Your Prep Sports 

Regina head coach Marv Cook wasn’t overly concerned after watching his team get thumped in the season opener against Class 4A Pleasant Valley.

Of course, he hated losing by a 45-13 margin at home.

But Cook was confident that his team would learn from the loss and use it as motivation for the rest of the season.

The Class A third-ranked Regals are 5-0 since then, so now it makes sense why Cook didn’t overreact.

Regina scored early and often against Columbus Junction on Friday and cruised to a 47-22 victory on the road. The Regals led 41-0 at halftime and the second half started with a continuous clock, which goes into effect when a team leads by at least 35 points.

“We kind of just talked about it,” Cook said of the loss to Pleasant Valley. “To experience real growth you have to have failure, you have to have setbacks, you have to have obstacles. That’s when you truly grow and become better.

“So I think our kids understand that and they thrive in that environment. So we’re excited for them.”

Regina doesn’t normally play Class 4A opponents, but it had to scramble to find an opponent for the season opener after Dyersville Beckman canceled due to health concerns with the COVID-19 global pandemic.

And though it was sobering defeat, Cook challenged his players to turn it into a positive, and they have since embraced that challenge.

Especially senior running back Thoe Kolie, who on Friday scored four touchdowns for the fourth consecutive game. Kolie rushed for 191 yards on just nine carries, while senior receiver Alec Wick had two touchdown receptions.

“I think they understood that by playing (Pleasant Valley) and playing at that pace and at that pad level and that tempo was going to make us better football players,” said Cook, who has led Regina to six state titles as head coach. “Columbus Junction had some guys. They had some kids that were really fast and tough, and they reminded me a lot of the running game of (Pleasant Valley) to some extent with the pace that they were playing.

“So it was good challenge for us.”

Senior quarterback Ashton Cook, who is Marv Cook’s son, completed 11-of-17 passes for 239 yards and three touchdowns. Wick was Ashton Cook’s favorite target as usual, finishing with 128 receiving yards on just four catches.

“Our kids love to compete,” Marv Cook said. “We challenge them daily and they thrive in that environment.”

Kolie scored Regina’s first touchdown on a 72-yard run. Wick then followed with a 70-yard touchdown catch. Wick also converted both point-after kicks to give Regina a 14-0 lead.

Levi Quinlan then caught a 2-yard touchdown pass and Kolie followed with a 16-yard touchdown catch, giving Regina  a 27-0 lead after the first quarter.

Regina                             27   14   6    0  –  47

Columbus Junction    0     0    8   14  –  22