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Even after clinching a district title Regina players are adamant they aren’t peeking ahead toward the playoffs just yet.

The Regals certainly appeared to be in playoff form on Friday.

Class 1A top-ranked Regina raced to a 42-0 halftime lead and clinched the District 4 title with a 42-7 win over Columbus (1-7) on Friday in Columbus Junction.

“Right now we aren’t thinking about the playoffs, just about getting better every week,” Regina junior Jake Phillips Phillips said. “We are just focused on the next week and then we will try to start getting ready for the playoffs.”

The win was the seventh straight for Regina (7-1) since a season-opening loss to 3A top-ranked Cedar Rapids Xavier and improved Regina to 6-0 in District 4 play.

Regina has won its six district games by a combined score of 273-66.

“I think we’ve got better each week,” Regina senior Brady Bigley said. “Every week we prepare the same, we respect all these teams and their coaches and players and we prepare the same for all of them and then we go out and play our hardest no matter who is across from us.”

Phillips ran for 118 yards and two touchdowns on nine carries and junior quarterback Michael Conlon completed 6-of-7 passes for 94 yards and two scores to lead Regina.

Conlon connected with Jack Jensen on a 44-yard touchdown pass and threw a 12-yard scoring strike to Noah Felderman as Regina scored at least 34 points for the seventh straight game.

Phillips added scoring runs of 28 and 8 yards on Friday for Regina.

“I think the offensive line has really stepped up their game,” Phillips said. “They have always been playing at a high level but as the playoffs are coming they know that they are going to have to play their best and they are really making a lot of holes for all the running backs and making it a really easy job for us.”

Bigley helped lead a strong defensive effort by Regina with a pair of touchdowns, returning one 85 yards for a touchdown.

Senior defensive tackle Jared Brinkman had a team-high six solo tackles and a sack for Regina while Ryan Schott and Mason Simpson each made five stops for the Regals.

“We are making a lot of plays when we need to,” Bigley said. “There are some small things that we need to clean up but we are working on a lot of different things and just trying to continue to get better.”

ICR – Phillips 28 run (Sam Stein kick)
ICR – Brady Bigley 4 run (Stein kick)
ICR – Jack Jensen 44 pass from Michael Conlon (Stein kick)
ICR – Noah Felderman 12 pass from Conlon (Stein kick)
ICR – Phillips 8 run (Stein kick)
ICR – Bigley 85 interception return (Stein kick)