The #1 (1A) Grundy Center football team surged in the second and third quarters, and advanced to the program’s sixth consecutive championship game appearance with Friday’s 42-7 win over #6 (1A) Wilton in a 1A semifinal that aired on 99 The Wave.
After a missed field goal, the Spartan offense began to pick up steam late in the first quarter when Judd Jirovsky found a wide open Brody Zinkula for a 23-yard touchdown pass. On the next possession, Jirovsky found Tiernan Vokes for a short touchdown, followed by a short Zinkula rush for a 21-0 lead. Late in the half, Wilton flew down the field in 34 seconds for their only touchdown. But Zinkula returned the ensuing kickoff 89 yards for a touchdown to take the momentum back.
Zinkula kickoff return highlight:
In the second half, the Spartans pulled away with a 39-yard touchdown catch by Devin Hinders, and Jacob Hoy had a 57-yard pick six to complete the scoring.
Head Coach Travis Zajac says the middle of the game created the separation.
“We’ve really been on one with our kickoff return right now,” Zajac says. “Kids understand the scheme. They’re doing a great job of getting on their blocks. And then, you know, Brody and Brayden Davie back there, those are two really dangerous, fast, state track kids. And that momentum shift right at the end of the second quarter set the tone going to halftime. You could almost feel the air go out of the other sideline. And then to be able to score the way that we did to start the third quarter, a huge middle couple minutes in the football game.”
Zajac credits the work of the players and assistant coaches in their return to the title game.
“It’s all the kids and the assistant coaches, the amount of time and effort they put into this thing. When you wear the title of head coach, you get a lot of the credit. It’s all them. They did all the things today. It’s just a really special group of men that I get to spend time with, the staff, and we play really well together.”
Zinkula and Jirovsky each had 12 carries for 49 yards. Jirovsky was 17-18 passing for three scores, and Vokes had nine catches for 72 yards. Ryker Thoren led with 10.5 tackles.
The Spartans (12-0) have advanced to the 1A championship game, where they’ll take on #2 (1A) Dike-New Hartford on Thursday, November 21 at 4:00 p.m. inside the UNI-Dome on 99 The Wave.
