The Pella High School football team is headed back to the Class 3-A State Semifinals for a third straight season, as the Little Dutch defeated Carlisle 24-9 last night in Pella. Pella’s heralded defense put on another impressive show, forcing the Wildcats into five interceptions on the night, while twice holding their offense scoreless on drives inside the ten-yard line.

Pella lit up the scoreboard first on their second drive of the night, as Teag Klyn muscled his way in from a yard out to give Pella a 7-0 lead. Klyn would finish the night with 46 yards rushing on 10 carries, while also going 6-of-14 passing for 113 yards – including 3 completions to Ryan Lanke for 49 yards. Klyn would be outgained on the ground only by Deckar Lynch, who finished the night with 88 yards on ten carries.

Sam Davis added a short touchdown run in the second half to give Pella a 14-0 lead at halftime, while Alan Pfadenhauer followed up a 26-yard field goal by Blake Bogaard with the final Pella score of the night, as he tallied 40 yards on the ground. In all, the Pella offense rolled up 326 yards of total offense in the win, with 213 rushing yards split between six different ball carriers.

Carlisle’s nine points all came in the third quarter, courtesy of a Pella fumble in their own end zone for a safety, and a 2-yard run by Carter Stevens. Stevens finished the game with 109 yards rushing to lead Carlisle, but the Wildcats potent offense was held to 236 yards, including just 75 yards through the air. Among those thwarting the passing game for Carlisle were Spencer Boeyink and Trevor Wood, who each came up with two big interceptions on the night, while teammate Nick Dorman added a pick of his own.

With the win, Pella advances to the Class 3-A State Semifinals to face Solon. The three-time defending champion in Class 2-A moved up a class this season, and are coming off of a 19-0 win last night over Williamsburg. The two will face off Monday night at 7:30 p.m. in the UNI-Dome in Cedar Falls.