Dive for pylon sends Creston to the Dome - Sports - Mobile back Side Panel FOOTBALL Dive for pylon sends Creston to the Dome By Evan Bland / World-Herald staff writer | Updated 9 hours ago GRIMES, Iowa — Chase Shiltz soared through the air on a dive and caught the front left pylon of the end zone with the football. It was the exclamation point on a breathtaking football game that propels Creston/Orient-Macksburg into uncharted territory. Creston overcame multiple deficits, a blown 14-point lead and a flurry of key fourth-down plays against a team it lost to by 21 points less than a month ago. In the end, it added up to the unrated Panthers shocking Class 3-A No. 5 Dallas Center-Grimes 50-49 in overtime in a state quarterfinal game Friday night. DC-G quarterback Austin Kloewer began the overtime session with a 1-yard touchdown keeper. When Creston got its chance at first and goal from the 10, Shiltz ran the ball three times to set up a fourth and three. During a timeout before the all-or-nothing play, coach Brian Morrison made it clear: They would go for the win if they got the touchdown. The Panthers (10-2) converted when quarterback Alex Nielsen found McClain Haines across the middle for a 3-yard score. With the play clock winding down, Nielsen took the ensuing snap and pitched left on an option play to Shiltz, who barely snagged the front of the pylon for the successful 2-pointer. “I was just yelling, ‘We gotta go! We gotta go!’” Shiltz said. “Right when I got the pitch, I saw I had space to the pylon, so I just went for it and dove. It’s unbelievable. We battled back all year. it’s just awesome.” The win sends Creston to the UNI-Dome and the semifinal round for the first time in program history. The Panthers will meet Sioux City Heelan next Thursday in Cedar Falls at 5:36 p.m. “I guarantee you many people in the state expected us to come in here and get blown out, and it didn’t happen,” Morrison said. “Our kids fought through a lot of adversity, and I’m just super proud of the team.” Nielsen finished 19-of-30 passing for 314 yards and four touchdowns. Shiltz ran the ball 28 times — often on direct snaps and option plays — to account for 150 yards and a pair of rushing scores. He added a 72-yard catch-and-run touchdown in the third quarter. Dallas Center-Grimes’ Kloewer ran the ball 30 times for 198 yards and two touchdowns. The home team accumulated 458 total yards to Creston’s 483. The third quarter featured 35 combined points. Nielsen hit Bryce Briley on the first play after intermission for a 74-yard scoring strike, then Kloewer answered for DC-G with three straight runs covering 78 yards. Creston went ahead 28-21 two plays later when Shiltz took the screen pass down the right sideline. The visitors made it 35-21 on a 35-yard bubble screen to Pals. But the Mustangs (10-2) rallied with the next 21 points. They put together a nine-play drive capped by a 1-yard touchdown run by Kullen Neyens. Then Creston, facing a fourth and 2 from its own 38 early in the fourth quarter, went for it and came up short when Shiltz lost 4 yards on a short pass. “Part of it is stupidity on my part,” Morrison said. “But that’s what we do. If you follow our games, we go for it in those situations.” That failed conversion led to another efficient DC-G finish on a 21-yard TD pass to Austin Winter. Creston then went three and out, and the Mustangs scored again two players later on a Nathan Brown 41-yard sprint. Trailing 42-35 with 5:24 left in regulation, Creston constructed a nine-play equalizing drive highlighted by a 49-yard bomb from Nielsen to Briley and capped by Shiltz’s 1-yard rushing score. Creston’s defense held DC-G after that and drove to the enemy’s 31 to set up a potential game-winning field goal. But Conner Pals’ 48-yarder into the went fell a few yards shy of the crossbar, setting up the overtime session and Shiltz’s heroics. “It’s one of our best players against a great defense,” Morrison said. “If they stop us, they deserve it. I’m just proud of our kids. Nobody expected this from our kids, even to be in the playoffs, I don’t think.” A tight first half left the teams tied 14-all going into intermission. DC-G traveled 74 yards on 10 plays on its opening drive, capped when Kloewer found Keaton Means on a 31-yard bomb into the end zone. Creston responded by stringing together 11 plays across 76 yards. Shiltz took a direct snap and went 5 yards to cross the goal line A big DC-G punt return set up the hosts on Creston’s 32, and Nathan Brown plunged in from 2 yards away to finish the six-play march. The Panthers again answered with a critical drive lasting more than 5½ minutes that covered 66 yards. Nielsen escaped pressure and scrambled for an 18-yard touchdown. “A lot of good teams had opportunities to get (to the UNI-Dome),” Morrison said. “I told the kids before the game, ‘This is beyond us as players. We play for each other. You guys are playing for former players who didn’t make it to the Dome, and it’s on your shoulders’ And they responded in a big way.” Creston (10-2) ................................. 7 7 21 7 8—50 DC-G (10-2) ..................................... 7 7 14 14 7—49 D: Keaton Means 31 pass from Austin Kloewer (Connor Smith kick) C: Chase Shiltz 5 run (Conner Pals kick) D: Nathan Brown 2 run (Smith kick) C: Alex Nielsen 18 run (Pals kick) C: Bryce Briley 74 pass from Nielsen (Pals kick) D: Kloewer 4 run (Smith kick) C: Shiltz 72 pass from Nielsen (Pals kick) C: Pals 35 pass from Nielsen (Pals kick) D: Kullen Neyens 1 run (Smith kick) D: Austin Winter 21 pass from Kloewer (Smith kick) D: Brown 41 run (Smith kick) C: Shiltz 1 run (Pals kick) D: Kloewer 1 run (Smith kick) C: McClain Haines 3 pass from Nielsen (Shiltz run) INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS RUSHING: C, Seth Maitlen 1-6, Chase Shiltz 28-150, Alex Nielsen 7-13. D, Nathan Brown 7-87, Austin Kloewer 31-198, Keaton Means 4-21, Kullen Neyens 3-4, Bryant Clapper 1-1. PASSING: C, Nielsen 19-30-0 314. D, 9-15-1 147. RECEIVING: Christian Groumoutis 8-42, Bryce Briley 4-136, Chase Shiltz 4-79, Seth Maitlen 1-4, Alex Tamerius 1-6, Conner Pals 1-35, McClain Haines 2-12. D, Doug Heritage 2-27, Keaton Means 4-70, Austin Winter 2-38, Nathan Brown 1-13. Share on facebook Share on twitter Share on pinterest_share More Sharing Services 0 Similar articles Class B: Patience pays off for Skutt against Seward Class C-2: Mitchell, Arlt lead Oakland-Craig to playoff win Riverside holds off Sioux County in 2OT in state semis Short punt leads to Cardinal win Top-ranked Spalding Academy runs past Minatare in 6-man semifinals Home Comments More Sports Full Site Close Sign in Home Blog Game of the Week Photo & Video Ratings Scoreboard Search Sports Close Sign in Username or Email Password Remember me Forgot Submit Submit Need an account? 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Posted on: Sat, 08 Nov 2014 15:11:34 +0000
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