The Pella High football team jumped out to a 26-0 halftime lead and cruised to a 34-7 victory over Clear Creek-Amana last night in the opening round of the class 4A playoffs as heard live on 92.1 KRLS.

After the Clippers missed a field goal on the opening drive, the Dutch drove 74 yards on 12 plays, all runs, capped off by an Emmanuel Diers one-yard touchdown. On the next Clipper driver, Nate Warner blew up a fourth down run with a tackle for loss, and Pella capitalized on the short field with a Colin Kerndt eight-yard TD. Kerndt hit Harrison Mullens on a 51-yard scoring strike on the next Dutch drive and the avalanche continued with a Warner pick six on Clear Creek-Amana’s ensuing offensive play.

“Nate played fantastic”, said head coach Jay McKinstrey.  “He made some big stops and it gets everybody excited and going. Those were fantastic plays and they certainly made a difference in the football game.”

Warner’s monster night included three more fourth down stops on a deflected pass, a sack and another TFL.

Offensively, Diers rushed 18 times for 131 yards, Kerndt added 78 yards on 12 carries and he was 8-14 passing for 148 yards.

The Dutch are 9-1 on the season and advance to the quarterfinals for the 15th time in Jay McKinstrey’s 28-year career. They’ll have a rematch with Gilbert next Friday night at Ron & Joyce Schipper Stadium. The Tigers knocked off the Dutch 14-7 last week in the regular season finale and advanced to the quarters by beating Waverly-Shell Rock 21-14 last night.