Classic Encounter: Iowa withstands North DeSoto to stand atop mountain for first time

by William Weathers // GeauxPreps.com Contributor

NEW ORLEANS – The state championship proved to be quite a backdrop for No. 1 North DeSoto and No. 2 Iowa to stage a memorable Division II non-select state championship.

Both teams were undefeated and would be able to bring back their school’s first state championship to their respective communities situated on opposite ends of the state.

The script that ensued was fitting with the two best teams in their divisions combining for more eight lead changes, 1,007 total yards and a dramatic finish.

Quarterback Lawston Broussard’s 11-yard keeper with 8:38 remaining gave Iowa a 50-43 lead on Friday, and the Yellow Jackets made it stand up with one defensive stand and a favorable call, in the last two minutes of play to stave off North DeSoto in the Caesers Superdome.

“We know we’ve to do our job and that job is to score and defense’s job is to stop them,” Broussard said. “At the end of the day, the job is to win.”

Iowa (14-0) won its first state title in the 72nd year of the existence of school. The Yellow Jackets also became the first team from Calcasieu Parish to win a state crown since 1972.

“I’m glad we’re the one able to be the one to do it,” Iowa coach Tommy Johns said, who has been the head coach in nine of his 12 years at the school.

The two teams each scored three touchdowns over a 16-minute stretch that bridged the third and fourth quarters.

North DeSoto (13-1) erased a 13-point deficit behind quarterback Luke Delafield, a Northwestern State signee, who was named his team’s Outstanding Player. 

The Griffins, the 2022 state runner-up, scored on three of four second-half possessions for a 43-42 lead on the first play of the fourth quarter when Delafield connected with Colton Lacour on a 41-yard touchdown pass and Dakota Denney added his fifth extra point.

“It was a state championship football game,” Delafield said. “That’s what you expect. You expect a good one-score game like that. I wish it wouldn’t have ended the way it did.”

Iowa’s game-winning drive of seven plays and 80 yards was spent on the ground, with four different players getting touches.

On first-and-10 from 11, Broussard literally walked into the end zone after a terrific fake, finding wide open space around the left side of North DeSoto’s defense. Kaston Lewis, the team’s leading rusher with 172 yards and two TDs on 15 carries, added his third two-point conversion.

“That’s what is so different about this team than anyone we’ve had,” Johns said. “They don’t get too up or too down. No one panics. We’ve been in that situation before the last two weeks. They’re resilient and just kind ways to win, and that’s what it’s all about.”

Iowa got the ball back after its defense held on downs, forcing Delafield into four straight incompletions with 6:45 left in the game. The Yellow Jackets took more than four minutes off the clock before having to punt the ball back in the last two minutes.

Punter Christian Williams retreated to his own 28 when the ball was snapped over his head, settled himself, and punted before colliding with a North DeSoto player, drawing a 15-yard roughing-the-punter penalty.

Both coaches had differing views on the call.

“To end the game in that way was unfortunate,” North DeSoto coach Dennis Dunn said. “Not that had anything to do with the game. To end it like that. … They (officials) had done such a good job all game, and to end the game on that call was disappointing in my opinion.”

Dunn said the referee explained Washington had gathered himself and wasn’t subject to being hit during his punting motion.

“That was a live ball once it hit the ground,” said Dunn, who won nine state titles at Evangel Christian Academy. “He’s a runner, and he’s no longer protected according to the rules. It is what it is. You don’t end that game on that call. I’m sorry.”

Johns had the same situation happen in last week’s semifinal victory over Belle Chasse.

“No God, not again,” he said of his initial response. “When they threw the flag, I was like, ‘This should do it.”

Dunn acknowledged the job Iowa’s offensive line did in creating running lanes Iowa, which scored a season-high points against his defense, to rush 56 times for 405 of their 588 total yards. J’Vien Adams added 15 carries for 158 yards and a touchdown, increasing his school-record total to 3,131 yards and 35 touchdowns.

“They didn’t do anything that surprised us,” said Dunn, whose team defeated Iowa in the 2022 semifinals and 2023 quarterfinals. “We didn’t have an answer for what they were doing in the box. They’re very good up front. 

“We didn’t have an answer for their physicality up front defensively for most of the day,” Dunn said. “However, I thought our kids battled offensively. I don’t think either one of us stopped each other. It just came down to who had the ball last in this game, and unfortunately, they did.”

Two of Iowa’s final three touchdowns were on the ground with Lewis’ 42-yard score and two-point run leading to a 42-26 edge with 18 seconds left in the third quarter, and Broussard added what proved to be the game-winner in the fourth quarter.

“Our guys up front don’t get a lick of credit, and they’re what we’re built around,” Johns said. “They’re the hardest working guys every day. We put it on their backs, and they take us. They’ve done that all year long. What a special group.”

Wide receiver Jeremiah Bushnell combined for 156 total yards (112 receiving, 44 rushing) and three touchdowns to earn his team’s Outstanding Player honor. He made up for his lapse, not crossing the goal with the ball for what would have been a 49-yard TD pass, and recovered his fumble for the score. 

North DeSoto, which had 419 total yards, closed with touchdowns from Louisiana Tech signee Kenny Thomas (21-90) and Delafield’s TD to pass Lacour, who topped the Griffins with six catches for 113 yards.

Delafield combined for 312 yards (233 passing, 79 rushing) and three touchdowns.

“I believe if we get the football right there (NDHS 30), we go down and win the football game,” Delafield said. “That’s just me as a competitor.”

Iowa scored on its first four possessions and piled up 309 total yards through the first 12 minutes of the game for a 28-22 lead into halftime.

The Yellow Jackets rallied from a 15-14 deficit with consecutive touchdowns near the end of the first quarter and beginning of the second, for a 28-15 edge. Lewis took a direct snap on third-and-four, broke a tackle at the line of scrimmage, and sped untouched for a 59-yard score. 

Iowa twice converted on fourth down to maintain its fourth scoring series. Lewis’ 18-yard gain on fourth-and-one sparked the drive, and Broussard connected with Maydon Smith for an eight-yard gain on fourth-and-five. That set up Adams’ 12-yard run on a direct snap to complete the 11-play, 82-play drive that took more than four minutes off the clock.

Clement Bellow added the team’s two-point conversion for their biggest lead of the half.

North DeSoto overcame a fumble by Delafield to put together one final scoring drive before halftime.

A 30-yard scramble from Delafield on third-and-six was the catalyst on the 10-play, 81-yard drive that also featured two completions from Delafield to Iowa’s 3.

Braelyn Latin scored the first of his two touchdowns from three yards out on first down, and Denney added the extra point with 2:45 before halftime, setting the stage for a dramatic second half.

“We’re built for these moments like coach Johns says all the time,” Broussard said. “We do things other programs won’t. It’s been a long road for us to get here. We pulled together, and we win as a team.”