NEWS CHRONICLE PHOTO BY STEVE BRANT – STC sophomore Ethan Page makes a tackle against Van Meter.

VAN METER — A special 2025 football season came to an end for South Tama last Friday night, Oct. 24, when they traveled to Van Meter. Facing the ninth-ranked Bulldogs in the first round of the Class 2A playoffs, the Trojans dropped the contest, 45-6.

Van Meter jumped out to an early 7-0 lead when they connected on a 65-yard touchdown pass on their third play from scrimmage. But STC looked like they were going to have an answer on their ensuing possession. After gaining a first down, the Trojans ran a reverse pass with senior co-captain Nick Upah throwing a 43-yard pass to senior Marcus Bear. But on his way down to the ground, Bear was stripped of the ball, which was ruled a fumble with Van Meter recovering. The Bulldogs marched down the field and scored another touchdown, pushing their lead to 14-0.

For the rest of the first half, the STC offense struggled to move the ball. Van Meter forced the Trojans to punt twice, returned an interception for a touchdown, and forced STC to run out the clock before the half. Combined with an additional touchdown and field goal, the Bulldogs took a commanding 31-0 lead into the locker room.

In a second half that, at times, featured a continuous clock, Van Meter added two touchdowns to push their point total to a final tally of 45. The Trojans added their lone score late in the game when junior running back Eric Medina was able to string together some long runs. Gaining 62 yards on the drive, Medina took the ball to the Bulldog 2-yard line. From there, Bear punched it in for the final touchdown of his career.

On the night, Medina finished with 83 yards on 17 carries. He was followed in rushing by: Bear (31 yards), junior Eli Cruikshank (11 yards), and junior Michael Henry (10 yards). Sophomore quarterback Ryan Brant finished 3 of 5 for 16 yards passing. On defense, junior Kyle Youngbear led the Trojans with 8.5 tackles. He was followed by: senior Josh Strong (7), Henry (4), and senior Garrett Surman (3).

NEWS CHRONICLE PHOTO BY STEVE BRANT – STC's offense lines up against Van Meter.

The Trojans finish the season with a record of 5-4. They finished in third place in Class 2A District 7 and made their first playoff appearance since the 2020 season.

NEWS CHRONICLE PHOTO BY STEVE BRANT – STC's Garrett Surman (right) and Kyle Youngbear (right) take down a Van Meter ball carrier.

NEWS CHRONICLE PHOTO BY STEVE BRANT – STC sophomore quarterback Ryan Brant hands off to junior running back Eric Medina. Medina finished with 83 rushing yards against Van Meter.

NEWS CHRONICLE PHOTO BY STEVE BRANT – The STC defense lines up against Van Meter. The Trojans dropped the opening playoff game 45-6.

NEWS CHRONICLE PHOTO BY STEVE BRANT – STC junior Michael Henry looks for running room against Van Meter.