Maconaquah Schools

The Maconaquah Braves bowed out of the 2025 IHSAA tournament Friday night at Twin Lakes after dropping a hard-fought 36-20 decision to the Indians in both teams Sectional 27 first-round contest. Maconaquah, ranked #9 in the final AP Class 3A poll, finished the year with an 8-2 record, while Twin Lakes (ranked #13) advances to the semi-finals with an identical 8-2 slate. After defeating the Indians, 43-14, a year ago enroute to their first-ever sectional championship, Brave fans were looking for a repeat performance from two of the state's top-rated teams in Class 3A and the anticipated match-up of two of the top junior quarterbacks in the state. The showdown never got untracked as Mac's Aiden Robinson was sidelined with a broken collarbone (vs Rochester a week ago) and the Indian's Cooper Dold finished with a season-low 45 yards passing after establishing an early rushing attack that included TD runs of 58 and 73 yards in building a 23-14 lead at halftime. Dold entered the game averaging 234 yards through the air . . . 13th best in the state. Robinson, meanwhile, finished the regular season ranked #5 in the state, with an average of 284 yards per outing. With Robinson out Mac head coach Michael Fenters turned the reins over to junior Marcell Sims to handle the signal-calling chores. Sims displayed his poise early, teaming up with Nolan Tarrh for a 68-yard touchdown pass midway through the first quarter for Mac's first score, trimming Twin Lakes' lead to 13-7 at the 5:28 mark. The Indians were forced to punt on their final possession of the opening period and the Braves took over at their own 16. With Sims and Conner Eldridge doing all of the groundwork along with a pair of Sims-to-Tarrh passes, Maconaquah ran 14 plays (using 8:21 of clock) before the drive stalled at the Twin Lakes 17. Tarrh's 34-yard field goal attempt on fourth down was off target giving the ball back to the hosts. Twin Lakes bolted to a 20-7 lead with 5:33 left in the half when Darin Baker broke through up the middle for a 73-yard touchdown. The Braves once again responded with another long drive . . . this time scoring when Sims called his own number from four yards out with 2:04 showing. Tarrh's PAT kick cut the deficit to 20-14. DaKoda Dauenhauer's nine-yard QB sack on the Indians' next offensive play moved Twin Lakes back to their own 45 with the clock ticking down. But the Indians converted a pair of third down plays, including a 39-yard run, to quickly move downfield. Maconaquah's defense rose to the challenge and stopped Twin Lakes at the four, where the Indians had to settle for a 21-yard field goal with :01 on the clock and a 23-14 advantage at intermission. After the Braves were forced to punt to start the third quarter, they got the ball back four plays later at the 7:58 mark when Eldridge pounced on an Indian fumble that he caused. Starting at the TL 43, Sims ignited the Braves' final scoring drive with 28-yard first down pass to Jorden VanNess. Five plays later Sims trimmed Twin Lakes' lead to 23-20 when he scored from eight yards out. Trailing by only three, the Braves would run only six plays in the final 17:16 as the Indians stayed on the ground and scored twice to preserve the win, 36-20. Abandoning their passing game, the Indians finished with a season-high 332 yards rushing on 38 attempts. Their previous high was 238 yards in their season-opener. As expected, Sims led Mac's ground attack with two TD's and 143 yards on 22 carries. The hard-running junior, who was the state's third-leading scorer entering the game, scored points in every MHS game this season and set the school record for most points scored in a season (162). The slippery cat-like Eldridge added ground support with a hard-earned 42 yards on 13 attempts. Tarrh led the receiving corps, hauling in five of Sims' completed passes for 84 yards and the first Braves TD of the night. Tarrh would finish the season with 1075 yards, becoming only the second receiver in school history to surpass 1000 yards in a season. Fuddy Kile, Mac's career leader, had three 1000 yard seasons. Carsten Hollars, the second-leading tackler in Maconaquah history, led the Braves with 14 stops. Dauenhauer was next with 11 tackles, followed by Chase Washburn, Landon Morgan and Tarrh with seven apiece. Cameron Metcalf and Sims were each credited with six tackles. >>> SIDELINE NOTES >>> . . . Brave seniors were: Conner Eldridge, Landon Morgan, Camron Metcalf, Griffin Baldwin-Mims, Carsten Hollars, Cristian Rizo, Kyle Bockover, Dominick Miller, Joe Butcher, Gibson Daily, Jakub Bochomulski, Jakob Grant and Dawson Newnes . . . MHS compiled the best back-to-back seasons in school history . . . 12-1 & 8-2 = 20 wins 3 losses . . . The Twin Lakes win tied the all-time series with Mac at 1-1 . . . Maconaquah's 8-2 finish is the fourth consecutive winning season at MHS . . . a school record . . . The Braves' senior class is the winningest class in 63-years at MHS . . . racking up 33 wins the past four years . . . Maconaquah is now 16-41 all-time in the IHSAA state tournament . . . After back-to-back successful seasons coach Fenters is now the 6th winningest coach in MHS history in just his second season in leading the Braves