Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

The end goal for any high school football is a state championship.

Often times in order to achieve that ultimate prize the smaller goal along the way is to improve every week along the way.

Regina and its standout senior running back Theo Kolie were able to check both of those boxes off the goal sheet last week.

Kolie capped a huge senior season by setting a Class A championship game record with five rushing touchdowns as Regina routed top-ranked Grundy Center 52-28 to claim the eighth state title in program history and first since 2015.

“Theo had five touchdowns and he’s been incredible all season,” Regina coach Marv Cook said. “He has just gotten better every single time he goes out and plays.”

Kolie came on strong at the end of last season rushing for a then career-high 202 yards in a quarterfinal win over West Branch to help Regina return to the UNI-Dome after a one-year absence.

This season Kolie took his performance to a completely different level.

The 6-foot-2, 175-pound senior rushed for 100 yards in 10 of 12 games as a senior and had three or more rushing touchdowns nine times.

Kolie finished with 1,599 rushing yards, fourth most in Class A, and ranked third in the state and first in Class A with 35 rushing touchdowns.

“He is really shifty and he can turn on the speed at any time,” Regina senior quarterback Ashton Cook said. “He’s really tough for defenses to stop. He’s great at finding the hole.”

His 37 total touchdowns were a Class A best as Kolie also caught 28 passes for 438 yards and two touchdowns.

Kolie averaged 7.5 yards per carry this season and 15.6 yards per reception and averaged one touchdown per every 6.5 times he touched the ball.

“If you watch Theo game he has really involved into a triple threat running back he can run he can block he can catch,” Marv Cook said. “He does everything you ask a running back to do, he runs hard, he runs with power he runs with speed. He has completely evolved.”

They key for Kolie was his ability to improve and never was the senior better than in his final two games.

In back-to-back wins at the UNI-Dome Kolie rushed for 283 yards and eight touchdowns and caught six passes for 79 yards in wins over the No. 1 and No. 2 ranked teams.

Kolie rushed for 124 yards in the title game as Regina set a Class A championship game record with 534 yards of total offense and tied the record for most points with 52.

“I thought we played really well,” Kolie said of the championship game. “There were a couple of plays we wish we could have taken back but overall there is no better way to end the season than with a state title so I am very grateful.”

The impact Kolie had on the championship game wasn’t limited to offense.

Kolie had a second-quarter sack that forced a fumble and set up one of his four first-half touchdown runs.

Kolie had three touchdown runs in a span of a little more than nine minutes in the second quarter as Regina turned a 7-all tie into a 31-7 halftime lead.

“We knew once we stopped them and kept pounding and getting points, points, points that we could take control,” Kolie said. “After those two big plays we kept the momentum going.”

Kolie scored his title game record fifth rushing touchdown of the game on a 4-yard run with 10:57 left.

It was the 15 rushing touchdown for Kolie in five postseason wins.

“It’s amazing,” Kolie said. “There is no better way to finish the season.”

Did you enjoy this subscription free article? Help keep Your Prep Sports free by donating.