Iowa high school football: No. 2 Valley storms back to stun No. 8 Waukee

WAUKEE, Ia. — Gary Swenson stood underneath the lights here at Waukee Stadium in silence. The longtime West Des Moines Valley football coach opened his mouth once, twice, three times in a 20-second span Friday night, as if trying to speak might help him find an answer.

Moments earlier, his second-ranked Tigers beat Class 4A No. 8 Waukee 28-27. The Tigers, now 4-0 overall, pulled a rabbit out of their hats in this one, storming back from a 12-point deficit and scoring two touchdowns in the final 145 seconds to topple the Warriors (2-2).

So after the Tiger players greeted their fans in the visiting stands and walked to the locker room, Swenson stood at the 20-yard line and wiped his brow. He was asked a simple question — how do you describe a game like that? — but struggled to find the proper words.

Before Swenson spoke, his wife, DeAnn, smiled and delivered perhaps the only suitable answer.

“I say a miracle,” she said. “This coach's wife says a miracle.”

Swenson laughed, and took a more measured approach in his response.

“We were out of that game every which way,” he said, “right up until the end.”

This was an offensive slugfest. Both teams combined for 881 total yards of offense — Valley with 448, Waukee 433. The Warriors piled up yards with ease throughout the game, holding leads of 20-9 in the third quarter and 27-15 midway through the fourth.

Mitch Randall figured to be the star on this night. Waukee’s junior quarterback finished 10-of-16 passing for 212 yards and four touchdowns. He also ran 14 times for another 151 yards. He was brilliant, and his play was the reason why the Warriors looked every bit like the better team through three-and-a-half quarters.

“He’s a dominant player,” Swenson said. “He makes you pay if you’re not sound. They had some crossing action, and we didn’t have eye discipline. He’s an athlete. He can run. He can throw. They have good players.”

Valley found success throughout the night running the ball. Tre Fugate went for 120 yards on 19 carries. Creighton Mitchell added 85 on 10 attempts, including a 42-yard touchdown run in the third quarter. But as time wore down in the fourth quarter, Swenson opted to throw more.

And Beau Lombardi never panicked. Valley’s senior quarterback finished 27-for-45 passing for 239 yards and two interceptions — one in the first quarter, which came during a 7-0 Waukee lead; and another in the third, when the Warriors were already up 27-15.

“I thought I screwed us with those two interceptions,” Lombardi said. “We felt like we were moving the ball down the field, but we kept making silly mistakes and settled for field goals. But at halftime, we felt like we could come out here and win this game.”

He did account for two touchdowns, both of which came in the fourth quarter.

After failing to convert on two fourth-down attempts at midfield earlier in the frame, Lombardi orchestrated an 8-play, 54-yard drive, going 4-for-4 for 38 yards and capping it off with a 1-yard quarterback sneak. Valley was within 27-22 with two minutes and 25 seconds left.

Then, after the Tigers recovered the ensuing onside kick, Lombardi led another scoring drive — this one a 13-play, 58-yarder in which converted two fourth downs with passes to Mitchell and junior receiver Jack Johnson. 

A defensive holding penalty put the Tigers on the Waukee 12-yard line. Two plays later, Lombardi hit Johnson again for the 10-yard go-ahead score that gave Valley their only lead of the night with 14 seconds left.

“The look was for Creighton, so the defense read that and I was open,” Johnson said. “Beau threw a beautiful ball. Just had to catch it and put it in.”

Added Lombardi: “We ran that play like 12 times, and every time, they kept didn’t cover Creighton, so I kept giving it to him. Eventually, that scared them a little bit. Jack came open in the middle of the field, made that catch and got into the end zone.”

“We have a team that believes and we love to work. We don’t really have too many star players. We’re just a bunch of guys that love each other, and we knew we could come out on top.”

Add this result to what turned out to be a wild night in Class 4A. No. 5 Ankeny Centennial beat No. 4 Dowling Catholic 14-7, giving the Maroons their second loss of the season. Additionally, No. 3 Cedar Falls beat No. 1 Bettendorf 29-23 in a classic at the UNI Dome.

Valley added their own resilient showing here on this night, and because of it, they’ve shown once again they are a contender this year in 4A.

“We just found a way to win,” Swenson said. “I can’t explain it. It was crazy. It was just one of those nights where we had just enough time on the clock to give ourselves a chance.”

Cody Goodwin covers wrestling and high school sports for the Des Moines Register. Follow him on Twitter at @codygoodwin.