Explosive offense leads Gladbrook-Reinbeck past Ed-Co in Eight-Player quarterfinals

GLADBROOK - Treyvon Herron can play football. So can Trevor Mathern. So can Hudson Clark.

Those three aren’t just Eight-Player wonders. They’re legit dudes, Gladbrook-Reinbeck has got them, and it’s why its going back to the UNI-Dome and the state playoff semifinals.

Running back Herron, quarterback Mathern and wide receiver Clark accounted for all but 40 of their teams’ 427 yards, combining for all eight touchdowns in a 54-18 win over Ed-Co in an Eight-Player quarterfinal Thursday night.

Third-ranked Gladbrook-Reinbeck takes an 11-0 record into this coming Wednesday’s semifinals against Woodbine (10-0). G-R lost last season’s championship game to Remsen St. Mary’s.

“We executed really well at the start, then we just made some mistakes,” said Ed-Co running back-defensive back Carson Ingles. “Missed tackles, just couldn’t get them on the ground. They were quick. They’re a damn quick team, a well-coached team. Just our mistakes cost us.”

Sixth-ranked Ed-Co (10-1) played right with Gladbrook-Reinbeck in the first quarter of this one. Herron’s 36-yard scoring run and Mathern’s 3-yarder were offset by sophomore QB Jax Steger’s two touchdown runs, the Rebels holding a 14-12 lead because of two made extra points and two missed two-point tries by Ed-Co.

But the Vikings offense suddenly bogged down, and that was trouble. Gladbrook-Reinbeck scored three more touchdowns in the second quarter for a 34-12 halftime lead, then twice in the third for a 47-12 lead that got the continuous clock rolling.

“We didn’t execute on offense for a couple of series there,” said Ed-Co Coach Alex Hanna. “We just didn’t do what we wanted to do, and they’re too good to get behind. They executed what they wanted to do on offense pretty much every possession, and that’s why they’re going to the Dome. They out-executed us, were a little bit better in spots. We were a little better in some spots, but we never took advantage of those.”

A powerful and speedy back, Herron had 162 yards on just 14 carries, with TD runs of 1, 20, 36 and 68 yards. He also blocked a punt that led to a G-R touchdown right before the half.

Mathern was on target the entire game, completing 13 of 15 passes for 184 yards, running for a touchdown and throwing for three. Clark, who also has game-breaking speed, had 10 receptions for 145 yards and two scores.

“It’s amazing,” Mathern said. “I can just get them the ball and they score. It’s unreal.”

“The Herron kid is the best running back in Eight-Player football that I’ve seen,” Hanna said. “I don’t think there’s anybody better than him. We just could not get him on the ground. We had to get him on the ground immediately, or he was going to be a problem for us. And he was a problem.”

Steger had a great sophomore season for Ed-Co as a first-year starting quarterback. He ran 23 times for 104 yards and threw for 112 yards, including a 15-yard scoring toss to Jaden Miller in the fourth quarter that finally ended 33-point run.

He’ll be a catalyst for a program that has qualified eight straight years for the playoffs. This was the second year in a row Ed-Co’s season ended in the quarterfinals.

“We knew we wanted to be back here, and we really, really worked hard this offseason,” Ingles said. “We kept each other going, we pushed each other, grinded, conditioned. We did everything together. It was just a really great team bonding effort.”

“I think the results speak for themselves,” said Hanna, completing his first season as head coach after being a long-time assistant at the school. “I’m really happy with the kids that needed to step up to get better doing so. They didn’t do that August 1st. They did that in summer, they did that in spring. We had summer workouts that they weren’t required to go to. We just told the boys that if they wanted to be good, they needed to go. And they did.”

(At Gladbrook)

Ed-Co 12 0 0 6-18

Gladbrook-Reinbeck 14 20 13 7-54

Team Statistics

First Downs - Ed-Co 17, Gladbrook-Reinbeck 15. Rushes-Yards - Ed-Co 32-159, Gladbrook-Reinbeck 33-243. Passing - Ed-Co 13-25-2-112, Gladbrook-Reinbeck 13-15-0-184. Total Yards - Ed-Co 271, Gladbrook-Reinbeck 427. Punts-Average - Ed-Co 3-26.0, Gladbrook-Reinbeck 0-0. Penalties-Yards - Ed-Co 2-10, Gladbrook-Reinbeck 4-36. Fumbles-Lost - Ed-Co 0-0, Gladbrook-Reinbeck 0-0.

Individual Statistics

Ed-Co - Rushing: Jax Steger 23-104, Carson Ingles 9-55. Passing: Jax Steger 13-25-2-112. Receiving: Christopher Lange 5-62, Jaden Miller 5-42, Carter Battin 2-6, Carson Ingles 1-2.

Gladbrook-Reinbeck - Rushing: Treyvon Herron 14-162, Trevor Mathern 9-47, Hudson Clark 3-31, Chad Gutknecht 2-8, Kael Blohm 1-3, Bennett Sieh 2-0, Team 2-(minus) 8. Passing: Trevor Mathern 13-15-0-184. Receiving: Hudson Clark 10-145, Chad Gutknecht 1-29, Treyvon Herron 2-10.

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