On paper it was set to be an even matchup Friday at Roth Field in Wayland when No. 11 English Valleys visited No. 15 WACO. In execution, it was all Warriors. WACO wore out the Bears 38-13 to remain unbeaten on the year. The Warriors executed two critical plays on their first possession with Simeon Reichenbach calling his own number on a fake punt, then quarterback Isaac Oswald connecting with Reichenbach on a screen pass to move the chains on third and 19. He would eventually finish the drive with a one yard touchdown run to put the Warriors up 7-0. English Valleys next possession was cut short when Jonah Clark tipped a pass and picked off Bears QB Josh Osborn returning the ball to the EV 19 yard line. Three plays later it was Reichenbach to paydirt a second time, this one a 10 yard scoring run to double the Warrior lead. Still in the first frame Reichenbach would complete his hat trick, after the Warrior defense again turned away the Bears, he scampered 29 yards for a touchdown to make it 21-0. The Warriors continued to control action in to the second frame, keeping the shut out intact while Drew Diers ran 13 yards for a touchdown and in the final 20 seconds of the half, Reichenbach connected on a 37 yard field goal to make it 30-0 WACO going to the break.
The Warriors enacted the running clock out of half with a 29-yard Reichenbach scoring run, his fourth of the night and a two point conversion from Oswald to Reichenbach to go up 38-0. English Valleys would score a pair of touchdowns, one on the ground and one through the air in the fourth quarter with the game no longer in doubt. After the game, the KCII Warrior defensive player of the game Jonah Clark spoke about their work on that side of the ball and his interception. “We knew we were going to be able to stop them up the middle, their only chance to run was on the outside and we shut that down pretty quick too. We love gang tackling and that’s what we knew we had to do. Their back is fast but he can’t outrun eight people. We’ve been winning the defensive line of scrimmage pretty much every play so far this season. We play as a team. I saw their quarterback go back to pass, it happened pretty quick, I just made a play on the ball, blocked it and caught it. We’re family. We’re together every single day and love each other.”
WACO outgained EV 346 to 218 in total including 252-113 on the ground. The Warriors were seven of 11 on third down, finishing with 16 first downs. Defensively, they forced two interceptions with Clark and Mason Miller both pulling down picks. Reichenback finished with 16 carries for 169 yards and four scores. Jon Rice had nine carries for 45 yards. They held the explosive EV backfield threat and defending state track 100m dash champion Beau Flander to just 81 yards on 24 carries and no touchdowns, with most of that coming against the Warrior reserves. With the win, No. 15 WACO is now 4-0 and will meet Iowa Valley next week in Wayland for Homecoming.