For just the second time in program history, the WACO Warriors football team has a date at the Dome. Second-ranked WACO defeated number-10 Montezuma 52-7 in the state quarterfinals last night to remain undefeated and become one of Iowa’s final four 8-man teams left standing.

The Warriors actually faced their first deficit of the entire season after Montezuma took the opening kickoff and scored a touchdown in just two plays. But WACO completely dominated from that point on. The defense limited a high-powered Montezuma offense that was averaging 55 points per game coming in to only 221 total yards. Senior running back Simeon Reichenbach powered the offense with a monster game, needing only 11 carries to put up a whopping 270 yards and four touchdowns rushing. WACO head coach Chad Edeker told KCII Sports the win that finally sent his team to Cedar Falls was emblematic of who they’ve become and what they hope to still achieve.

“Our first goal was to win the district,” Edeker said. “We talked about this all year: we wanted to win the district, and we did that. Our second goal was to make the Dome, which we got now. And our third goal is to win the championship. We got a team that we feel can do this.We have all the confidence in the world. We’ve shown that we can face running teams and we can face passing teams. We’ve shown that we can defend that, and now we just have to get ready and see who we get [next].”

The ferocious WACO pass rush also got after it all night, with senior Ty Egil and junior Colton Leichty recording at least two sacks each. Junior cornerback Reece Oswald returned an interception for a TD, the 23rd pick the Warriors have collected as a team. WACO improves to 12-0, matching the number of wins they had when they last made the state semifinals in 2010. The Warriors will play either Lenox, Newell-Fonda or St. Mary’s of Remsen this coming Wednesday afternoon at the UNI-Dome in Cedar Falls.