrEnSg </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul><!-- wp:list-item --> <li><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='320787' first='Colin' last='Gordon'], '24, QB/DB, Grundy Center - </strong>Gordon contributes all over the field for Grundy Center. The junior completed 10 of 15 passes for 129 yards and two touchdowns. He rushed 16 times for 110 yards and a score. He added field goals from 31 and 30 yards, and averaged 43.0 yards on three punts, two of which were downed inside the 20. He broke up three passes on defense. </li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ul> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul><!-- wp:list-item --> <li><strong>Justin Knaack, '24, RB/LB, Grundy Center - </strong>Gordon's classmate and offensive backfield mate rushed 16 times for an even 100 yards. </li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ul> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul><!-- wp:list-item --> <li><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='320785' first='Tate' last='Jirovsky'], '24, WR/LB, Grundy Center - </strong>Another of the Spartans' super junior class, Jirovsky caught three balls for 61 yards and two touchdowns in this one. His height and length provided an advantage. </li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ul> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul></ul> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul></ul> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul><!-- wp:list-item --> <li><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='248024' first='Clay' last='Saak'], '24, RB/LB, Grundy Center - </strong>The junior paced Grundy Center with 6.5 tackles, a tackle for loss and two quarterback hurries. He rushed four times for 26 yards. </li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ul> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul><!-- wp:list-item --> <li><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='252335' first='Ryker' last='Thoren'],' 25, OL/DL, Grundy Center - </strong>Thoren wreaked havoc on Thursday. He registered a pair of sacks and tackles for loss with 5.0 total tackles. </li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ul> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul><!-- wp:list-item --> <li><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='247896' first='Rylan' last='Barnes'], '23, ATH, West Hancock - </strong>Barnes racked up a team-high 8.5 tackles (6 solo, .5 for loss). He added two catches for 59 yards, including a 46-yarder. He punted five times for a 41.2-yard average. </li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ul> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul><!-- wp:list-item --> <li><strong>Ian Connor, '23, OT/DE, West Hancock - </strong>The 6-foot-4, 210-pounder rolled up 5.5 tackles with one for loss and a half a sack. </li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ul> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul><!-- wp:list-item --> <li><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='247996' first='David' last='Smith'], '24, OT/DE, West Hancock - </strong>Smith contributed 4.5 tackles with one for loss and a quarterback hurry. </li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ul> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://twitter.com/IHSAA/status/1593335837202210818?s=20u0026t=OMjV2U5Aj18WxKAAwrEnSg","type":"rich","providerNameSlug":"twitter","responsive":true} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/IHSAA/status/1593335837202210818?s=20&amp;t=OMjV2U5Aj18WxKAAwrEnSg </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed -->