Indians Stun Pella In A Rain Soaked Battle
The celebration erupted when Oskaloosa defeated Pella 36-35 on a gutsy 2 point conversion play in overtime. Photo by Denis Currier/Oskaloosa News
Oskaloosa, Iowa – The Pella Dutch have had the Oskaloosa Indians number for the past 12 years.
Both teams were eyeing the District 7 title, which includes an automatic birth into the state playoffs.
The weather had already moved up the game time by over an hour and a half, and then the lightning delayed the start of the game. Once the two teams stepped onto the field, no one cared about the rain anymore.
The Indians came out with purpose, scoring 14 points in the opening quarter. Oskaloosa’s Casey Hill carried the ball from 2 yards out with 4:12 remaining on the clock. The PAT kick by Aaron Blom was good, and the Indians lead 7-0.
Casey Hill found the goal a second time in the first quarter, this one being from a yard out with 1:39 remaining on the game clock. Blom hits the PAT and the Indians are up 14-0 after the first quarter of play.
Pella answered with 5:03 remaining in the half when Aaron Downs dashed into the end zone from 7 yards out. The PAT kick from Chase Carter was good, and the score was 14-7 in favor of the Indians.
Chase Carter kicked off to the Indians and watched Casey Hill blaze his way downfield for a 92-yard kick-off return. Blom’s boot added another, and the Indians were up 21-7 with 4:49 remaining in the half.
Pella had one more score left in them for the half when Ryan Gustafson passed to Aaron Downs with just 23 seconds remaining in the half. The PAT by Carter was good, and the teams went to the locker room with the Indians up 21-14 over the Dutch.
In the third quarter, Pella managed to get within field goal range with 7:29 on the clock. The kick was good by Chase Carter, and the score was 21-17 in favor of the Indians.
Casey Hill started the 4th quarter off for the Indians when he ran 5 yards in for the touchdown with 9:28 remaining in regulation. Blom’s foot was perfect, and the Indians were up 28-17.
Pella’s Gabriel Thomas answered the Indians on a 6 yard run with 5:39 remaining in regulation. The PAT pass from Ryan Gustafson to Samuel Warner was good, and the Indians lead was chopped to 3 points, 28-25.
A last-minute field goal by Pella’s Chase Carter tied the game 28-28, and the clock ran down in regulation.
On to overtime and the Dutch have the ball first. Warner carries the ball 10 yards. The PAT kick by Carter was good, and Pella claimed it’s first lead of the contest 35-28.
Oskaloosa responded to the Dutch challenge when Cole Henry passed to Casey Hill for the 8-yard touchdown. A gutsy 2 point conversion play with the pass from Tyler Miller to Cole Henry sealed the victory for the Indians 36-35.
Oskaloosa’s Casey Hill lead the Indians rushing game with 52 total yards and 3 touchdowns. Tyler Miller had 5 yards.
Pella’s Ryan Gustafson had a total of 76 yards, and Gabriel Thomas had 46 yards with 1 touchdown.
Cole Henry had 211 yards passing with 1 touchdown, completing 14 of 27 in the rain.
Gustafson had 206 yards in the air for the Dutch, completing 19 of 33 passes.
Tyler Miller had 50 yards in receiving, while Hill had 60 yards and 1 touchdown. Nikolas Dykstra walks away with 70 yards receiving.
Logan Shetterly lead the Dutch with 119 yards receiving, while Aaron Downs had 27 yards and 1 touchdown.
Aaron Blom was Mr. Defense for the Indians, racking up 21 total tackles on the night. Cole Kraber and Kenny Settimi each had 9 tackles, while Zaiyan Mamun recorded 7 total tackles.
Brendan Davidson had 9 total tackles for the Dutch. Gabriel Thomas and Kamden Lambert each added 7.
The Indians last beat the Dutch 37-12 back in 2006.
This was also Pella’s first district loss since losing to Winterset 17-14 on October 19th, 2012.
Oskaloosa Assistant Coach Brett Doud spoke with KIIC Radio after the game. “It’s one of those monkey off your back things. We’ve got a bunch of coaches, players and community members that are just ecstatic right now.”
Doud is the offensive coordinator for the Indians, and he told KIIC Radio, “We had a lot of confidence going into the game.”
“We had a few mishaps on punt, and we put our defense in a bad position, but I’m extremely proud of our defense. Holy Cow!,” added Doud. “We don’t usually put them in a hole like that, and they were incredible.”
“In Osky, we don’t have the biggest guys in the world, we have guys with a lot of heart, so we build our offense around what we can do,” added Doud.
Oskaloosa senior Casey Hill spoke about the game and the team. “What helped us as a team win was us dealing with adversity. We knew adversity would be there and we knew whoever dealt with it better would win the game. Also, teamwork, all 3 phases of the game was played top-notch Offense, Defense and Special Teams, we played all 4 quarters and all 3 phases.”
Hill spoke those feelings he had about the game, and the emotions after winning. “I had a bunch of different emotions during the game. I was nervous, jacked up, proud, and a whole lot of other feelings. After the game, I had so many things going on around me, but only one thing was in my head “We just beat Pella” over and over. The best feeling any senior could ask for on Senior Night! Between smiling, screaming, crying, and hugging, those were my emotions.”
Cole Henry, senior quarterback for the Indians, spoke his thoughts going into the game. “We knew it would be a dogfight. We were fired up because we hadn’t beat Pella in 12 years, it was our Senior Night, and we were playing for a district championship. The game meant everything to us and we knew we wanted it more than they did. During the game, both teams made a lot of mistakes, but I think it was our passion and drive that made us persevere through those mistakes. The end of the game could be made into a movie, and I think someday it will be. It was a cinematic finish, and I am so blessed to have that memory with my brothers. The emotions poured out on the field as we all realized that the 4 years of early morning lifting and determination had finally paid off for us, as we were victorious over the Pella Dutch.”
