Mustang defense seeks pressure against Spirit Lake’s passing attack

PCM’s 2024 defense features two sets of twins. And if the Class 3A No. 2 Mustangs want to advance past third-ranked Spirit Lake and clinch their spot in next week’s championship game, they will have to slow down a pair of twins on the other side of the football.

The Indians come into the state semifinals with the most passing yards and passing touchdowns in 2A and rank second only to PCM in total touchdowns.

And at the forefront of the Indians’ passing game will be twin receivers Dylan and Ethan Stecker.

“I think they block really well, run routes really well and are tall, physical receivers. They are two weapons out there,” PCM head football coach Greg Bonnett said. “We need to get a good pass rush. If we can get some pressure on (the quarterback), I like our odds to be able to cover. But if they block us up, it will be challenging to stop them.”

Seniors Finn and Tad Wilson and seniors Brevin and Gavin DeRaad will have Spirit Lake’s offense seeing double on the UNI-Dome turf.

Finn Wilson leads the Mustangs with 57 tackles, two fumble recoveries and one interception, while his twin brother also ranks in the top five on the squad with 35.5 tackles.

“I’m excited to play this team. I think it worked out perfectly,” Finn Wilson said. “They’re a heavy passing offense. That’s what we want. They pass to win games. It will need to be a team effort.”

Brevin DeRaad’s 51 tackles rank third on the team. His twin brother Gavin has compiled 18 tackles this fall.

The key to slowing down Spirit Lake’s offense, according to most of the Mustangs, is applying pressure to senior quarterback Caden Lundt, who leads 2A with 2,173 passing yards and 34 passing touchdowns. His 38 total TDs rank second to only PCM’s Gavin Van Gorp.

“They don’t like certain coverages so disguising them and throwing the quarterback off will be key,” Brevin DeRaad said. “We can’t let him get into a rhythm.

“I feel like we can hang with anyone so having the challenge of facing an offense like that will be good for us to prove that.”

The best Mustang at applying pressure to the quarterback this fall has been senior Trenner Van Dyke. He leads 2A with 24 tackles for loss, ranks second with 13 sacks and sits second on the team with 52.5 tackles. Van Dyke also has recovered two fumbles.

His older brothers, Brayton and Durant, combined for 26 tackles for loss and 10 sacks in their Dome seasons in 2018 and 2020, respectively.

“Getting pressure is going to be key,” Van Dyke said. “They have some weapons at receiver. If we can get pressure on them, maybe we can force a bad throw and our backs can get picks on the back end.”

PCM enters the state semifinals with 21 sacks, which rank 11th in 2A. The Mustangs’ 13 interceptions sit tied for fourth, 68 tackles for loss rank ninth and eight fumble recoveries are tied for eighth.

Spirit Lake ranks sixth in 2A with 3,901 offensive yards and third with 5,072 all-purpose yards.

“They throw the ball up a lot and give their receivers a lot of 50-50 balls,” said senior Carson Hansen, who leads PCM with three interceptions. “We need to watch the ball, cover their two main guys and get the picks when they are available.”

Nine different Mustangs have at least one pick, including two each from seniors Adrien Robbins and Riley Graber. Robbins and junior Keegan Fenton both have pick 6s.

“We need to get pressure on him and make him move around,” said senior lineman Kaden Clark, who has 20.5 tackles and six tackles for loss this season. “No one throws a great ball if you’re running around and off balance.”

Senior Dylan Stecker leads the Indians and ranks in the top 10 of 2A with 47 catches. His 15 receiving TDs leads the class and he ranks second with 887 receiving yards.

His twin brother Ethan Stecker, an Iowa State commit, has 33 catches for 521 yards. His nine receiving TDs rank tied for fourth in 2A.

Seniors Bode Higgins and William Dittsworth split time in the Spirit Lake backfield.

Higgins leads the Indians’ rushing attack with 542 yards and 13 touchdowns on 85 carries and Dittsworth has gained 476 yards and scored seven TDs on 79 carries.

The duo has combined for 17 catches for 108 yards and Higgins has two receiving TDs.

Spirit Lake has rushed for 1,725 yards this fall and averages 5.5 yards per carry.

“We just need to practice hard, stay focused on the first game and make it a business trip,” Hansen said.

PCM’s special teams could come into play against Spirit Lake, too. The Indians rank tied for third in 2A with three kickoff return touchdowns and returned one punt for a touchdown this fall.

Spirit Lake’s returners average 31 yards per kickoff return and 17.6 yards per punt return, which ranks second and seventh in 2A, respectively.

Sophomore Jaizik Miller has returned two of his three kickoffs for touchdowns and averages 64.7 yards per return. Junior Wesley Walz has the Indians’ punt return touchdown.

Junior kicker Dominic Witt leads 2A with 62 touchbacks. His goal against Spirit Lake is to boot the ball into the end zone with each opportunity.

“There won’t be any wind in the Dome so the ball will probably fly pretty far,” Witt said. “It won’t be as cold either so the ball will be nice, too. The main goal is to kick into the end zone every time.”

PCM and Spirit Lake begin the 2A semifinals inside the UNI-Dome at 10 a.m. on Saturday in Cedar Falls.

Class 2A No. 1 West Lyon (11-0) is scheduled to face fourth-ranked and defending champion Van Meter (10-1) at 1 p.m. on Saturday.

West Lyon’s offense ranks fourth in 2A with 2,448 rushing yards and sits third with 65 touchdowns.

Van Meter, which has reached five straight title games between 1A and 2A, ranks third in 2A with 2,498 rushing yards. The Bulldogs sit fourth with 61 touchdowns and 3,998 offensive yards.

“Getting the shot at that title is what I’m most looking forward to,” Hansen said. “It’s been the goal since sixth grade really when the 2018 team did it.”

The 2018 season inspired a lot of folks in the PCM community. It was one of the first years Clark remembers attending every football game.

And junior Shay Burns recalls the atmosphere inside the UNI-Dome and the support the community provided his brother Sage’s squads during their runs to the state semifinals in 2018 and 2020.

Burns replaced junior Evan Jones at linebacker during the season and has 29 tackles this fall. Jones is expected to miss Saturday’s game with an injury. Clark will both ways on the line against the Indians.

“I remember waking up early on those mornings to wave them goodbye as they drove to the Dome,” Clark said. “We stayed up late on those nights and going to the pep rallies after was really cool. I think it would be awesome to be on the other side of that.”

And the best part of the 2024 Mustangs might be that they are all homegrown talent born and raised in the PCM district.

“We’ve been playing together since we were 5 years old,” Finn Wilson said. “There’s been no transfers. Just homegrown kids who were born and raised here and now we get a chance to win the title.”