CHEROKEE — It was a Friday night where with a Cherokee win and a Unity Christian loss, the Braves would win the Class 2A District 1 title outright. The Braves took care of business against Sheldon, scoring a pair of Jaxon Paulsrud first quarter rushing touchdowns, and never looking back thereafter.

The Braves scored the 41-14 victory, nearly finishing with the shutout had Sheldon not put two rushing touchdowns on the scoreboard in the fourth quarter against Cherokee backup’s.

Paulsrud finished the night with 10 rushes for 139 yards and three rushing touchdowns. His longest run of the evening was a 61-yard touchdown scamper with 1:58 remaining before halftime. He also had a touchdown reception of six yards from offensive lineman Coy Lewis. Lewis also handles the Braves PAT’s and was 5-of-5 for PAT kicks in the win.

Paulsrud, an Air Force recruit, finished the eight week regular season with 1,100 yards rushing on 122 carries and 17 touchdowns. The senior signal caller threw for 763 yards completing 65-of-125 (52%) and seven touchdown on the regular season.

Junior linebacker Mahren Malausky finished with 9.5 tackles (3 solo) and was part of a sack of Sheldon quarterback Owen Brouwer with Cohen James.

Sheldon senior Mitchell Fischer finished tied for game-high in tackles recording 9.5 with eight solo stops. Ayden Miller had a fumble recovery for the Orabs.

Sheldon 0 – 0 – 0 – 14 = 14
Cherokee 14 – 21 – 6 – 0 = 41
Sheldon Record: 1-6; Cherokee Record 5-2

Sheldon Team Statistics
Total Net Yards: 227
Rushing Yards: 33-199
Passing Yards: 2-8-2 | 28
Cherokee Team Statistics
Total Net Yards: 333
Rushing Yards: 31-254
Passing Yards: 7-13-0 | 79
Cherokee Individual Statistics
Passing: Jaxon Paulsrud 5-10 (60 yds., 0 TDs, 0 INTs); Wyatt Ludvigson 1-2 (13 yds., 0 TDs, 0 INTs); Coy Lewis 1-1 (6 yds., 1 TD, 0 INTs)
Rushing: Paulsrud 10-139 3 TDs, Blake Lovell 12-67 2 TDs, Wyatt Ludvigson 4-31, Linkin Benson 3-11, Peyton Gunn 2-6.
Receiving: Ludvigson 2-38, Landon Stowater 1-19, Tyson Fuller 1-13, Paulsrud 1-6 TD, Kyle Waldner 1-5, Noah Rapp 1-Neg-2.
Tackles: Mallon Malausky 9.5 (3S), Paulsrud 5.5 (4S), Stowater 4 (3S), Ludvigson 4 (1S, INT), Lovell 3, Mason Campbell 2.5, Gunn 2.5, Ty Schlichting 1.5 (INT), Cohen James 1.5, Benson 1 (1S), Fuller 1 (1S), Ryer Johnson 1 (1S), Lewis 1, Lincoln Mortenson 0.5, Taegan Thatcher 0.5 .
Scoring Summary
1 / ??? Cherokee – Paulsrud 13 run, Lewis PAT kick, 7-0
1 / 6:09 Cherokee – Paulsrud 5 run, Lewis PAT Kick, 14-0
2 / 11:57 Cherokee – Paulsrud 6 pass from Lewis, Lewis PAT kick, 21-0
2 / 9:48 Cherokee – Lovell 1 run, Lewis PAT kick, 28-0
2 / 1:58 Cherokee – Paulsrud 61 run, Lewis PATkick, 35-0
3 / 1:36 Cherokee – Lovell 4 run, PAT pass no good, 41-0
4 / 8:32 Sheldon – Owen Brouwer 28 run, Owen Trego PAT kick, 41-7
4 / 2:49 Sheldon – Brouwer 51 run, Trego PAT kick, 41-14

Royals take down Hawks, 54-6

HARTLEY — What do you tell an opponent in this case Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn when you’ve just totally dominated from the opening whistle — FINAL 54-7. If the Royals wanted to reveal a little bit of boasting, they might simply say “We’re Just That Damn Good!”

“Damn Good” has certainly been one way of describing MMCRU’s season, as they finish an unbeaten regular season with a district title, and No. 4-ranking in the final Class A ranking by Iowa Grandstand Sports (formally Iowa Prep Illustrated).

MMCRU finishes a regular season in which they outscored their opponent 293 (36.6 avg.) to 53 (6.6 avg.) a game. It’s the first unbeaten season to rival the 2012 team that finished an unblemished season of 14-0 with a state title in hand.

It marks the third consecutive meeting MMCRU has defeated Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn, a series that the Hawks had controlled up to the game in 2023. Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn still maintains an 8-3 edge all-time in the series since 2016.

It was all about balance offensively for the Royals against the host Hawks. MMCRU finished with 159 passing yards and 163 rushing yards. MMCRU quarterback Eli Harpenau threw for three touchdowns — Michael Schmillen (2) and Brandon Dreckman the final touchdown catch.

MMCRU scored 20 points in each of the first two quarters forcing a continous clock situation in the game.

Even more impressive than the MMCRU offense could be argued was the play of its defense led by coordinator Derrick Marra. The Royals finished the game with 9.5 total tackles for loss, as well as registering five quarterback sacks, five interceptions, and pair of fumble recoveries. It was a complete team effort as 21 different Royals finished with a tackle in the win.

Looking at it season wise, the Royals team has recorded 17.5 quarterback sacks, 17 interceptions, and 12 fumble recoveries.

Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn (1-7) finished with 72 passing yards and three rushing yards on 24 attempts. Jackson Vogt had the Hawks touchdown receiving, and also led them in tackles with 6.5 (6 solo).

MMCRU 20 – 20 – 14 – 0 = 54
Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn 0 – 0 – 0 – 6= 6
MMCRU Record: 8-0; Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn Record 1-7

MMCRU Team Statistics
Total Net Yards: 322
Rushing Yards: 35-163
Passing Yards: 6-8-0 | 159
MMCRU Individual Statistics
Passing: Eli Harpenau 5-7 (119 yds., 3 TD), Kamden Bork 1-1 (40 yds.)
Rushing: Brayson Mulder 8-65 (TD), John Schmillen 5-37 (TD), RJ Krier 2-29, Ayden Miller 7-22, TJ Hermanson 3-13, Luke Kintigh 2-11 (TD), Gage Johnson 1-6, Cody Schmillen 1-1, Harpenau 6-Neg-24 (TD).
Receiving: Michael Schmillen 2-71 (2 TDs), Krier 1-40, Brandon Dreckman 1-37 (TD), Johnson 1-9, Bork 1-2.
Tackles: M. Schmillen 3.5 (3S), Kintigh 3.5 (1S, FR), J. Schmillen 3 (2S), Bork 2, Jacob Pick 2 (2S), Kaden Steffen 2, Eli Schlenger 2, Braden Dunn 2 (1S), Mulder 1.5 (1S), Johnson 1.5 (1S, INT), Blake Barinsky 1.5 (1S), Wyatt Alesch 1.5 (1S), Ayden Miller 1.5 (1S), Bryce Glassmaker 1 (1S), Ben Ross 1 (1S), C. Schmillen 1 (1S), Dreckman 1 (INT), Mason Carver 1, Carter Astidias 1, Benjamin Tentinger 1, Mason Hill 0.5 (FR), Krier (INT), Josh Peterson (INT).
Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn Team Statistics
Total Net Yards: 75
Rushing Yards: 24-3
Passing Yards: 6-14-5 | 72

Raptors earn third road victory, beat MVAOCOU

MAPLETON — The Ridge View football team improved to 5-3 overall, and finish 4-1 in Class 1A District 1. The 39-12 victory over MVAOCOU secured the Raptors of a second seed leading into the playoffs. The win also spoiled the Rams’ Senior Night.

Ridge View defensively pitched a first half shutout of MVAOCOU, leading 26-0. It was a evenly played second half for the two schools.

The victory by Ridge View keeps the Raptors 4-0 all-time since 2012 against MVAOCOU.

Brothers’ Lucas Heilman and Derek Heilman amassed 303 of Ridge View’s 353 yards. Lucas Heilman toted the pigskin 22 times for 187 yards and pair of touchdown runs. Derek Heilman rushed for 116 yards on 10 carries and two touchdowns. Lucas Heilman also caught a 10 yard touchdown reception.

Ridge View finished with 110 passing yards off the arm of quarterback Broc Wilken on 7-of-10 completions. Kinnick Jensen had two receptions for 51 yards, and Carter Todd had three catches for 45 yards.

Jacob Cougill, the Raptors leading tackler on the season did it again, finishing with 12 tackles, including 10 solos. Carter Todd accounted for the final touchdown on a punt return. Cougill totals 56 tackles to finish the regular season.

Both of MVAOCOU’s touchdowns come by way of a Carter Schmidt pass. Schmidt hooked up with Tanner Dixon and Bo Clausen. Manny Cameron led the Rams ground game with 24 carries for 124 yards. The Rams finished with 304 yards of total offense (179 passing, 125 rushing).

Friday, Ridge View will host third-seed Tri-Center (4-4) in a first round Class 1A matchup at Russ Kraai Field in Holstein. Tri-Center competed in District 8 during the regular season.

Ridge View 7 – 19 – 6 – 7 = 39
MVAOCOU 0 – 0 – 6 – 6 = 12
Ridge View 5-3 Record: 8-0; MVAOCOU Record 4-4

Ridge View Team Statistics
Total Net Yards: 463
Rushing Yards: 42-353
Passing Yards: 7-10-0 | 110
Ridge View Individual Statistics
Passing: Broc Wilken 7-10-0 (110 yds., TD).
Rushing: Lucas Heilman 22-187 (2 TDs), Derek Heilman 10-116 (2 TDs), Wilken 6-28, Carter Todd 2-22, Kreighton Krager 1-3, Luke Braunschweig 1-0.
Receiving: Kinnick Jensen 2-51, C. Todd 3-45, L. Heilman 1-10 (TD), Zach Kolpin 1-4.
Tackles: Jacob Cougill 12 (10S), Karsen Jensen 5 (4S), Lucas Braun 4.5 (4S), Zach Kolpin 4 (3S, INT), Braunschweig 3.5 (3S), Jonathan Friedrichsen 3.5 (3S), Aiden Myrtue 3 (3S), Kelson Griffin (3S), Krager 3 (3S), L. Heilman 2 (2S), Cole Jochims 2 (2S), Kin. Jensen 2 (2S), Evan Kolpin 1.5 (1S), Tyler Friedrichsen 1 (1S), Cody Wunschel 1 (1S), Hayden Hawthorne 1 (1S), Wilken 1 (1S), D. Heilman 1 (1S, INT).
MVAOCOU Team Statistics
Total Net Yards: 304
Rushing Yards: 33-125
Passing Yards: 11-20-2 | 179