Class 1A semifinal: Forreston can’t keep up as Lena-Winslow punches return ticket to state

FREEPORT – In the words of Forreston coach Keynon Janicke, “the game couldn’t have started better for us.”

On Lena-Winslow’s third play of Saturday’s Class 1A state semifinal game, Kaleb Sanders tackled Gunar Lobdell for a loss of three yards and the Panthers had to punt.

Taking over on its own 9-yard line, Forreston racked up big chunks of yardage, prompting Le-Win coach Ric Arand to take a timeout.

“I called them out,” Arand said.

The tongue-lashing seemed to have an effect, as the Panther defense stiffened and Forreston was forced to punt after lineman Henry Engel tackled harding-running fullback Johnny Kobler for a loss.

Besides the disappointment of a promising drive stalling out, the ensuing punt attempt by Sanders was blocked, as Maisen Smith pushed the up-back into the ball.

“It was a spark. It lit a fire under our kids,” Arand said.

Did it ever, as Le-Win (13-0) scored 38 straight points on its way to a 38-16 semifinal win to advance to the 1A state title game against Camp Point Central.

Taking over at the Forreston 19-yard line after the blocked punt, Gage Dunker scored two plays later to give Le-Win an 8-0 lead. Dunker then made his presence felt on defense with a sack of Forreston QB Brock Smith to force another punt.

With the wind swirling about, Sanders could only manage a boot of 12 yards, and the Panthers had good field position again. On the first play of the second quarter, Lobdell ran through a huge hole on the right side into the end zone for an 11-yard touchdown.

“We controlled the line of scrimmage,” said Le-Win’s Jake Tippett, a 2-way lineman.

It was a different situation than in Week 9, when Arand said Forreston beat his team up front, though Le-Win won 28-14.

“It was not a convincing win,” Arand said. “Forreston is a different animal. They are tough on both sides.”

Behind Kobler carrying the load, the Cardinals drove 50 yards before stalling out at the Le-Win 21-yard line on a pass break-up by Jake Zeal.

“Once they started throwing, we knew we had it,” Tippett said.

On the very next play, it was Dunker going 49 yards through another gaping hole. Two plays later, he tacked on another 21 of his game-high 178 yards for a score and 22-0 advantage.

“Le-Win is definitely physical,” Janicke said. “They bring it and don’t stop bringing it.”

They showed that on Forreston’s next possession, with another third-and-out.

“Our offensive line is where everything starts, " Janicke said. “When they start pushing us backward, we’ve got problems.”

With 3 minutes left in the first half, the Panthers had a touchdown called back for holding. The real killer on the drive, though, was the officials losing track of the downs and Forreston inexplicably given the ball after a Le-Win third-down play.

Understandably, Arand vehemently protested the mistake, but the officials stuck to the call and the Panthers were cheated out of two downs.

Le-Win continued to do it on offense and defense in the second half. A three-and-out gave them the ball back near midfield.

Lobdell, the transfer from Orangeville, gained 28 yards after three would-be tacklers had a shot at him at the line of scrimmage, and then capped off the drive with a 23-yard touchdown for a 30-0 lead.

Forreston was able to put a 14-play drive into gear, but Sanders was thrown for a 3-yard loss on fourth down at the 26-yard line.

“We were in good spots, but couldn’t finish plays,” Janicke said.

Dunker took a quick hitter up the middle for a 30-yard score, and the 38-0 lead prompted Arand to finish the game with substitutes.

A Sanders 27-yard run set up a 20-yard TD for Kobler. Just as importantly, it was Kobler’s 24th score of the year, breaking Jeremy DeForge’s school record.

“Being on the line the last three years, I hadn’t thought about records,” Kobler said. “That was one of our golden lights today.”

Kobler recovered the ensuing onside kickoff, and Smith ran 39 yards for the final score.

Forreston finishes with an 8-5 record after being in danger of missing the playoffs earlier in the year with a 4-3 record.

“We had turned our backs on each other momentarily and had a team meeting after [losing to] Dakota,” Janicke said.”We weren’t supposed to be in this spot [as a semifinalist]. It was a tall task to get here after being 4-3.”

Forreston had 214 rushing yards; Kobler had 99, and Sanders had 55. Le-Win had 321 rushing yards; neither team completed a pass.

The game was moved from Lena to Freeport due to Le-Win’s field being unsafe to play on because of frozen conditions.