STUART — The ninth-ranked West Marshall football team closed out Class 1A District 7 play with a 44-7 win over West Central Valley on Friday night, sealing the district title and an eighth-straight trip to the playoffs.

The Trojans (6-2, 4-1) will host Shenandoah (3-5) after winning a three-way tie atop the district over Pleasantville (7-1, 4-1) and Interstate 35 (5-3, 4-1) based on scoring differential.

West Marshall finished off West Central Valley (2-6, 1-4) to assure itself of the district title, piling up 506 yards yards of total offense.

Trojan quarterback Blayk Hart was 11-for-19 passing for 317 yards and two touchdowns, connecting with Kinnick Geers nine times for 273 yards with an 87-yard scoring strike. Teegun Edler added a 31-yard TD catch.

Wyatt Brown racked up 175 yards and four touchdowns on just 13 carries to lead the West Marshall backfield.

Dalton Eldridge had nine tackles, including 1.5 for loss, and recovered a fumble, while Joe Kielman made seven stops for the Trojan defense. Luke Stewart forced two fumbles and recovered one as well.

Jarel Madison had 16 carries for 147 yards including a 99-yard touchdown run to lead West Central Valley.

Mustangs make playoffs for first time since 1992

LE GRAND — The East Marshall football team wrapped up fourth place in Class A’s District 4 to earn its first state playoff berth since 1992 after beating North Cedar 48-0 on Friday night.

The Mustangs (5-3, 3-3) cruised to the win behind its first shutout of the season, holding North Cedar (0-8, 0-6) to just 71 yards of offense.

East Marshall managed short fields and needed only 222 yards of offense to get the job done, as Kaden Grant rushed 14 times for 153 yards and three touchdowns. Eli Burns, Blake Neuroth and Jordan Meling each had a touchdown run and Neuroth returned a kickoff 81 yards for another score.

Wyatt Stalzer led the Mustang defense with 9.5 tackles, including 4.5 for loss. Gavin Gaschler pulled down an interception against North Cedar’s Kaden Koth, who finished 3-for-7 for 15 yards.

East Marshall’s first playoff game in 23 years will be this Friday night at top-ranked Saint Ansgar.

Wolverines fall to Colo-NESCO in Week 8 finale

COLO — The GMG football team was unable to close the season with a win, falling 44-6 to Colo-NESCO in Friday’s Week 8 finale.

Quarterback Ethan Klemesrud got the Wolverines’ lone touchdown, tallying a 47-yard TD run in the fourth quarter. He finished with seven carries for 93 yards, while Bodie Hutchinson added seven carries for 55 yards.

Klemesrud was 7-for-23 passing for 81 yards with an interception. Jacoby Woodbury led the receivers with two catches for 50 yards.

Caleb Ferch paced GMG (1-7, 1-5) with 12.5 tackles, including a quarterback sack, and Woodbury added 8.5 stops. Jay Bessman finished with eight tackles.

Colo-NESCO (3-5, 2-4) rushed for 337 yards and five touchdowns in the 8-Man District 6 win.