Pella’s dream of an undefeated regular season came up just short in a 14-7 loss to Gilbert last night as heard live on KRLS2.

With the Class 4A District 4 championship on the line, Pella struck first as Colin Kerndt delivered a five-yard touchdown pass to Tyson Barnes midway through the second quarter. But Kerndt threw an interception with less than a minute to go in the first half, setting up Gilbert for a tying score with just 22 seconds left before intermission.

Pella handled the number one rushing attack in Class 4A better than most Gilbert opponents, with Will Hawthorne needing 37 carries to churn out 157 yards. Quarterback Ethan Rash added 16 carries for 86 yards, and he scored the game winning touchdown with just over three minutes left in the third quarter on an eight yard naked bootleg run.

The Dutch had several chances to tie, but couldn’t convert key fourth downs in the fourth quarter, and they mustered just 160 yards of offense in the final regular season game of Jay McKinstrey’s legendary career.

“I’m just so proud of the way our guys played tonight”, said McKinstrey after the game. “Our defense just played fantastic and laid it out there. They did a great job of controlling the running game and making some big stops. It was fantastic to watch our kids compete the way they did. I think everybody is disappointed that we didn’t move the ball better than we did, but credit to Gilbert for a good game plan. We’ve got to get back to work and find ways to continue to get better.”

The Dutch finish the regular season at 8-1 and co-district champions at 4-1. They’ll learn their playoff draw Saturday morning and start preparing for the opening round of the class 4A playoffs next Friday night.