This season, the WACO Warriors have gone where no other team in school history has gone before. Now they hope to return home to Wayland with Iowa high school football’s ultimate prize. Second-ranked WACO looks to complete an undefeated season when they take on number-one Remsen-St. Mary’s in the 8-man state championship game this morning in Cedar Falls, a game you can hear on KCII.

In reaching 12-0, WACO has excelled in every facet of the game. The Warriors have scored better than 47 points per game thanks to an explosive and balanced offense. Senior running back Simeon Reichenbach’s record-setting season continued with two rushing touchdowns in the semifinal win over Newell-Fonda, bringing him to over 1,500 yards and 32 TDs on the ground. But senior quarterback Isaac Oswald and the passing game can hurt defenses when they’re not prepared for it, as Oswald has thrown for over 1,500 yards and 23 scores.

On defense, the Warriors might be even better than offense, giving up just over 13 points and 200 yards per contest. Junior defensive lineman Colton Leichty has terrorized opposing offensive lines with a whopping 25-and-a-half tackles for loss and 16.5 sacks. Senior Drew Diers is another all-state talent at linebacker with 95.5 tackles, while senior Mason Miller’s state-high nine interceptions leads an opportunistic unit that has forced 33 takeaways.

There are stars all over the WACO roster. But St. Mary’s has matched that star power and dominance during their 12-0 campaign. The Hawks score almost 59 points a game and give up less than seven. Starting senior QB Cael Ortmann leads the team with over 1,700 passing yards and 32 touchdowns while rushing for another 780 yards and 16 TDs. Top senior receiver Ryan Willman has an impressive 17 TD catches, and the duo of seniors Alex Schroeder and Brenden Fisch average better than eight yards per rushing attempt.

Like the Warriors, St. Mary’s can also make the opponent pay for mistakes, as the Hawks have forced 26 takeaways. It may take a perfect game to defeat a team that won the title two years ago. WACO hopes for the perfect ending when they battle Remsen-St. Mary’s in the 8-man state championship game. Coverage from the UNI-Dome begins with the Washington HyVee Pregame Show at 9 this morning, with kickoff at 9:30 on KCII.