Lena-Winslow caps undefeated regular season with dominant win over Forreston

FORRESTON – In the premier rivalry in all of 1A football, Gage Dunker exploded for 198 rushing yards in the second half to lead undefeated Lena-Winslow to a 36-8 win over Forreston. The pair have combined for eight of the last nine state titles, but lately, it’s been all Le-Win.

“This wasn’t just another game,” Dunker said. “This was Forreston vs. Le-Win in Week 9. We’ll probably see them again anyway.”

Dunker, who finished with 1,050 more rushing yards than anyone else in the conference, was held to 38 in the first half as the Panthers clung to an 8-0 lead after Forreston was stopped six inches short of the goal line with 12 seconds left on a disputed call.

Forreston fullback Owen Mulder, who is second in rushing yardage to Dunker (1,660-610), crossed the goal with his helmet, but not the football, according to the officials.

“I thought we were in,” Forreston coach Keynon Janicke said. “I can’t fault the officials, though. They called a great game.”

Veteran cornerback Lucas Fye read the play and made a beeline for Mulder to prevent the score. It stymied a 13-play drive after the Cardinals stopped Le-Win at midfield on fourth down.

“That was a huge stick he made,” Le-Win coach Ric Arand said.

Even though they missed a chance to go into the half even with the Panthers, Janicke said his team was “pumped up” for the second half. Unfortunately for the amped up home team, Dunker broke off a 62-yard touchdown four plays into the third quarter for a 16-0 lead.

He was stopped at the line of scrimmage, but broke free and outraced the Cardinals’ secondary to the end zone. After a failed fourth-down attempt on the next possession by Forreston, Dunker made it 22-0 on his second touchdown of the half.

“Forreston played extremely well in the first half,” Arand said.  “In the second half, we made adjustments and executed to perfection.”

Micah Nelson got loose for a 45-yard gain to set up Forreston’s lone score. Mulder crashed over from one yard out and Nelson added the two-point conversion run to cut the deficit to 22-8.

“It was so close [on the missed touchdown], and it was close all night,” Nelson said.

With Kaleb Sanders getting outside on the jet sweep, Mulder running up the middle and Nelson doing his part, the trio had 69, 68 and 67 rushing yards. In ball-carrying by committee, Forreston has yet to have a single 100-yard rusher in any game this year.

“We played fast and physical, and we’re absolutely ready for the playoffs,” Janicke said. “What hurt us tonight was giving up the big plays.”

An example of this was Quinn Rodebaugh catching a 32-yard pass from Jake Schumacher to keep alive a 14-play, 82-yard scoring drive to make it 28-8 on a Cobryn Lynch touchdown. It was only the second pass thrown all year by the Panthers.

Schumacher was quietly efficient in leading Le-Win to its 28th straight win. Its last loss was in 2021 to who else? Forreston.

It wasn’t just the Gage Dunker show either. Lynch had over 100 yards rushing and scored the first touchdown of the game on a 34-yard run after breaking a tackle at the line of scrimmage.

“I can live with a missed tackle once in awhile, but can’t have too many of those with someone as good as Le-Win,” Janicke said. “Overall, this was a good, clean game – small town high school football at its finest. In the first half, we showed we can compete with them.”

It was the sixth NUIC title in the last nine years for the defending state champ Panthers. With a league as tough as the NUIC, that gauntlet can be as challenging as a state run.

“Winning the conference still means a lot to us,” said Arand, who has coached six state champions.