Rebels shut down by Hawks in eight-player championship

CEDAR FALLS - John Olson and his staff took on whatever role their seniors needed in those difficult , emotional moments. 

Coach, friend, father figure, whatever the players needed moments after Gladbrook-Reinbeck football fell to St. Mary’s (Remsen) 51-12 in the eight-player state championship on Thursday.  

“You just hang out with them, cry with them,” Olson said. “They don't get to play football for G-R anymore. They love playing here. We'd love to have them again, but there's nothing you can say. You just be there for them.”

The Rebels, playing in their first championship since moving to eight-player in 2018, were set up well to score on their first drive as senior Drew Eilers found junior Hudson Clark for a 38 yard pass play. A trip-up on the subsequent play put the Rebels back eight yards and 13 yard rush by Eilers couldn’t overcome the setback. 

St. Mary’s proceeded to score 21 unanswered points in the first and second quarters before G-R had an answer.  Eilers scored on a 14 yard run, the PAT no good, to put the Rebels on the board with three minutes to go in the second quarter. But the Hawks would have another touchdown in them before halftime, leading 29-6. 

“I give a lot of credit to [St. Mary’s], who put a lot of pressure on us,” Olson said. “We made plays, but couldn’t string them together and defensively couldn’t stop them when we needed to.”

G-R opened the second half with a 58 yard drive, capped off by a 25 yard touchdown run, trailing 29-12. The momentum swiftly faded as the Hawks went on a 22-0 run in the third and fourth quarters to close out their championship run. 

“Defensively, we needed to get a stop,” Olson said. “We put together three or four plays, but then we gave up a big play to allow Remsen to move the chains. Offensively, we were pretty inefficient. There wasn't anything that we could necessarily say. It came down to inches on both ends.” 

Eilers rushed for 98 yards on 19 carries, scoring two touchdowns. The senior quarterback also threw for 118 yards on 12 of 23 completion. Clark was his top target with seven catches for 80 yards. Sophomore Treyvon Herron rushed for 44 yards on nine carries. Senior Michael Boyd finished with nine total tackles and Herron seven tackles. 

The Rebels closed out their 2024 season with a record of 11-2, their best finish playing eight-man football. This was G-R’s first appearance in a championship game since the 2016 Class A title. 

Look for full coverage, including quotes from players, in the November 28 issue of The Grundy Register.