IOWA - Iowa's dream season just keeps getting better.
On Friday, Iowa's defense made big plays in the second half of its Non-select Division II semifinal game to earn the program's first shot at a state championship.
The No. 2 Yellow Jackets (13-0) beat No. 3 Belle Chasse (11-2) 28-21 at Jesse E. Cady Memorial Stadium.
"I'm just so proud of these kids, man," Iowa head coach Tommy Johns said. "They deserve it."
It was the third time in four seasons that Iowa played in the semifinal round. They extended the program's best win streak to 13 games.
Iowa will face No. 1 North DeSoto in the championship game at the Superdome in New Orleans either Thursday, Friday, or Saturday. It is the third time in five seasons that the Griffins and Yellow Jackets will meet in the postseason. North DeSoto beat Iowa in the semifinals in 2022 and quarterfinals in 2023.
Iowa clung to a 8-7 lead at halftime, then forced a pair of fumbles in the first six minutes of the third quarter to build its lead to 21-7. Belle Chasse turned the ball over four times and was held to 213 yards of total offense.
"Obviously, we had the one-point lead, but that wasn't going to be enough," Johns said. "We knew that. And once again, we're going to have to create some turnovers, and we did right there coming out of the gate.
"To win games like this, the ball's going to have to bounce your way sometimes, and luckily for us, it did tonight."
Junior two-way star Kaston Lewis had a career night with three touchdowns, plus an interception and two fumble recoveries. He nearly scored on his second fumble recovery, returning it 28 yards to the Cardinal 2-yard line 22 seconds into the third quarter. He finished the job on the next play, scoring on a two-yard run. Lewis ran for 60 yards on 15 carries.
"He's all over the field, man," Johns said. He's a special player, and he showed up again tonight."
Alex Bartie fell on the next fumble, then Iowa went to its bag of tricks for a halfback pass as J'vien Adams hit Jeremiah Bushnell for 38 yards to the Cardinal 7-yard line. Adams bowled his way into the end zone on the next play for his 20th rushing touchdown of the season.
Iowa had to battle for every yard it could get against a Cardinal defense that had six shutouts this season and allowed less than 7 points a game heading into the semifinals. Belle Chasse held Iowa to its lowest total yards (160) this season.
After forcing Iowa to punt for the second time in the first quarter, the Cardinals mounted a 66-yard, 12-play drive and converted on third or fourth down three times. Quarterback Amari Ambrose capped it off with a five-yard touchdown run with 8:48 left in the second quarter. But Iowa came right back with a score of their own on a three-yard run by Lewis after a 60-yard drive. Lewis punched in the two-point conversion for an 8-7 lead with 5:13 left in the first half.
Belle Chasse running back Dillan Carter scored twice in the second half, including a huge 53-yard score with 5:08 left in the third quarter to cut Iowa's 20-14 lead. He scored again with a little over six minutes left in the game and finished with 155 yards on 21 carries.