Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

ALBURNETT – The showdown between Regina and Alburnett was billed as two of the best teams in their respective classes each tabbed as serios UNI-Dome contenders.

The matchup expected to decide the game came down to the stingy Regina run defense against one of the most dynamic backs in the state in Alburnett senior Laken Caves.

Caves had his moments on Thursday as did the Regina defense but it was a pair of Regina offensive playmakers that made the difference.

Regina junior Gabe Hegelheimer ran for 214 yards and two touchdowns and junior Holt Hinkel hauled in two touchdown passes as Regina downed Alburnett 28-12 in the final non-district games for both teams at Jim Carver Field at the Martin Sports Complex in Alburnett.

“I think a win like this really shows what kind of a ball team we are,” Hegelheimer said. “I think we work really hard, I think we are a great team and I feel like this is going to be a great game to learn from that will help us get better for our next games.”

Hegelheimer scored on first-half touchdown runs of 8 and 14 yards and Hinkel had touchdown grabs of 21 and 5 yards as Regina improved to 3-0.

The Regals racked up 407 yards of total offense and kept the dangerous Caves largely in check while stretching its regular season winning streak to 12 in a row.

“Credit to Alburnett, they are a really good program I just love how our team played,” Hinkel said. “We were flying around tonight and we played for each other.”

Caves entered averaging better than 250 rushing yards per game and 13.6 yards per carry.

The senior speedster had a 73-yard touchdown reception on a screen pass in the third quarter but could only muster 38 rushing yards on 11 carries.

Regina sacked Alburnett quarterback Brody Kaestner five times and held Alburnett to zero rushing yards on 19 carries.

“Coach (Daniel) Davis, our defensive coordinator, does a phenomenal job preparing our guys all week line and Coach (Michael) Pannone our defensive line coach is also unbelievable but we hang our hat on stopping the run, that’s what our defense is set up for,” Regina coach Dustin Elsbury said. “That’s kind of what our defense is built around is stopping the run and we knew we would be challenged this week and they really stepped up and proved it.”

Hegelheimer gave Regina an early 14-0 lead with a pair of touchdown runs in the opening 15 minutes.

The 205-pound junior covered all 46 yards of a three-play touchdown drive on three carries and opened the scoring with an 8-yard scamper with 4:31 remaining in the first quarter.

“We were marching down the field and I just got a little crease,” Hegelheimer said. “I knew it was my job to go through that and put us on the board.”

Hegelheimer capped the longest Regina drive of the game, a 7-play, 91-yard march with a 14-yard touchdown with 9:58 remaining in the second quarter.

Hinkel hauled in a 53-yard pass from junior Aiden Gaffey during the seven-play scoring drive that put Regina up 14-0.

“Holt is a guy that to start the year not a lot of people knew about but we knew he was talented, he’s really fast and shifty just like his old man (former Iowa receiver and Regina offensive coordinator Ed Hinkel),” Elsbury said. “We knew that he would arrive on the scene this year and he had a breakout game today and made some big plays at DB and receiver.”

Alburnett cut the lead to 14-6 when Hunter Frey hauled in a tipped pass in the end zone for a 44 yard touchdown catch with 3:12 remaining in the first half.

Regina answered with a 6-play, 61-yard touchdown drive that was capped by a 21-yard strike from Gaffey to Hinkel.

“We knew coming into it they were going to be a very good man-to-man team and it was just coach (Ed) Hinkel seeing what he liked and we tried to run it against Wilton and I had an over throw,” Gaffey said. “Holt and I had been talking about that and we got it this time.”

Caves got Alburnett as close as 21-12 when he caught a screen pass on third-and-eight and raced 72 yards to the end zone with 3:36 remaining in the third quarter.

Regina again had an answer.

This time it was a 9-play, 69-yard touchdown drive capped by a 5-yard strike from Gaffey to a sliding Hinkel in the end zone.

“We put in all of our effort and emptied the tank on every single drive,” Hinkel said. “We were giving our best on every series.”

Hinkel finished with four receptions for 93 yards and Tate Wallace caught four passes for 32 yards.

Gaffey threw for 144 yards and two touchdowns and Zach Poe ran for 43 yards.

Hegelheimer was the workhorse, racking up his 214 yards on 29 carries.

“He never comes off the field,” Elsbury said of Hegelheimer. “He kicks the extra point, he comes and hits the kickoff and sometimes he goes back in on defense and I don’t know how many carries he had tonight but definitely hung our hat on our run game tonight and kept handing him the ball and he continued to fight time and time again.”

Regina finished with a 407-208 edge in total yardage.

“I really feel like when we play against a team like that our whole team steps up to the challenge,” Hegelheimer said. “We talked all week long about how they are a great team and I think we responded extremely well.”

                                      ICR                 ALB

First downs                21                    10

Rushes-yards             46-265             19-0

Comp-Att-Int            12-18-0           12-24-0

Passing yards             142                  208

Total yards                407                  208

Punts-Avg.                 1-35                 4-37

Fumbles-lost              1-1                   2-2

Regina             7  14  0  7  –  28

Alburnett       0   6   6  0  –  12

ICR – Gabe Hegelheimer 8 run (Hegelheimer kick)

ICR – Hegelheimer 14 run (Hegelheimer kick)

ALB – Hunter Frey 45 pass from Brody Kaestner (Kick blocked)

ICR – Holt Hinkel 21 pass from Aiden Gaffey (Hegelheimer kick)

ALB – Laken Caves 73 pass from Kaestner (Kick blocked)

ICR – Hinkel 5 pass from Aiden Gaffey (Hegelheimer kick)

Individual Statistics

RUSHING – ICR: Gabe Hegelheimer 29-214, Zach Poe 13-43, Tate Wallace 4-8. ALB: Laken Caves 11-38, Cooper Franklin 2-5, Owen Henriksen 1-0, Brody Kaestner 5-(-43).

PASSING – ICR: Aiden Gaffey 11-14-0 144, Zach Poe 1-4-0 -2. ALB: Brody Kaestner 12-24-0 208.

RECEIVING – ICR: Holt Hinkel 4-93, Tate Wallace 4-32, Kaleb Moeller 3-19, Gabe Hegelheimer 1-(-2). ALB: Owen Henriksen 4-22, Laken Caves 3-85, Cash Varner 3-56, Hunter Frey 1-45, Cooper Franklin 1-0.

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