WOODBINE, Iowa — In Woodbine, Iowa, a small town has a big dream — and a band, a gym full of neighbors and a send-off fit for an ambush of tigers to carry it forward.
The Woodbine High School football team kicks off the Iowa state playoffs on Wednesday as a state qualifier once again. This time, the undefeated Tigers aren't just hoping to get back to the big stage. They want to finish the job — a message that's been preached all season long.
On Tuesday, the community sent its team off in style. There was a band. There was clapping. There were high-fives all around. But to get to this point, it didn't come without some reflection.
Woodbine fell short of an 8-man state championship last year, coming up basically a play short. That near-miss has fueled everything the Tigers have done since.
"I thought our guys did a really great job in playing well," Woodbine head football coach Dustin Crook said. "There's just different situations in key moments that you build as players and coaches and learn from last year."
For Crook, the lesson boils down to a single word.
"The mantra has been finish, we came up basically a play short last year," Crook said. "Understand that we want to finish in everything we do, our practices our preparations and our play. We're hoping to make sure we finish this year."
The Tigers have plenty to prove — and by their own account, they already have. Woodbine lost a strong senior class, but this year's group hasn't missed a beat, running the table to a perfect 10-0 record.
"I think we proved a lot, everyone's been saying we lost a bunch of seniors, we did lose a very good senior class last year, but I think we've proved a lot, and we've held our ground against everyone we've played," Woodbine quarterback Cal Pryor said.
Senior quarterback Pryor has been at the center of it all, throwing for 2,335 yards with 36 touchdowns and just 5 interceptions. On the receiving end, senior Landon Blum has racked up 1,144 receiving yards on 61 receptions with 16 touchdowns. Blum is also ranked one of Iowa's Top 10 high school football players in the 2027 senior class by the Des Moines Register. The defense has carried its weight too, with senior Lucas Olson tallying 8.5 sacks and junior Jacob Cogdill adding 7.0 on the year.
In Iowa, it's a privilege to play in the UNI-Dome at the University of Northern Iowa, which has famously hosted the state's championship games since 1998. For a town like Woodbine, just getting there means everything.
"It's awesome, it's so fun. We've been working so hard to get back there all year, just get to the dome, just get to the dome, and then now that we're here we're focusing on finishing it all," Pryor said.
But all that privilege comes with so much sacrifice. At the send-off inside the high school gym, a veteran speaker reminded everyone of a bigger kind of perspective.
"The freedoms we enjoy today, were defended on battlefields around the world by courageous Americans willing to sacrifice everything," the veteran speaker said.
The men and women in that gym know something about adversity. And for these young Tigers, facing one of the biggest challenges of their lives so far, that perspective hits home — overcoming hardship, with the example set by those willing to sacrifice it all.
"They really mean a lot to us, it's pretty cool what they do for us," Blum said.
The players say that mindset shapes how they approach every snap.
"We're taking what they give us, do whatever it takes to win, playing to the best of our abilities one play at a time," Pryor said.
"Battle any sort of adversity that's come our way," Blum said.
For Blum, the goal is simple and personal. "It'd be awesome for Woodbine, to put 'em on the map you know, a little state championship, it'd mean everything."
Maybe Tuesday's send-off was about the quest for a state championship. Or maybe it was about the young men who come out on the other side. Either way, the Tigers know what they came back for.
"All year it's been finish, we gotta finish every rep, every play, every quarter, every drive," Pryor said. "If we're always looking to finish, we'll be sitting on top."
—
Facebook 
YouTube
Instagram
XThis story was initially reported by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
