Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

CEDAR FALLS – In its first ever state semifinal appearance Nevada made plays like it was a seasoned postseason veteran.

Senior tailback Austin Waldera rushed for 233 yards and a touchdown and senior quarterback Drake Hinson ran for two scores as the Cubs downed Solon 29-10 in a Class 3A state semifinal on Saturday at the UNI-Dome in Cedar Falls.

“A common phrase we’ve been saying all season is ‘don’t flinch’,” Hinson said. “Our mindset is ‘don’t flinch’, act like we’ve been there. Come in here, stay confident, don’t flinch.”

The Cubs never flinched on Saturday.

Nevada (10-2) opened the game with a 10-play, 70-yard touchdown drive and never trailed while advancing to the Class 3A state title game.

The Cubs will face Sioux City Heelan (10-2) in the Class 3A title game on Friday at 1 p.m.

Sioux City Heelan defeated defending state champion Dubuque Wahlert 34-21 in the first 3A semifinal.

“This means a lot to us but we knew we were coming out on top this game,” Waldera said. “We came out and played smashmouth football, what we do best.”

Nevada, which knocked off top-ranked Clear Lake in the quarterfinals last Friday was dominant from the opening drive.

The Cubs outgained Solon 360-129 including a 274-3 edge in rushing yards and held a 21-6 advantage in first downs.

“They executed well,” Solon senior Eli Kampman said. “They held on to the ball, they ran the play clock down and they just blocked their tails off.”

Nevada set the tone out of the gate as Waldera carried six times for 39 yards on the opening drive, giving the Cubs a 7-0 lead less than four minutes into the game with a 6-yard touchdown run.

That was just the beginning.

Waldera rumbled for 233 yards on 36 carries as Nevada rolled up 274 yards on the ground while averaging 5.8 yards per carry.

“Their guys up front, I have a lot of respect for them,” Solon junior linebacker Cody Milliman said. “They really played their tails off.”

Nevada led 13-3 late in the first half when Solon got a spark before halftime.

Milliman got loose behind the Nevada secondary and outleapt two defenders to snag a 51-yard touchdown pass from Kampman.

“It was just doing my job,” Milliman said. “I saw an opening and went behind the defender and let my quarterback do his thing.”

The Milliman touchdown cut the Nevada lead to 13-10 at the break and gave Solon momentum with the Spartans set to receive the second half kick.

“The feeling at halftime was we were right where we wanted to be,” Solon coach Lucas Stanton said. “Defensively we felt like we were doing enough to give ourselves opportunities.”

Nevada senior Clay Franzen picked off a Kampman pass on the second play of the second half and the Cubs tacked on a field goal to take a 16-10 lead.

The Cubs took control with a 12-play, 82-yard touchdown drive capped by a 1-yard quarterback sneak by Hinson with 2:15 remaining in the third quarter.

Waldera had 39 yards rushing and caught a key 23-yard pass on third-and-13 on the touchdown drive.

Nevada was 6-of-12 on third down attempts.

“When we had some opportunities to get off the field they were able to convert,” Stanton said. “I think all year long our third down percentage we held opponents to 33 percent or less and I’m guessing they were over that tonight.”

Nevada senior defensive ends John Nelson and Cedar Smith were a handful for Solon all game.

Nelson had three tackles for loss and two sacks among his six tackles and added a pair of quarterback hurries.

Smith had a hurry and Waldera had a sack.

“They are just good athletes on the edge that we didn’t really have an answer for,” Stanton said. “Those two were just really good on the edge disrupting Eli.”

Kampman completed 13-of-24 passes and was under constant duress, throwing three interceptions while passing for 126 yards and a touchdown.

Solon rushed for three yards on 18 carries.

“They forced me to get the ball out quick or move out of the pocket quick and I didn’t have quite enough time for plays to develop,” Kampman said. “They were play wreckers that were really talented.”

Milliman had three receptions for 53 yards and a touchdown to lead Solon and senior linebacker Tripp Johnson had a team-high 12 tackles with two tackles for loss and a fumble recovery.

“I told our team one game doesn’t define who they are as individuals or this team,” Stanton said. “We played a really good football team tonight and it wasn’t our night.”

SOL                NEV

First downs                6                      21

Rushes-yards             18-3                 47-274

Comp-Att-Int            13-24-3           7-16-1

Passing yards             126                  82

Total yards                129                  356

Punts-Avg.                 6-44.2              2-55.5

Fumbles-lost              1-0                   2-1

Penalties-yards         5-29                 2-20

Nevada                       7   6   9  7  –  29

Solon                         0  10  0  0  –  10

NEV – Austin Waldera 6 run (Gavin Egeland kick)

NEV – Egeland 38 field goal

SOL – Ryan Locke 26 field goal

NEV – Egeland 45 field goal

SOL – Cody Milliman 51 pass from Eli Kampman (Locke kick)

NEV – Egeland 42 field goal

NEV – Drake Hinson 1 run (Pass failed)

NEV – Hinson 22 run (Egeland kick)

Individual Statistics

RUSHING – SOL: Maddox Kelley 5-6, Eli Kampman 12-0, Team 1-(-3). NEV: Austin Waldera 36-233, Drake Hinson 8-45, Team 3-(-4).

PASSING – SOL: Eli Kampman 13-24-3 126. NEV: Drake Hinson 7-16-1 82.

RECEIVING – SOL: Cody Milliman 3-53, Maddox Kelley 5-28, Kaden Hoeper 3-34, Owen Bock 2-11. NEV: Gavin Egeland Austin Waldera 2-20, Lucas Brown 2-17, Cedar Smith 1-18, Gavin Egeland 1-14, John Nelson 1-13.

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