Football team makes playoff run, loses to Bettendorf

Jared Hylton/Sports Editor

When it rains, it pours.

Friday night was no different for the Tigers who lost their semifinal game to Bettendorf 35-7.

“Things didn’t quite go our way, but we didn’t have any regrets,” senior linebacker Parker Smith said.

Things turned ugly early for the Tigers when junior offensive lineman Austin Mennen dislocated his elbow on the opening kickoff.

On the following series, senior tight end Bryce Wolf broke his ankle after a catch.

Early in the first quarter Cedar Falls drove the length of the field and set up Jacob Fagersten for a field goal, but Fagersten missed wide left.

With less than a minute left, Bettendorf punched the ball in to take a 14-0 lead.

The ensuing kickoff landed in the hands of track star James Harrington, who has committed to Alabama to run track next spring.

Harrington brought the ball to the Tiger 20-yard line before fumbling the ball away to Bettendorf.

With seven seconds left on the clock, Bettendorf recorded a third touchdown of the night sending a deflated Tiger team to the locker room facing its biggest deficit of the season.

On the Tigers’ second half opening drive, All-State running back Barkley Hill left the game with an ACL injury.

Cedar Falls ate up most of the third quarter driving the field.

Junior Ike Boettger connected with Harrington near the end of the third quarter to put the Tigers on the board.

“I would change absolutely nothing about this season, except the outcome of this game,” Mennen said.

The Tigers are returning a significant number of starters next year, including sophomore Ross Pierschbacher who will be a third-year starter.

“We’re not going to take a day this off-season, next season starts tomorrow,” Mennen said.

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