CEDAR FALLS, Ia. — John Olson likes to tell a story about Matt Johannsen. The Gladbrook-Reinbeck coach says his junior receiver cares so much about doing well for his team that he’ll get down on himself when he screws up.
“That shows me he cares a ton about making good plays,” Olson said. “So when he does screw up, he needs to learn to overcome that.
“That’s why I’m extremely happy for him as an individual to catch that touchdown there at the end.”
Gladbrook-Reinbeck beat Bishop Garrigan, Algona, 20-19, in a thrilling Class A state championship game Thursday. It’s the Rebels second consecutive state title. They are the first Class A team to repeat since Southern Cal of Lake City in 2008 and 2009.
And it wouldn’t have been without Johannsen, who allowed an early go-ahead touchdown to the Golden Bears (12-1) but turned around and caught the game-winning 24-yard touchdown pass with 6 minutes, 29 seconds left in the fourth quarter for the Rebels (13-0).
“He responded to adversity,” Olson said, “and that was pretty sweet for him.”
Johannsen entered Thursday with just three catches to his name for a measly 37 yards, and entered this season as the Rebels’ fourth receiver after hardly playing last year. The three in front of him — Walker Thede, Erik Knaack and Matt Roeding — combined for 63 catches, 1,146 yards and 12 touchdowns this year.
Because he was buried on the offensive depth chart, he made his presence felt defensively, where he was fourth on the team with 39.5 tackles with two interceptions before Thursday. His speed made him an asset, Olson said, regardless of where he played, but early on Thursday, he was anything but.
Midway through the second quarter, Bishop Garrigan was in the midst of a nine-play, 59-yard scoring drive that ended when quarterback Brad Capesius found Joel Vaske for a wide-open 24-yard touchdown. He was wide open because Johannsen, who was covering Vaske, fell down.
“From then on,” Johannsen said, “I kept it in my mind that I had to redeem myself and help my team win a championship.”
That score gave the Bears a 13-0 lead, but the Rebels roared back, scoring twice in 58 seconds to lead 14-13 at halftime. Gladbrook-Reinbeck finished with a narrow edge in total yards, 307 to 293, and first downs, 16-15, but trailed 19-14 after Capesius hit Vaske again for a 10-yard score early in the fourth.
From there, the Rebels embarked on an eight-play, 58-yard drive that soaked up 3:18 of game time. After seven plays, they faced a fourth-and-8 at the Bishop Garrigan 24-yard line. The play call was “spread right, 50 vegas switch,” a play Johannsen said they had practiced this week — though he didn’t believe he’d get the ball.
“The receivers basically both ran a go-route, and then switched,” said quarterback Hunter Lott, who finished 11 of 14 for 139 yards passing along with 38 more yards rushing and two total touchdowns. “Matt was the one who came open, and I trust him. He made a play.”
The ball soared through the air and Johannsen chased it down in the end zone for the go-ahead touchdown, the first of his career. It ultimately stood up as the game-winner, for Garrigan attempted a fourth-and-2 near midfield on the ensuing drive, and failed to convert.
Afterwards, Johannsen stood inside a room underneath the UNI-Dome, his sweat still fresh, his emotions still processing. It hadn’t quite sunk in just yet, he said, but he added that it probably will soon.
“I didn’t think I was going to get a pass in the state finals,” Johannsen said. “But it ended up happening.”
Cody Goodwin covers high school sports, college basketball recruiting and Drake athletics for the Des Moines Register. Reach him at (816) 582-0633, email him at [email protected], or send him a tweet at @codygoodwin.
Gladbrook-Reinbeck 20, Bishop Garrigan, Algona 19
First Downs: 16; 15
Rushes-Yards: 38-168; 45-197
Passing: 139; 96
Comp-Att-Int: 11-14-0; 4-7-1
Fumbles-Lost: 2-2; 2-1
Penalties-Yards: 5-51; 7-45
Box Score
Bishop Garrigan, Algona: 7 6 0 6 – 19
Gladbrook-Reinbeck: 0 14 0 6 – 20
Scoring
BGA - Brad Capesius 24 yd run (Joel Vaske kick)
BGA - Joel Vaske 24 yd pass from Brad Capesius (kick failed)
G-R - Parker Bown 9 yd run (Walker Thede kick)
G-R - Hunter Lott 10 yd run (Walker Thede kick)
BGA - Joel Vaske 10 yd pass from Brad Capesius (two-point try failed)
G-R - Matt Johannsen 24 yd pass from Hunter Lott (two-point try failed)
Individual leaders
RUSHING – Bishop Garrigan: Gibson Behr 23-106; Brad Capesius 10-61; Grant
Arndorfer 11-30; Joel Vaske 1-0; Gladbrook-Reinbeck: Parker Bown 16-85; Walker
Thede 5-43; Hunter Lott 13-38; Gage Murty 3-4; TEAM 1-minus 2.
PASSING – Bishop Garrigan: Brad Capesius 4-6-0-96; Gibson Behr 0-1-1-0.
Gladbrook-Reinbeck: Hunter Lott 11-14-0-139.
RECEIVING – Bishop Garrigan: Joel Vaske 3-43; Gibson Behr 1-53.
Gladbrook-Reinbeck: Erick Knaack 4-66; Gage Murty 2-22; Walker Thede 2-17; Matt
Johannsen 1-24; Matt Roeding 1-14; Parker Bown 1-minus 4.