(Audubon) Audubon forced three and outs on East Mills first five possessions during a 40-7 Wheeler playoff victory on Friday.
The Audubon football team earned that state playoff banner with a suffocating defensive effort. East Mills managed just nine yards on their first 15 offensive plays. Their first first down of the game didn’t come until the third quarter on a penalty. On the night the Wolverines, which had averaged 51 points per game during their four game winning streak, managed just 146 yards of offense. Their biggest play was a 47 yard completion to Mason Crouse when Audubon gambled for an interception on a short pass and came up empty. Ethan Klocke posted a team high 12 tackles and registered a sack. Braden Wessel picked off a pass and had a couple of long punt returns.
Meanwhile the Wheeler offense was up to their old tricks, scoring on quick drives thanks to short fields and explosive plays. Gavin Smith carried 29 times for 234 yards and six scores. No other player had more than four rushing attempts as the 3rd ranked team in the state rode their QB to win #7 on the season. It’s the team’s 17th consecutive home win. Smith scored on runs of 7, 24, 2, 20, and 65 yards. He added a 24 yard TD pass to Joel Klocke. Audubon’s first TD capped a 4 play, 40 yard scoring drive. Their second score came on a 1 play, 24 yard drive to lead 14-0 with 7:07 left in the first. The tone was set early and they rolled to leads of 20-0 at the end of the first quarter and 34-0 at half. Smith broke a 65 yard run on the first play of the 3rd quarter to get the running clock rule rolling for the rest of the frame. The 65 yard sprint came after the defense converged on a fake handoff to Ethan Klocke and Smith kept it on an option with a brilliant display of lead blocking from Joel Klocke.
The unbeaten Wheelers now wait and see who they’ll be assigned to play next week. The Iowa High School Athletic Association is set to release the next pods on Saturday.
