Recap, Reaction: Heelan Rallies Through Adversity
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CEDAR FALLS, Iowa - Bishop Heelan was forced to deal with emotion in Saturday's Class 3A semifinal matchup with Wahlert Catholic. Star
Kasen Thomas
Kasen
Thomas
6'2" | 200 lbs | LB
Bishop Heelan | 2026
State
IA
was knocked out of the game in the second quarter with an apparent knee injury.
The Crusaders rallied around each other with their teammate out, advancing to next week's championship game with a 34-21 victory here at the UNI-Dome.
"Kasen is our best player. We know that," Heelan quarterback
Noah Conley
Noah
Conley
6'1" | 175 lbs | QB
Bishop Heelan | 2026
State
IA
said. "We just came together as brothers. We all knew we had to step up. We did."
Said coach Jon LeFleur: "We talked about adversity (before the game). Something was going to happen that wasn't in the game plan. Obviously, Kasen getting hurt is not in that game plan. We prefer to have him on the field. But how we respond to adversity is a true test of what a team is all about. Those guys really had some strong resolve today."
After leading 14-7 at halftime, the Crusaders turned it on in the third quarter. Conley connected with
Grant Whitcomb
Grant
Whitcomb
6'0" | 165 lbs | DB/WR
Bishop Heelan | 2027
State
IA
on touchdown throws of 10 and 31 yards. Those scores were sandwiched around
Jonathon Hope
Jonathon
Hope
5'9" | 145 lbs | DB/WR
Bishop Heelan | 2027
State
IA
taking a kickoff 97 yards to the house.
That was good for a 34-14 lead early in the fourth quarter. The defending champs kept fighting, but the deficit proved to be too much.
Conley finished his day completing 12 of 19 passes for 152 yards and three touchdowns against one pick. Dylan Knapp (14), Zack Harpenau Zack Harpenau 6'0" | 200 lbs | LB/RB Bishop Heelan | 2026 IA (10) and Matt Meyer (10) all reached double figures in tackles for the winners.
Golden Eagle signal caller
JP Elbert
JP
Elbert
6'0" | 180 lbs | QB
Wahlert Catholic | 2027
State
IA
ended up with 133 yards passing and 98 yards on the ground with a TD.
Heelan jumped out to a 14-0 lead. Thomas, an Iowa recruit, caught a 14-yard touchdown pass from Conley, who added seven-yard scoring run came right after Thomas exited with his injury. The Golden Eagles cut their deficit to seven points when Ben Francis ran the ball into the end zone late in the second quarter. That's as close as they would get the rest of the way.
Wahlert Catholic returned to the UNI-Dome after winning its first-ever state championship a year ago. The Golden Eagles had to beat West Delaware on the road in the quarterfinals to make it back to the semifinals. They overcame a 2-2 start to this season to make it back here.
"I'm just really proud of our guys," Wahlert senior Anderson Herbst said. "We took it as fuel that nobody believed in us. We proved that even after a tough stretch, we battled back and made it to The Dome. There's no other team that I'd rather go out on the field with on Friday nights."
Bishop Heelan was back in the semifinals after going out in last season's first round. The Crusaders, who finished as the runners-up two years ago, were chasing their first title since 2013 and their fifth overall.
