Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

IOWA CITY – During its latest trip to the state title game much of the attention surrounding Regina has been focused on the high-scoring Regal offense.

First it was a matchup of contrasting styles between a spread Regina offensive attack and the run-heavy Saint Ansgar in the Class A semifinals.

This week leading up to state title game the spotlight is on the showdown between the Regina offense a stingy Grundy Center defense that is allowing fewer than five points per game.

Seemingly lost in the shuffle leading up to the Class A title game between top-ranked Grundy Center (11-0) and third-ranked Regina (10-1) at 2 p.m. Thursday at the UNI-Dome in Cedar Falls is an emerging Regal defense that appears to be peaking at precisely the right time.

“They are starting to come together, they are starting to play team defense and they are starting to understand the concept of I have to do my assignment and then I can rally to the football but I have to do my assignment first,” Regina coach Marv Cook said of the Regina defense. “When you get 11 guys doing that then you have something.”

Sitting outside the spotlight is just fine with many of the key players on a Regina defense that is allowing 19 points and 254 total yards per game this season.

In fact, the lack of spotlight sort of fits the personality of the Regina defense that isn’t loaded with major college prospects or sure first-team all-state picks but instead is built on toughness and energy.

“The mentality for our defense is to get after it, fly to the football, get 11 helmets to the ball,” Junior defensive tackle Aidan Udell said. “Everyone wants to win the game on defense.”

Udell is the perfect embodiment of the 2020 Regina defense that makes up for what it lacks in star power with attitude and effort.

The 180-pound Udell leads the Regals with 59.5 tackles from his defensive tackle spot and has been key in helping Regina hold opponents to 182 rushing yards per game.

“We are determining the line of scrimmage, which I like a lot about our defense,” Udell said. “We fight for every foot on the football field.”

The defensive statistics for Regina have been solid this season but the Regals have been at their best defensively in the postseason.

Regina is allowing 15.5 points and 217 total yards per game in four playoff wins and is allowing just 4.6 yards per play during that stretch.

“We have brought more physicality to the table,” Regina junior safety Sam Aitchison said. “We are hitting, we are executing our assignments and our coaches do a great job of setting us up to be in the right spots at the right times.”

Regina is coming off one of its best defensive efforts of the season in the semifinals.

The Regals limited a Saint Ansgar offense that entered averaging 352 rushing yards and 386 total yards per game to 307 yards and a season-low 172 rushing yards.

Regina held Saint Ansgar to 87 total yards and without an offensive point in the second half of a 49-28 semifinal win.

“A lot of times the guy that makes the play isn’t the guy that makes the tackle,” Cook said. “The guy that makes the play is the guy that takes a double team or forces the ball to bounce outside the unblocked guy. I think we starting to become an unselfish defense. It’s not about statistics it’s about making sure you do your job and the team is successful.”

The Regina defense faces another tough task on Thursday in a Grundy Center offense that is putting up 40.4 points and 384 total yards per game.

Grundy Center has scored 34 or more points in all but two games this season after a 34-6 semifinal win over Council Bluffs St. Albert.

“We don’t really look at what their stats are we play every single team with the same mentality that we are going to go out and dominate the game,” Udell said. “That is the same exact mentality we are going to go out to the state championship game with.”

For the second consecutive week Regina faces the challenge of defending one of the best running teams in Class A.

Grundy Center is averaging 296 rushing yards per game and features a pair of 1,000-yard rushers.

Senior running back Zach (6-1, 180) who has a team-high 1,817 rushing yards and 28 touchdowns and junior quarterback Logan Knaack (6-0, 170) who has added 1,189 yards and 16 touchdowns while averaging 10.4 yards per carry.

While Grundy Center has had similar success to Saint Ansgar running the ball the Spartans go about it in a completely different manner presenting another challenge for the Regina defense to prep for.

“Saint Ansgar wants to pack it in and run it and Grundy Center wants to spread you out to run it. They remind me of Northwestern that way,” Cook said. “They will run spread and it looks a lot of what we are doing and they have those two guys that are incredible at what they are doing. They can take it for a touchdown on any given play.”

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