SIOUX CENTER, Ia. — The Clarion-Goldfield-Dows Cowboys football team returned to the grid iron on Friday Night, as they made the long trip to northwest Iowa to take on the West Lyon Wildcats in the quarterfinal round of the Class 1A Playoffs at the Open Space Athletic Complex in Sioux Center. Clarion-Goldfield-Dows entered at 9-1 and ranked #6, as West Lyon entered at 9-1 and ranked #2.
CGD got the football first, but were stopped on 4th and short deep in their own end, as the Wildcats scored on a short field with a Jacob Snyders 1-yard touchdown run to put West Lyon up 7-0. Following a Cowboys punt, River Kramer took a jet sweep 54 yards for a touchdown as West Lyon led 13-0 after the first quarter. West Lyon added onto the lead in the 2nd quarter with a 35-yard touchdown pass from Easton DeJong to Chasyn Westra to extend the lead to 21-0, but CGD’s offense began to find its footing, as the Cowboys drove the field and scored on a 3-yard touchdown run by Colin Sesker to make the score 21-7, before scoring on a 39-yard touchdown run by Charlie Campbell as the Cowboys cut the score to 21-14 at the halftime break.
However, West Lyon took the reigns in the 2nd half, as the Wildcats scored on a 27-yard touchdown run by Easton DeJong to put West Lyon ahead 28-14, before the Cowboys were stopped on 4th and short near midfield, which led to a 17-yard touchdown run by River Kramer to put the Wildcats up 35-14 by the end of the 3rd quarter. Easton DeJong would score another touchdown for the Wildcats in the 4th quarter as West Lyon pulled away for a 42-14 win.
The Aces of the Game, presented by Ace Hardware of Webster City, were Clarion-Goldfield-Dows seniors Charlie Campbell and Huxley Lingenfelter, as Campbell carried 13 times for 129 yards and a touchdown, while Lingenfelter tallied 11 tackles and a TFL in their final games in Cowboys uniforms. JD Morrical carried 18 times for 113 yards, while going 4-for-9 for 59 yards, as Colin Sesker carried 21 times for 52 yards and a touchdown.
West Lyon advances to the Class 1A Semifinals, where they’ll face #3 Aplington-Parkersburg at the UNI Dome in Cedar Falls on Friday, with kickoff at 1 PM. Clarion-Goldfield-Dows’s historic season comes to an end with a record of 9-2.