116 3rd St SE
Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52401
Iowa City Liberty football team ends the championship drought
Lightning top Waukee Northwest, 31-15, in Friday night’s Class 5A playoff semifinals to become the first school not from a Des Moines suburban school to make it to the championship game in the state’s biggest-school class since 2018.
Nov. 15, 2025 12:20 am
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CEDAR FALLS - One long drought is over. Let’s see if an even longer one ends next week.
Iowa City Liberty put together three 80-yard scoring drives, played an expert game of football keep away and beat Waukee Northwest, 31-15, in a Class 5A state playoff semifinal Friday night at the UNI-Dome. Northwest is ranked second, Liberty third.
Liberty is the first team from Eastern Iowa in the biggest-school class to make it to a championship game since Cedar Falls in 2018. It lost in last season’s semifinals.
The previous six 5A title games consisted of suburban Des Moines schools only. Those suburban behemoths have won 15 consecutive biggest-school championships, with Iowa City High the last Eastern Iowa winner.
That came all the way back in 2009.
Liberty’s finals opponent is No. 1 West Des Moines Dowling, which edged West Des Moines Valley in Friday’s other semifinal, 14-7. The Maroons (11-1) have won 10 state championships and will be in a title game for the 17th time.
Liberty High School didn’t even open until 2017.
“That’s something we preach on. We’ve got to stand up, we’re not going to be bullied by these CIML schools that are considered the best,” said Liberty quarterback Reece Rettig. “We want to make a name for our school, and that’s what we’ve been doing the last three years. And we’re going to continue to do that.”
“Sure, we’ll take on that moniker,”Liberty Coach Scott Chandler said of representing football outside of the Des Moines suburbs. “I just feel blessed to be able to coach this group, to be in our community.”
Northwest came in averaging a 5A-best 42.1 points per game, its previous low point total this season being 25. But it didn’t even get an offensive touchdown until there was less than two minutes to go.
That’s because Liberty (11-1) wouldn’t ever let the Wolves have the football. The Lightning ran 65 plays to Northwest’s 36, had a time-of-possession edge of 32:39 to 15:21.
It was positive play after positive play, with some chunk plays thrown in.
“We’re able to make those drives long, make it hard for the other team,” said Liberty back Brody Beaver, who had 93 yards rushing and a touchdown on 10 carries. “We can feel that. They let up on the gas sometimes. They really want the ball, but with us taking all the time, it’s putting some pressure on them.”
Liberty began the game with a massive 13-play, 80-yard offensive drive that chewed 7:15 off the clock. Rettig faked a jet sweep handoff and hit Pryor Reiners out of the slot for a 12-yard touchdown on a post route.
Collin Weis made the extra point for a 7-0 Lightning lead. Rettig isn’t the biggest kid around, but has great feet, toughness, throws a good ball and just gets it done.
He completed 26 of 31 passes for 210 yards and two TDs, adding 66 yards and another touchdown on the ground. He completed passes to eight different receivers in this game.
“He’s a crazy player,” Reiners said. “He scares me, but he makes plays. He’s just phenomenal.”
Northwest (10-2) hit on a 23-yard pass play on its first offensive play to near midfield, but Liberty’s defense held and forced a punt that went into the end zone for a touchback. Again starting at its 20, Liberty went on another 80-yard drive.
Chandler abhors punting and went for it on fourth-and-3 at Liberty’s own 44, with Rettig creating magic again, scrambling right and connecting with his younger brother, Tate, for a 21-yard gain to the Northwest 35. Beaver broke a tackle and scored a TD on a 6-yard run off right tackle.
Northwest again was forced to punt, with Liberty taking over at its 18. The Lightning again moved the ball methodically, reaching the Northwest 31 in the final minute of the first half, with Rettig slightly underthrowing a sideline pass that was intercepted by Northwest’s Elliot Combe.
Early in the third quarter, Rettig was sacked at about the goal line and fumbled into the end zone, with Northwest’s Bodie Morrison recovering for a touchdown. The extra point made it 14-7 and swung momentum.
But Liberty grabbed it right back with its third 80-yard drive. Rettig hit tight end Landon Bell for 14 yards to the Northwest 2, then ran off-guard left from there for a TD and a 21-7 lead early in the fourth.
After yet another stop by the Lightning defense, Liberty drove inside the 10-yard line again, settling for a Weis 22-yard field goal and 24-7 lead with 7:05 to go. Again, the Liberty defense stepped up, forcing a fumble after a completion from quarterback Mack Heitland to receiver Isaiah Oliver that Liberty’s Hank Thompson recovered near midfield.
Eventually Rettig connected with Logan Laubenthal on a wheel route out of the backfield for a 25-yard touchdown. So impressive all around.
“You don’t want their offense to get hot,” Chandler said. “It’s hard to maintain rhythm when they had like, what, 15 plays in the first half. If we can take the air out of the ball while we’re driving it down the field and eat the clock, I think that’s a great way to play football.”
Heitland completed 80 percent of his passes coming into this game for 2,812 yards and 27 touchdowns to no interceptions. But he went just 19 of 25 for 150 yards and one TD here.
“We switched up a couple of things defensively,” said Reiners, who also played some defensive back in the game. “But offensively we got into our bag and did the easy things right. Just made it happen.”
Man, did these Bolts make things happen.
Iowa City Liberty 31, Waukee Northwest 15
(At UNI-Dome)
Iowa City Liberty 7 7 0 17-31
Waukee Northwest 0 0 7 8-15
- ICL-Pryor Reiners 12 pass from Reece Rettig (Collin Weis kick)
- ICL-Brody Beaver 6 run (Weis kick)
- WN-Bodie Morrison fumble recover in end zone (Kenan Quaid kick)
- ICL-Rettig 2 run (Weis kick)
- ICL-Weis 22 FG
- ICL-Logan Laubenthal 25 pass from Rettig (Weis kick)
- WN-Jordon Green 12 pass from Mack Heitland (Isaiah Oliver pass from Heitland
Team Statistics
First Downs - Iowa City Liberty 25, Waukee Northwest 9. Rushes-Yards - Iowa City Liberty 34-177, Waukee Northwest 11-52. Passing - Iowa City Liberty 26-31-1-210, Waukee Northwest 19-25-0-150. Total Yards - Iowa City Liberty 387, Waukee Northwest 202. Punts-Average - Iowa City Liberty 0-0, Waukee Northwest 4-36.5. Penalties-Yards - Iowa City Liberty 1-5, Waukee Northwest 4-20. Fumbles-Lost - Iowa City Liberty 1-1, Waukee Northwest 1-1.
Individual Statistics
Iowa City Liberty - Rushing: Brody Beaver 10-93, Reece Rettig 16-66, Logan Laubenthal 4-15, Cooper Lester 1-10, Team 3-(minus) 7. Passing: Reece Rettig 26-31-1-210. Receiving: Pryor Reiners 6-53, Jordan Schroeder 6-46, Brody Beaver 4-25, Logan Laubenthal 2-24, Tate Rettig 2-22, Adrian Clerry 4-16, Landon Bell 1-12, Cooper Lester 1-12.
Waukee Northwest - Rushing: Mack Heitland 4-32, Ryan Woodruff 7-20. Passing: Mack Heitland 19-25-0-150. Receiving: Isaiah Oliver 8-66, Jordon Green 6-59, Joe Vinyard 3-27, Michael Dunagan 2-8.
Comments: (319)-398-8258, jeff.johnson@thegazette.com
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