Waukon football team falls in its final regular season game, 32-26 at home to Crestwood, but still wins District 3 season championship on points tie-breaker

Indians will now host Bellevue in first-round Class 2A Play-Offs this Friday

It’s not often that a loss can feel like a win, but for the Waukon football team a 32-26 home loss to Crestwood in the final game of the regular season still ended up resulting in a Class 2A District 3 season championship for the Orange & Black, the football Tribe’s first district title since the 2023 season. Friday’s loss forced a three-way tie between the Indians, the Cadets (who suffered their lone district loss to Osage, 20-18, a week earlier), and Osage (who the Indians had beaten, 30-20, in early October) - each of them with a 4-1 record in District 3 play.

Although a win in Friday’s regular season finale would have given the grid Tribe its first undefeated district championship since the 2022 season, the 17-point tie-breaker system utilized by the Iowa High School Athletic Association (IHSAA) also established the scenario where the Indians could lose by 11 points or less and still reign as District 3 Champions. Heading into the game’s final minute, the Indians faced a 12-point deficit, 32-20, but a 65-yard touchdown pass from sophomore quarterback Tytan Weymiller to senior Issiah Moudy down the middle of the field with just 48 seconds left cut that deficit back within championship range, with Crestwood then choosing to simply kneel out the game’s remaining seconds and settle for a District 3 runner-up finish instead of trying to drive down the field to grab the district title back.

The Indians will now take their 5-3 season record, and 4-1 District 3 title, into their 10th consecutive venture into the Class 2A State Play-Offs - the 13th time in the past 15 seasons, hosting a fourth-place district finisher from another district. The grid Tribe will now welcome Bellevue for their opening-round play-off possibility this Friday, October 23, beginning at 7 p.m., hosting the Comets for the second consecutive season to open the Class 2A postseason.

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