The Grundy Center senior quarterback was the playmaker at crucial times for the Spartan football team in a second-half push that brushed back a bruising Pella Christian team for a 35-12 victory at Spartan Stadium on Friday.

The Spartans (10-0) will host Dike-New Hartford in a state quarterfinal game next Friday. D-NH defeated Sigourney-Keota 28-18; Grundy Center previously defeated the Wolverines 7-6 in the opening game of the season on Aug. 25.

“We showed a lot of grit,” Gordon said. “They punched us and we punched them back and ended up making more plays.”

Gordon rushed 12 times for 142 yards and two first-half rushing touchdowns and completed 8-of-15 passes for 81 yards, with one touchdown and one interception.

“The moment is the moment and he doesn’t really get rattled,” Grundy Center head coach Travis Zajac said of Gordon. “He’ll make his mistakes and own up to those, but he wants the ball in his hands, he wants to make plays, and he showed that he can do that when we need them the most.”

Down 14-0 at halftime, Pella Christian scored on back-to-back drives with two Benny Schirz touchdown receptions, though each time the Eagles were unable to convert an extra point or two-point conversion, even after getting second chances on Grundy Center penalties on each conversion.

The Spartans got their best drive of the night at the best time, bleeding almost six minutes off the clock on a 10-play drive with eight runs.

“We pretty much just said we were gonna run the ball down their throat,” Gordon said.

The drive ended on a Gordon pass to Tiernan Vokes, complete with a stiff-arm by Vokes on his way to the end zone for a 12-yard touchdown reception, and after a crucial Gordon point-after kick, a 21-12 lead with 5:32 remaining in the game.

“We put it on our backs and on our o-line,” Zajac said. “Having the quarterback run helped but we got some good carries from Brody [Zinkula] and a couple timely passes for six points.”

Two plays into the Eagles’ next drive, Gordon pulled down an interception after a brief juggle and returned the ball inside Pella Christian’s 10-yard line. Justin Knaack scored two plays later.

“I thought [the Pella Christian receiver] caught it at first,” Gordon said of the interception. “I didn’t see the ball but luckily it bounced off my arm and I caught it.”

The Eagles again turned the ball over on a Pete Lebo forced fumble scooped by Brody Zinkula, and Grundy Center used the short field again for a Zinkula score to put the game well out of reach.

It was the second win for Grundy Center this season against Pella Christian after a 38-6 victory on Sept. 8.

“The game was a lot closer than the final score indicated,” Zajac said. “But credit to them, they had a great gameplan coming in with adjustments after their first game. … Their scheme, and having a 260-pound fullback helped that was hard to take to the ground. We made some mistakes, penalties were a killer, but kudos to our kids and our assistant coaches for being really gritty and finding a way to get this one.”

Next up is another rematch with the Grundy County rivals from Dike-New Hartford.

“It’s an opportunity to go to the Dome,” Zajac said. “We usually play each other earlier in the year and Coach [Don] Betts and I usually have a good chuckle about it before and after the game, but they’ve been highly-contested, back-and-forth. They’re gonna come in extra motivated, we’re gonna be extra motivated.”

State Football Playoffs

Friday’s Scores

CLASS 1A

Dike-New Hartford 28, Sigourney/Keota 18

Grundy Center 35, Pella Christian 12

Iowa City Regina 33, Wilton 18

MFL MarMac 21, West Branch 0

OABCIG 35, Treynor 14

Sumner-Fredericksburg 9, Emmetsburg 7

Underwood 42, 0 AHSTW 0

Waterloo Columbus 35, South Hamilton 24