Spartans storm on

Grundy Center football head coach Travis Zajac suggested to this year’s Spartan senior class that they take a step back and appreciate what they helped accomplish on Friday.

The top-ranked Spartans smashed Sumner-Fredericksburg, 35-6, in a Class 1A state quarterfinal matchup at Spartan Stadium, advancing to the UNI-Dome and the state semifinals for the sixth year in a row.

Grundy Center will take on Wilton at 10 a.m. on Friday, Nov. 15 in Cedar Falls. The Beavers knocked off Iowa City Regina, 21-14, in the quarterfinals.

“This is the fourth year in a row where we’ve played three playoff games, all at home,” Zajac said. “I want our seniors to understand that, appreciate where they’re at and the support that they’ve had to be able to play at home. It’s really special for that group of boys.”

T-R PHOTO BY JAKE RYDER – Grundy Center senior running back Brody Zinkula finds room to roam against Sumner-Fredericksburg during Friday’s Class 1A state football quarterfinal at Spartan Stadium in Grundy Center. The Spartans won 35-6.

One of those seniors, Tiernan Vokes, wasted little time making an impact with a 55-yard touchdown reception on a long pass from Judd Jirovsky for a 7-0 Grundy Center 61 seconds into the game.

Vokes added a 75-yard catch on the next Spartan drive that set up another GC touchdown and finished with three catches for 139 yards.

“They just had one guy on me, no high safety, cover zero,” Vokes said. “Judd and I saw that right away and our eyes went big. We took advantage and made plays happen.

“It was really beneficial to get the guys going. This is the first time for a lot of our guys in the quarterfinals, maybe there’s some nerves, and you just gotta wake the guys up a bit.”

The Spartan defense had the confidence of the early lead to settle in and bottle up a Sumner-Fredericksburg offense led by a talented quarterback in Tatum Nuss.

T-R PHOTO BY JAKE RYDER – Grundy Center junior quarterback Judd Jirovsky breaks into the open against Sumner-Fredericksburg during Friday’s Class 1A state football quarterfinal at Spartan Stadium in Grundy Center.

The Cougars’ best drive ended at Grundy’s 31-yard line early in the second quarter and their next three drives went for a net total of four yards.

Ryker Thoren had 15 tackles to lead the Spartans, Pete Lebo added eight tackles and Thoren, Lebo, Klayton Freed and Ryder Slifer all had one tackle for loss each.

“Our D-line really stepped up in the first half,” Thoren said. “And the back half was really good tonight and the secondary coaches did a great job of getting us ready for this game.”

Jirovsky ran in two first-half touchdowns, a one-yard dive and a 50-yard improvised sprint up the middle when a Spartan play broke down, and Brody Zinkula added a second-quarter touchdown on an 8-yard run as Grundy Center sprinted to a 27-0 halftime lead.

Brayden Davie hauled in a 35-yard touchdown reception in the third quarter and Lebo caught the two-point conversion from Jirovsky to start the continuous clock at 35-0 with 2:59 left in the third.

Zinkula finished with 13 carries for 95 yards and a touchdown and Jirovsky had seven carries for 61 yards and two scores.

“When you’re confident, and not really thinking about what’s going on up front and just reacting, that’s when you can be a handful up front and that’s where our kids are at right now,” Zajac said. “We’re playing a really physical brand of football on the offensive line and can still pass protect. I’m proud of their development.”

Coming off a second-consecutive state title moving up a class from A to 1A, the Spartans had to replace quite a few starters coming into this fall, including with Jirovsky coming in at quarterback.

That can make it easy to second-guess the Spartans from the outside looking in.

But the beat goes on — six straight Dome appearances, 37 consecutive victories and an opportunity to make it a three-peat in the next two weeks.

“We’re just a cohesive unit, going out there and fighting,” Thoren said, “fighting for our brothers on every down. … We go out there together and leave it all out there and I wouldn’t want to do this with anyone else.”

State Football Playoffs

Quarterfinal Round

Friday’s Scores

CLASS 1A

Dike-New Hartford 36, South Hardin 19

Grundy Center 35, Sumner-Fredericksburg 6

Hinton 37, Underwood 15

Wilton 21, Regina 14

Semifinal Round

At UNI-Dome, Cedar Falls

CLASS 1A

Friday, Nov. 15

Grundy Center vs. Wilton, 10 a.m.

Hinton vs. Dike-New Hartford, 1 p.m.