Your Prep Sports

For the second time in three seasons West Branch will enter the playoffs unbeaten.

Gavin Hierseman threw a pair of touchdown passes and rushed for two more scores and Tanner Lukavsky ran for two scores as Class 1A fifth-ranked West Branch put the finishing touches on its second unbeaten season in three years with a 44-20 win over Dyersville Beckman at the Little Rose Bowl in West Branch.

West Branch (9-0, 5-0) broke open a three-point game in the second quarter with 28 straight points while locking up home field advantage through the first two rounds of the Class 1A playoffs that begin next Friday.

Dyersville Beckman finished the season 5-4 and 2-3 in 1A, District 4 play.

Hierseman threw touchdown strikes of 30 and 37 yards to senior Trey Eagle and Lukavsky scored on touchdown runs of eight and 31 yards as West Branch rolled up 384 yards of total offense.

Lukavsky rushed for 156 yards on 16 carries to crack the 1,000-yard barrier on the season, pushing his season rushing total to 1,003 yards.

Hierseman threw for 102 yards and rushed for 87 more yards and scored on touchdown runs of one and two yards.

Eagle finished with 85 yards on three catches and set a new school record with 12 touchdown receptions on the season.

West Branch never trailed on Friday but led just 17-14 after Tom Jaeger hauled in a tipped pass and went 51-yards for a touchdown in the second quarter.

The Bears got some breathing room before halftime when Lukavsky scored his second touchdown of the game on a 31-yard run with 2:00 left in the second quarter to make he score 23-14.

It was all Bears after halftime.

Hierseman made it 30-14 with a 1-yard scoring plunge and on the first play of the fourth quarter the junior quarterback connected with Eagle for a 37-yard scoring strike that pushed the lead to 37-14.

West Branch picked off Offerman three times on Friday with Cael Fiderlein, Wyatt Goodale and Hierseman all ending Beckman drives with interceptions.

Jack Robertson had a team-high five tackles for West Branch while senior Cameron Howsare had 4.5 stops and Fiderlein had four including one for loss.

Jeff Bowie had a pair of tackles for loss and a sack for the Bears.

West Branch                          10  13  7  14 –  44

Dyersville Beckman              7     7   0   6  –  20

WB – Trey Eagle 30 pass from Gavin Hierseman (Cael Fiderlein kick)

WB – Fiderlein 26 field goal

DB – Trent Koelker 21 pass from Nick Offerman (Logan Burchard kick)

WB – Tanner Lukavsky 8 run (Fiderlein kick)

DB – Tom Jaeger 51 pass from Offerman (Burchard kick)

WB – Lukavsky 31 run (Pass failed)

WB – Gavin Hierseman 1 run (Fiderlein kick)

WB – Eagle 37 pass from Hierseman (Fiderlein kick)

WB – Hierseman 2 run (Fiderlein kick)

DB – Elliot Naughton 8 pass from Cayden Gassmann (Kick failed)

Individual Statistics

RUSHING – WB: Tanner Lukavsky 16-156, Gavin Hierseman 14-87, Andy Henson 7-41, Wyatt Goodale 1-2, Dakota Kaalberg 1-1, Dominic Culver 1-0, John Yates 2-(-1), Carver Boelk 1-(-4). DB: Riley Fangman 22-68, Cayden Gassmann 1-19, Nick Offerman 4-(-15).

PASSING – WB: Gavin Hierseman 6-13-0 102, Trey Eagle 0-1-0 0. DB: Nick Offerman 10-22-3 172, Tom Jaeger 0-1-0, Cayden Gassmann 2-2-0 24.

RECEIVING – WB: Trey Eagle 3-85, Tanner Lukavsky 2-4, Dakota Kaalberg 1-13. DB: Tom Jaeger 5-121, Sean Kluesner 2-36, Elliot Naughton 2-12, Trent Koelker 1-21, Riley Fangman 1-5, Derick Ludwig 1-1.

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