Late August means more than the return of Iowa football after a long off-season. All around the country on Friday nights, future college stars are taking one final shot at leading their high school teams to a state title.
Last year, one of the stars of this series was Reece Vander Zee, who led his Central Lyon George-Little Rock team to the state championship game, before falling in a heartbreaker to Van Meter. Central Lyon was poised for a storybook ending, down 3 points with the ball on the Van Meter 3-yard-line on 4th-and-goal. Instead, an errant snap sailed past Vander Zee and ended the game.
It took Vander Zee a single game in Iowa City to start making his impact at the next level. Who might join him next year as Iowa's next breakout freshman?
Player of the Week--Burke Gautcher
Early in the fourth quarter, and it was gut-check time for Sycamore. The Spartans had jumped out to a 14-0 lead, but now trailed 28-14.
Gautcher stayed calm, rallied the offense at quarterback, and led a drive that resulted in a 1-yard touchdown run with 7:30 remaining. After an interception, Sycamore then tied the game after a five play drive ended in another rushing touchdown.
Sycamore got another stop and took over at its own 36 with 37 seconds left. Sycamore soon dialed up a screen, and Aidan Wyzard turned a Gautcher screen pass into a 64-yard touchdown with 12 seconds left.
DeKalb then hit a 40-yard pass down to Sycamore's 15 with three seconds left, but Gautcher intercepted a pass in the end zone on the final play to seal the victory.
All together Gautcher was 15/17 passing for 250 yards and a touchdown. He ran five times for 27 yards and another score. Defensively, Gautcher had the crucial interception to seal the victory.
Gautcher's all-around performance and late heroics earn him player of the week honors.
More here: https://iowa.rivals.com/news/how-iowa-commits-did-in-week-1-4
Last year, one of the stars of this series was Reece Vander Zee, who led his Central Lyon George-Little Rock team to the state championship game, before falling in a heartbreaker to Van Meter. Central Lyon was poised for a storybook ending, down 3 points with the ball on the Van Meter 3-yard-line on 4th-and-goal. Instead, an errant snap sailed past Vander Zee and ended the game.
It took Vander Zee a single game in Iowa City to start making his impact at the next level. Who might join him next year as Iowa's next breakout freshman?
Player of the Week--Burke Gautcher
Early in the fourth quarter, and it was gut-check time for Sycamore. The Spartans had jumped out to a 14-0 lead, but now trailed 28-14.
Gautcher stayed calm, rallied the offense at quarterback, and led a drive that resulted in a 1-yard touchdown run with 7:30 remaining. After an interception, Sycamore then tied the game after a five play drive ended in another rushing touchdown.
Sycamore got another stop and took over at its own 36 with 37 seconds left. Sycamore soon dialed up a screen, and Aidan Wyzard turned a Gautcher screen pass into a 64-yard touchdown with 12 seconds left.
DeKalb then hit a 40-yard pass down to Sycamore's 15 with three seconds left, but Gautcher intercepted a pass in the end zone on the final play to seal the victory.
All together Gautcher was 15/17 passing for 250 yards and a touchdown. He ran five times for 27 yards and another score. Defensively, Gautcher had the crucial interception to seal the victory.
Gautcher's all-around performance and late heroics earn him player of the week honors.
More here: https://iowa.rivals.com/news/how-iowa-commits-did-in-week-1-4
