Spartans cash in on Sailor turnovers for 21-14 win

WATERLOO - Grundy Center football made Columbus Catholic pay dearly for two costly fumbles on their way to a 21-14 on Thursday in a key District matchup. 

“They’re a well-coached team with good players at all three levels,” coach Travis Zajac said of Columbus Catholic. “They’re 3-2 now, but they have every argument to be 5-0. Hats off to their players and coaching staff on a great game.”

After a relatively quiet first quarter, Columbus Catholic set itself up deep in Spartan territory. The Sailors got to the one yard line and Spartan junior Tiernan Vokes stripped the ball from the carrier’s hands to score a defensive touchdown at the four minute mark of the second quarter. A couple deep Sailor passes were off the mark on their next drive, leaving the score at 7-0 going into halftime. 

“[Tiernan] is really coming into his own on that side of the ball,” Zajac said. “He didn’t play a lot of defense last season and came on late offensively. Tiernan is a physical presence That strip sack and recovery for a touchdown is the kind of play that separates games like this between two evenly-matched teams.”

Grundy Center held its ground in the third quarter as the Sailors came up short of responding with a field goal off the mark. But moments later, Columbus Catholic once again sets itself up at first and goal with a yard to go after a Spartan penalty. The Sailor running back fumbles after a tackle by junior Brody Zinkula, and senior Colin Gordon was at the right spot to scoop the ball and take it to the house for 97 yards. 

“I was playing corner and I saw the running back bounce the ball out while I was going for the tackle,” Gordon said. “There’s no one out there to stop me from taking it. Really awesome play for us.”

The third time was the charm for the Sailors as they finished off a drive with a score moments later. Grundy Center fired back with their first scoring drive of the night, capped off with a short run from Gordon. While the Sailors were able to make it down one last time with 2:38 remaining, the Spartans were able to get the first downs needed to run out the clock and kneel this one out.”

“Our offensive and defensive line was just awesome for us,” Gordon said. “They dominated the whole game and we could run the ball when we wanted to. We ended up making more plays than they did to win this game.”

Gordon threw for 39 yards on five of 13 completion, but did the most damage on the ground as the senior quarterback rushed for 93 yards on 14 carries. Sophomore Pete Lebo and junior Ryker Thoren each had nine tackles, Zinkula 8.5 tackles. 

The Spartans (5-0) got an extra day of rest and prep before their Homecoming matchup with NICL West rival South Hardin (3-2) on Friday, looking to continue their 18-win streak that leads the state. 

“We have plenty of work to do to be a better football team,” Zajac said. “But we’re looking forward to a great week.”