TRAER — Wapsie Valley shut down a high-flying North Tama football team on Friday, handing the Class A No. 5 Redhawks their first defeat of the 2021 season.

North Tama (6-1, 4-1) was hurting after Devin McKinley and Aiden Zook were ejected in the team’s win against BCLUW on Oct. 1. The Redhawks still moved the ball through the air, as Gabe Kopriva completed 21 out of 36 passing attempts for 256 yards. However, the Wapsie Valley (5-2) defense picked off Kopriva four times.

Freshman Kolt Knaack was North Tama’s team’s leading receiver with six catches for 81 yards. Adam Greiner had six for 75 yards. Logan Siemens caught five passes for 49 yards of his own. On the ground, Kopriva ran for 78 yards on 26 carries.

Wapsie Valley had only 157 yards of total offense, but the Warriors capitalized on turnovers for the upset win.

North Tama’s final regular season game is a trip to No. 6 Grundy Center this Friday.