By Pat Harty

IOWA CITY – A return to Class 1A competition meant a return to dominance for the fourth-ranked Regina football team.

The Regals scored 42 consecutive points and rolled to a 56-7 victory over Wapello on Friday at Regina.

The victory ended a rare two-game losing streak for Regina, which lost to Class 3A powers Cedar Rapids Xavier and Solon in the first two games by scores of 23-6 and 33-0, respectively.

“They were tough, but I think they definitely helped us,” Regina quarterback Michael Conlon said of the losses to Xavier and Solon. “We got to play at a high level and we got better from those two weeks.”

Conlon certainly performed at a high level on Friday as he amassed nearly 400 total yards, including 311 passing yards.

The lopsided victory was just what Regina needed to get back on track, but Friday’s game ended on a down note as Regina junior Scott Arendt was taken off the field in an ambulance after being injured late in the fourth quarter.

The stadium became eerily silent as medical personnel examined Arendt on the field for about 25 minutes.

“We’ve got great medical people and we’re going to defer to them,” said Regina coach Marv Cook. “I think a lot of it is precautionary, hopefully it was precautionary, and they’re doing the right thing and going through the right steps.

“He had some pain in his lower neck, so you’ve got to do the right thing. Thank God, Wapello’s trainer was right on the spot and stabilized him. And our staff came in. It was an impressive operation to watch. You hate to see it. It’s terrible. But I really like the professionalism that everybody showed, and I’m glad knowing he’s in great hands right now.”

Cook said Arendt was able to move his arms and legs before leaving in the ambulance.

Arendt reportedly fell backwards while assisting on a group tackle and his neck slammed against the heel of another player's shoe.

Wapello had a first down on the Regina 5-yard when play finally resumed. But instead of trying to score a touchdown, Wapello coach Todd Parsons instructed quarterback Logan Belzer to take a knee on three consecutive plays in order to run out the clock.

Parson’s decision drew applause from the Regina fans and praise from Cook.

“Coach Parsons is a great coach,” Cook said. “Honestly, I thought they did a phenomenal job with what they were doing schematically. It was a 14-7 game with three minutes to go in the second quarter and we just made a bunch of big plays and kind of broke the game open.”

Conlon had mixed emotions after the game. He was pleased with the victory, and with his performance, which also included 70 rushing yards, but his thoughts were with his injured teammate.

“He’s on our team,” Conlon said of Arendt, who was injured while trying to assist on a tackle. “We’re all close. He’s our family. He’s a brother of ours. So, obviously, we’re praying for him.”

Players from both teams watched closely as medical personnel examined Arendt on the field. The Regina players huddled together and prayed, while their fans looked on in silence.

“You could feel it in the air,” Conlon said.

 

 

Regina only needed 61 seconds and four plays to score the game’s first touchdown on a 7-yard run by Conlon with 10 minutes, 59 seconds left in the first quarter. 

Conlon then connected with Ryan Schott for a 36-yard touchdown pass with 11:37 left in the second quarter. But Wapello answered with a touchdown on a 9-yard pass from Belzer to Bryant Lanz with 6:44 left before halftime, cutting the lead to 14-7.

Any chance for an upset quickly evaporated, though, as Regina scored two more touchdowns in the final 2:30 of the second quarter and led 28-7 at halftime.

Conlon scored on an 8-yard run with 2:30 left in the second quarter.

The Regals then forced Wapello to punt after running just three plays and then took possession with just under one minute left in the second quarter.

That was enough time for Conlon to connect with freshman Alec Wick on a 43-yard touchdown pass with 42.7 seconds left in the second quarter.

Regina scored four more touchdowns in the second half, which was played mostly with a continuous clock that goes into effect when a team leads by at least 35 points.

“We came out just hoping to run our offense and we knew we could maximize our potential,” Conlon said. “The line definitely let us do that and we then just tried to execute on the outside.”

Cook was asked after the game what lessons were learned from losing in the first two weeks.

“You have to play well,” he said. “Coaches are getting better. Players are getting better and you cannot come out and not play well and have a good night.”

Wick led Regina with four catches for 133 yards, while senior Isaac Vollstedt in addition to contributing at running back and linebacker also converted all seven of his point-after kicks.

Wick also returned an interception 35 yards for a touchdown late in the third quarter and he made Regina’s final point-after kick.

Conlon accounted for five touchdowns overall, three via the pass and two on the ground.

“It makes it really easy when our offensive line is blocking and our receivers run good routes,” Conlon said. “I can look down field with plenty of time and see open guys.”

Wapello 0 7 0 0 – 7

Regina 7 21 21 7 – 56

R – Michael Conlon 7 run (Isaac Vollstedt kick)

R – Ryan Schott 36 pass from Conlon (Vollstedt kick)

W – Bryant Lanz 9 pass from Logan Belzer (Logan Belzer kick)

R – Conlon 8 run (Vollstedt kick)

R – Alec Wick 43 pass from Conlon (Vollstedt kick)

R – Jake Phillips 2 run (Vollstedt kick)

R – Isaac Vollstedt 24 pass from Conlon (Vollstedt kick)

R – Alec Wick 35 interception return (Vollstedt kick)

R – Kieler Brown 36 run (Alec Wick kick)

Individual statistics

Rushing

Wapello: Ricky Pforts 19-68, Jarret Paris 3-34, Logan Belzer 1-minus-6

Regina: Michael Conlon 6-70, Kieler Brown 4-62, Jake Phillipos 4-52, Isaac Vollstedt 7-44.

Passing

Wapello: Logan Belzer 13-28-1-11

Regina: Michael Conlon 12-18-311, Ashton Cook 5-5-36.

Receiving

Wapello: Evan Ross 5-30, Bryant Lanz 4-40, Sam Short 3-45, Ricky Pforts 1-mnus-4.

Regina: Alec Wick 4-133, Isaac Vollstedt 3-64, Patrick Clark 3-36, Bryce Barnett 2-25, Jake Phillips 1-42, Ryan Schott 1-36, Kieler Brown 1-10, Parker Eden 1-5, Nic Hein 1-minus-4.