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***** IN GAME THREAD - Pella vs. Bishop Heelan*****

LukeFeddersen

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Jun 14, 2001
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All updates, game talk, and post game thoughts should be in here. I'll be linking it on the front page!
 
Why in the world did that qb try to pitch that football. It appears he was pitching to #25 but the lineman for some reason stuck his hand out.

Turnover turned into 7 points.

7-7
 
Did Clayberg put money down on Heelan or what?

Joking, joking ... but this doesn't look anything like the Pella team from last Thursday. Bad turnovers and mistakes on offense, and a lot of poor/missed tackles. Where did last week's Dutch team go?
 
How badly would Sioux City East dominate 3A?

They eased past the 3A champions, as many of you already know.
 
Guess we will never have to worry bout that. But they should since they would be nearly twice the size of the biggest 3A schools
 
Big series for Pella right now. Need some sort of points. Heelan will start with the ball in the second half
 
East didn't beat Heelan that bad. Plus, Heelan is a completely different team now. They spent the first few games getting used to a new QB and some new players
 
Pella with a couple of bad turnovers leading to 14 Heelan points (a terrible decision to try to lateral that turned into a fumble, then a screen pass right into the defender's arms). Then two terrible missed tackles leading to a 55-yard gain to set up a field goal. Just 17-14 at halftime ... if last week's Pella team hadn't missed the bus this afternoon, Heelan would probably be in trouble.

Heelan with an awful lot of pressure on defense in the first half. Can they keep that up without getting burned? Can Pella continue to play the excellent pass defense they've shown in the first half? Can Pella not turn the ball over and tackle better? Will Heelan get their offense on track?
 
And how badly would Heelan dominate 2A? Do you want to keep playing this game? You have twice as many students.

Pretty cocky for beating Heelan like 3 times in the last 12 years or so? Would think it would be more competitive give East is twice as big. But no.

This post was edited on 11/20 9:10 PM by Kinky F
 
And Pella retakes the lead with a nice 41-yard drive. Clayberg with a nice fake and run for the score.

Is it just me, or does it look like Clayberg is limping just a little bit? Thought I noticed it on his score at the end of the half, and again just as he crossed the goal line this time.
 
Pella with the lead and the ball, with a chance to take over the game - and Clayberg turns over the ball again. All four Pella turnovers directly on him, two picks and two fumbles. I really don't think Clayberg is 100% tonight.

This post was edited on 11/20 9:13 PM by KidSilverhair
 
Nathan Henry busts about a 75-yard TD run for the Dutch. Sometimes when your defense is putting on pressure, if a back can get through the first wave, there's nobody left to make a stop. That's what happened to Heelan. Pella up 28-17 now and playing better defense than in the first half.
 
Well, Clayberg may have turned it over four times, but he's also scored three TDs. This last one makes it 38-17 and you can give Pella the trophy now.

While the Dutch will lose some key seniors on the lines, almost the entire backfield and receiving corps will be back in 2015. Quinton Murphy and Seth Johnson are the only seniors there. Look for another strong showing by Pella next year.
 
So Pella will take the 3A championship (beating two private schools to do it, by the way). If Regina and Dowling each win Friday, to take the 1A and 4A titles - both very possible outcomes - that would mean three of Xavier's four losses this year were to state champions. Has any previous team lost to three state champs in the same season? I just think it must be extremely rare - if not not totally unheard of - to play top teams from two other classes outside of your own.
 
Clayberg has battle severe tendonitis in his foot the last 4 weeks or so, and I'm sure carrying the ball 30 times tonight didn't help. He did show some tremendous mental toughness by hanging in there after the first half. Well deserved MVP award for an outstanding young man.
 
Take a couple unforced turnovers by Pella in the first half out of this one and it wouldn't have been close.
Might have even seen continuous clock.

I don't remember seeing Heelan manhandled like they were last night. After Pella settled down they were able to mostly do what they wanted on both sides of the ball. While Heelan did have size on that Oline the Pella D was too fast. The Pella nose was the best example. He was half the size of the Heelan center yet he spun off or blew by him more often than not. All season the Pella D has just been relentless.

Congrats to Pella on their very well deserved title.
 
I know that you can never pin these types of games on one play but that poor snap to start the second half really hurt Heelan. They were up 3 and had a nice start to a drive going. It left them backed up against their own goal line and gave Pella a short field on their next drive. Pella cashed in and never looked back. Congrats to the Dutch on a great season, they were best team all year and very deserving champions.
 
Originally posted by La_Fleur:
I know that you can never pin these types of games on one play but that poor snap to start the second half really hurt Heelan. They were up 3 and had a nice start to a drive going. It left them backed up against their own goal line and gave Pella a short field on their next drive. Pella cashed in and never looked back. Congrats to the Dutch on a great season, they were best team all year and very deserving champions.
How about the 5 TOs by Pella? Rise Up!
 
Originally posted by La_Fleur:
I know that you can never pin these types of games on one play but that poor snap to start the second half really hurt Heelan. They were up 3 and had a nice start to a drive going. It left them backed up against their own goal line and gave Pella a short field on their next drive. Pella cashed in and never looked back. Congrats to the Dutch on a great season, they were best team all year and very deserving champions.
I agree that snap and poor field position seemed like a turning point of sorts....

This was a game where unforced errors played a significant role! The bad pitch, the under thrown screen pass, the low-snap fumble off the knee, and Heelan's bad snap...

That play was unfortunate indeed, and Pella took advantage. Pella was able to shake off their 5 turnovers and still win against a quality opponent.
 
Come on La_Fleur, you say you can never pin these games on one play and then you try to do it. Heelan scored two touchdowns going 25 and 33 yards after Pella turnovers. Pella moved the ball on Heelan's defense all night long and Heelan had little success against the Pella defense. That play certainly didn't help Heelan's start to the second half, but in no way was that any turning point. Pella had all the momentum they needed going into half time.
 
Up to that point Heelan's center was flirting with disaster having a lot of low snaps that the QB had to reach down for and threw off the timing of many plays. Heelan ran the ball fairly well on Pella in the first half and the turnovers certainly helped. I thought the Heelan defense did a pretty good job of gobbling up the Pella run game in the first half, with most of Pella's drives being sparked by nice catches by their receivers on 50-50 balls.

I do believe that play was a turning point. You could sense Heelan being deflated after it and Pella was able to take advantage of the momentum and energy created by it to roll the rest of the second half, particularly on the ground and at the line of scrimmage.
 
There is no need to point fingers especially for a team that won a state title. At the end of the day last nights game can be summed up easily. Pella ran for 340 yds while SCH was held to just 40.

Had Pella lost this game with the dominance their defense displayed you might have something to complain about. Pella won becasuse their offense hung 38 on a good SCH team and the defense allowed less than half that many points.

Nuff said.
 
Originally posted by cidhawkeye:
Wait, the private school lost?
Cid, I have appreciated your informed and thoughtful perspective in the past. Your posts and attitude seem to be devolving toward a petulance that does little to advance your ideas. I want to encourage you to stay the course and advocate for your position, not antagonize or patronize a differing view.
 
60 rushing attempts (new championship record for 3A) says it all. This year's Dutch team was relentless and aggressive on both sides.

27-0
38-17

65-17 outscoring opponents says it all. Congrats on a dominating season.
 
to the guy that said East didn't beat Heelan that bad, East beat you by 10 points and it should have been 20!!! It was similar to the piss pounding you took last night from Pella. Watched the game, Pella should have won by 14 more.
 
Last nights game was one of the better 3A Championships I have seen in awhile. Both teams were very well coached, physical and battled hard. I know the final score didn't make it seem like a good game but Heelan was ahead at halftime.. Pella was just to much for them in the 2nd. Im curious if Pella ever trailed this season in any of their games?
With that said, Pella was the best 3A team in the state no question about it and very deserving of the crown. They were a very well rounded team and that seems to be the story for any 3A champion in the past.. cant remember the last close title game. Heelan was NOT the same team at the beginning of the season and I think most of it was inexperience and just not clicking as a team till the end of the regular season. If you would have told me 2-3 months ago they would be battling for the 3A title again, I would have called you crazy.
We could play the 'what if' game all day long but I'm sure both teams wish they would have done things different. Congrats to Pella on finally winning a well deserved Championship! Hats off to Heelan for making it there after losing so many guys from last year. Maybe we will see a rematch next season.
 
Ford, I appreciate the feedback and insight. You are correct, perhaps I have become that way due to the overwhelming number of people on these boards who discredit the hard work, talent and coaching of the private schools.
 
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