Kevin White: Lewis Central joins elite company with 3rd straight trip to final

In my first 27 years as a sportswriter covering southwest and western Iowa, Lewis Central and the UNI-Dome were foreign concepts. 

The Titans almost always had good football teams. But they were never great. Their first 12 playoff appearances resulted in zero trips to the semifinals. The semis joined the championship games in the UNI-Dome in 1998, and Lewis Central was a no-show in the first 20 seasons. 

But since 2018, the Titans have been a fixture in Cedar Falls' perfectly suited indoor facility for playoff football. On Thursday at 7 p.m., second-rated Lewis Central (10-2) will play its eighth game in the UNI-Dome in six years when it meets No. 1 Western Dubuque (11-1) for all of the Class 4A marbles.

This will be the Titans' third straight trip to the finals, following their 2021 championship and last year's runner-up showing. Both times they met Cedar Rapids Xavier in the finals.

In 2023, 331 high schools fielded football teams in the state of Iowa. Only these Fabulous Five have reached the championship game for at least the last three seasons: Grundy Center (5 straight), Van Meter (5), Southeast Polk (4), West Hancock (3) and Lewis Central (3).

That's rarified air, and Lewis Central coach Justin Kammrad knows it.

"Winning is hard in itself,'' he said. "To be in that position to be able to play for another championship, it's surreal for our guys. It's a tribute to continued development and hard work and belief in the system. We say it all the time. It's on the back of our shirts. If you believe it, you'll achieve it. Never in my wildest dreams would I say that three straight times we'll be here.''

It's remarkable that the Titans are here, given the bad luck they've encountered in their backfield. They've featured four different running backs due to injury, and standouts Brody Patlan (751 rushing yards; 12 TDs), Chance Chappell (365 yards, 3 TDs) and Caleb Moore (353 yards, 4 TDs) all have been lost for the season to injury. Moore was a rare four-year starter and a two-way standout.

That leaves senior Kamdyn Cross (642 rushing yards, 11 TDs), the original starter who's recovered from a broken hand and reclaimed his starting role in fine fashion.

Junior Brady Hetzel, a first-year starter, has become a trusted and productive quarterback, throwing for 2,262 yards and 22 scores with nine INTs. In leading the Titans to the finals, he's taken his rightful place alongside recent QBs Max Duggan, last year's Heisman Trophy runner-up at TCU; Austin Simmons, who threw for more than 6,000 yards and 45 TDs at South Dakota; and current Northern Iowa freshman Braylon Kammrad, who led LC to the 2021 title.

"The way that he is playing, I would never have fathomed that he would be doing what he's doing at this point,'' Kammrad said of Hetzel. "It's a tribute to him as a student of the game. He's always asking questions. He's coming off after each drive, saying, 'Should I have done this?' He's just being very cerebral. He allows his athleticism to continue to make plays. ... He does an excellent job of commanding our offense and giving us a chance to win.''

The Titan defense has continued to progress throughout the season and turned in perhaps its best performance of the year in last week's 31-5 semifinal win over North Polk, limiting the Comets to just 140 total yards.

"If you would have told me that would be the outcome, I would not have believed you,'' Kammrad said. "I think that's a testament to all 11 on the field doing their job and playing their assignment and not trying to do too much.''

Linebacker Owen Thomas is the season leader in tackles with 62. Safety Curtis Witte turned in the play of the season to date in the quarterfinals against ADM. With the Tigers leading LC 21-10 late in the third quarter, they threatened to take a commanding three-score lead, and had second and 4 at the Titan 11. After a loss of 1, Witte picked off Aiden Flora and returned it 49 yards. Lewis Central rallied to win 32-21, and Witte's sense of the moment throughout the season has yielded many clutch plays.

Now the Titans have one final puzzle to solve, Western Dubuque and running back Grant Glausser. The 5-foot-11, 200-pounder leads all Iowa players with 2,646 rushing yards on 301 carries, a sparkling 8.8 per-carry average to go with 30 touchdowns.

Quarterback Tanner Anderson complements him nicely with 1,554 passing yards and 21 touchdowns with only four interceptions.

Lewis Central now has a chance to win a second state championship in three years. It's one of the biggest challenges for coaches after winning in the semifinals: going back home for a week to prepare for the biggest game of their players' young lives.

Justin Kammrad knows how rare these opportunities are. He's embracing it.

"We'll regroup and give ourselves a chance,'' he said.

--Kevin White

Lewis Central players line up after securing their program’s third consecutive trip to the Class 4A title game. (Photo by Nick Petaros)