Matt Coss

Your Prep Sports

IOWA CITY – Will Aitchison summed it up succinctly.

“The ball bounces in funny ways sometimes,” the Regina High senior said.

This time, it fell in Wilton’s direction.

The sixth-ranked Wilton football team recovered an onside kick and marched 49 yards in the closing two minutes to knock off fourth-ranked Regina 21-14 in a Class 1A state quarterfinal Friday night at Regal Field.

It was the Beavers’ first win over the Regals since 1988 and secured the program’s first trip to the UNI-Dome.

Wilton (10-1) plays top-ranked Grundy Center (11-0) in a semifinal at 10 a.m. Friday.

“I told our guys after we won last week, ‘Would you really want it any other way?’,” Wilton coach Ryan Hetzler said. “The team that’s held our number since 1988, is there a better storybook ending to our season before we get to the Dome?

“I don’t think I would want it any other way. They accepted that challenge and were locked in all week.”

Regina (9-2) nearly had its fourth win over Wilton in two years and its first semifinal appearance in four years.

The Regals took a 14-7 lead on a Kyle Tracy 7-yard touchdown run in the final minutes of the third quarter.

“We were feeling great,” Aitchison said. “We played our guts out the entire game.”

Wilton pieced together a 5-play, 57-yard drive to crawl within one.

Owen Hassell scored the first of his two touchdowns on a 14-yard run.

The Beavers elected to go for two and the lead, but the Regals stopped them.

With 2:18 remaining and two timeouts left, Wilton tried an onside kick.

It worked to perfection as Gatlin Rogers’ attempt went just more than 10 yards and Hassell was there to scoop it up.

“He kicked it pretty well,” Regina coach Dustin Elsbury said. “He didn’t hit it too hard. It dribbled barely to the 10-yard mark and he gave their guys a chance.”

Rogers does not usually kick onside tries for Wilton.

“He kicked one just like that (Thursday) in practice and I asked him, ‘Where’s that been all year?’“ Hetzler said. “He goes, ‘You never asked me to kick them.’ He showed it to me again and did it a couple more times.

“When we needed it, he did exactly what we saw in practice. It couldn’t have been more perfect.”

Wilton capitalized on the opportunity.

Quarterback Drew Keith, who threw for 246 yards, completed passes to Jordan Dusenberry and Rogers to get the Beavers inside the Regals’ 20-yard line.

A holding penalty backed Wilton up, but an 8-yard completion to Kale McQuillen and a pass interference penalty on Regina had Wilton at the 10-yard line.

Then on third and 1, Hassell scooted to the left edge for the go-ahead 10-yard touchdown run with 29 seconds remaining.

The senior finished with 121 rushing yards on 19 carries.

“They ran the ball well tonight,” Elsbury said of Wilton. “Owen Hassell is a stud and they’re good up front.

“I thought we made them earn every yard they were getting, but when you put your defense on the field a lot of times in that fourth quarter, they’re going to get theirs every once in a while.”

Regina had one last chance.

The Regals reached their own 45-yard line before Tracy’s Hail Mary attempt was intercepted by Dusenberry near the goal line.

It was the fourth pick of the game for the all-state Wilton defensive back.

“Sometimes, the ball doesn’t bounce your way,” Elsbury said. “Hats off to both teams. It was a really competitive game and that’s what you ask for in the quarterfinals.

“It comes down to one play here or there.”

Tracy, a junior, passed for 187 yards and rushed for 101. Aitchison hauled in a team-high seven receptions for 92 yards. Sophomore Tate Wallace had a 27-yard touchdown grab in the first half.

It was the second consecutive quarterfinal appearance for Regina.

“None of these guys ever made it to the Dome in my grade,” Aitchison said. “We had a little bit of an edge coming into the year.”

Regina had only seven seniors on its roster.

“This one is going to sting for a while and it should, but hopefully as time passes, (the seniors) can look back and say they truly enjoyed their football experience with Regina,” Elsbury said. “Our seven seniors were outstanding people with high character and great leaders.”

With much of its nucleus returning and the heartbreak from Friday’s setback, the Regals are positioned well for 2025.

“This should fuel them and motivate them for the offseason,” Elsbury said. “Nobody on our team right now has made the Dome, so that’s going to be their goal next year. They’re hurting right now, but they should be motivated for next year.”

                                       WIL                ICR

First downs                22                    18

Rushes-yards             32-172             25-135

Comp-Att-Int.           25-37-1           16-28-4

Passing yards             246                  187

Total yards                418                  322

Punts-avg.                  4-31.3              3-38.7

Fumbles-lost              1-1                   1-0

Penalties-yards         7-55                 7-60

Wilton             0  7  0  14 – 21

Regina            0  7  7  0  –  14

WIL – Cale McQuillen 18 pass from Drew Keith (Gatlin Rogers kick)

ICR – Tate Wallace 27 pass from Kyle Tracy (Gabriel Hegelheimer kick)

ICR – Kyle Tracy 7 run (Hegelheimer kick)

WIL – Owen Hassell 14 run (run failed)

WIL – Hassell 10 run (McQuillen pass from Keith)

Individual statistics

RUSHING — Wilton: Owen Hassell 19-121, Drew Keith 9-39, Hayden Hill 3-17, Team 1-(-5). Regina: Kyle Tracy 16-101, Savion Miller 8-36, Tate Wallace 1-(-2).

PASSING — Wilton: Keith 25-35-0, 246; Jordan Dusenberry 0-1-1, 0; Hassell 0-1-0, 0. Regina: Tracy 16-28-4, 187.

RECEIVING — Wilton: Dusenberry 8-73, Cade Souhrada 4-71, Kale McQuillen 9-54, Hassell 2-21, Gatlin Rogers 1-18, Hill 1-9. Regina: Will Aitchison 7-92, Wallace 4-58, Miller 1-19, Drew Greve 3-9, Hudson Koch 1-9.

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