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CEDAR FALLS, Iowa - Good things happened in 3s for Armstrong-Ringsted's big three of tailback Tyler Tonderum, quarterback Spencer Clausen and end Craig Tigges during Friday's Iowa Eight-Man state football championship game.

Tonderum erupted for three touchdowns and 140 rushing yards, while Clausen completed 9 of 12 passes for 256 yards and three TDs - all to game MVP Tigges - as the No. 5-ranked Mustangs dethroned the No. 1-ranked Lenox Tigers, 49-30, at the UNI-Dome in Cedar Falls, Iowa.

Ironically, the third consecutive appearance in the state finale also proved the proverbial charm for Armstrong-Ringsted mentor Robert Zotz's gridiron heroes.

"It hasn't quite hit me yet," a modest and humbled Zotz said in reference to earning the program's first-ever state football crown by avenging last year's 34-32 loss to Lenox. "Tyler (Tonderum) is the only starter on all three teams (state finalists), so we were both facing the same situation today. I told him that we need to go out and win this one."

After linebacker Bryson Rezac and the Mustangs' hard-hitting defense limited the Tigers to Connor Lange's 30-yard field goal to cap the opening drive, Tonderum staked A-R to its first lead via a 13-yard end-around sweep.

Clausen opened the four-play, 85-yard scoring drive by firing a 41-yard strike to the sure-handed Tigges to reach Lenox's 24. Tigges finished with five catches for 180 yards on offense to complement three quarterback sacks on defense. Tigges' three receiving TDs are a record for the Eight-Man state finals.

"We knew going into the game that Lenox was a good run-stopper, so we threw the ball early to loosen up their defense," said Zotz. "Once we were able to complete some passes, it opened up our running game.

"I thought we did a good job of balancing our offense today," said Zotz, whose team amassed 211 yards on the ground and 256 through the air.

Tiger head coach Allen Dukes then took a page out of the Mustangs' playbook during the ensuing series. Quarterback Austin Hancock, who connected on 7 of 18 passes for 142 yards, perfectly lofted a 58-yard TD toss to end Dylan Douglas on a fly route to swing a 9-7 lead to Lenox with 3:26 remaining in the first frame.

Lange would miss on field-goal attempts from 40 and 29 yards, respectively, while Ethan Eisenbacher's 40-yarder was blocked by Lange before A-R regained possession with only 1:20 left before intermission.

Clausen needed only two official snaps to cover the 70 yards to paydirt with the go-ahead TD just before halftime.

"I told him (Clausen) that we were going to go for it and try to score through the air," said Zotz.

Clausen zipped a 37-yarder to end Travis Hantelman, who fought to reach the Tigers' 28. A procedure penalty backed the Mustangs to the 33 with time winding down. Clausen then threaded the needle on a precision fade route to Tigges. The senior end's TD staked A-R to a 13-9 lead with only 30 seconds to go in the initial half.

After Tyler Feddersen's near interception on first down, Lenox opted to take a knee and go into the lockerroom trailing by four. Feddersen replaced Hantelman, who broke his collarbone on his long reception.

"We suffered a major injury (lineman Dylan Looft's broken leg) in the state semifinals last week, and another one in today's finals, but we had younger guys (Rezac and Feddersen) step up for us with big plays," said Zotz.

Tonderum and Tigges, a pair of senior standouts, along with sophomore Brett Thackery, delivered clutch plays to help the Mustangs stampede to a 27-point third quarter to create separation on the scoreboard.

Tonderum broke loose for a gear-shifting 58-yard run to cap A-R's opening series of the third quarter before Thackery snagged a Hancock screen pass from his defensive end spot. Thackery returned the interception 49 yards to extend the Mustangs' margin to 26-9 with 10:20 left in the period.

Lenox countered with fullback Eric Hensley's 7-yard TD rumble and Lange's PAT kick before the Clausen-to-Tigges air attack counter-punched with a 43-yard scoring hook-up. Eisenbacher's PAT kick made the score 33-16.

But the two powerhouses were not done in the third quarter as Hancock fired a 29-yard crossing pass to Douglas for six points before Clausen answered with a 28-yard flea-flicker to Tigges. Eisenbacher's extra-point kept the Mustangs in the driver's seat at 40-22.

Eisenbacher kicked a 22-yard field goal, and Tonderum crossed the goal line from 14 yards out for his record 56th rushing TD of the season, to account for A-R's fourth-quarter offensive output.

Hancock spotted halfback Austin Christensen for an 18-yard TD via a screen pass before Hensley bulled his way into the end zone on the 2-point conversion run.

Both Armstrong-Ringsted and Lenox finished with 13-1 records.

A-R 7 6 27 9 - 49

Lenox 9 0 13 8 - 30

SCORING PLAYS

1st Quarter

L - Connor Lange 30 FG, 6:30.

AR - Tyler Tonderum 13 run (Ethan Eisenbacher kick), 4:27.

L - Dylan Douglas 58 pass from Austin Hancock (kick failed), 3:26.

2nd Quarter

AR - Craig Tigges 33 pass from Spencer Clausen (run failed), 0:30.

3rd Quarter

AR - Tonderum 58 run (Eisenbacher kick), 11:14.

AR - Brett Thackery 49 interception return (kick failed), 10:20.

L - Eric Hensley 7 run (Lange kick), 7:44.

AR - Tigges 43 pass from Clausen (Eisenbacher kick), 6:12.

L - Douglas 29 pass from Hancock (run failed), 5:08.

AR - Tigges 28 pass from Clausen (Eisenbacher kick), 1:36.

4th Quarter

AR - Eisenbacher 22 FG, 9:20.

AR - Tonderum 14 run (kick failed), 3:58.

L - Austin Christensen 18 pass from Hancock (Hensley run), 2:13.

TEAM STATISTICS

First downs: A-R 11; Lenox 17. Rushing: A-R 31-211; Lenox 48-219. Passing: A-R 9-12-0-256; Lenox 7-18-1-142. Fumbles-lost: A-R 0-0; Lenox 0-0. Penalties: A-R 7-63; Lenox 4-20.

INDIVIDUAL STATS

Offense: Rushing: Tonderum (AR) 18-140; Christensen (L) 15-84, Hensley (L) 14-73. Passing: Clausen (AR) 9-12-0-256; Hancock (L) 7-18-1-142. Receiving: Tigges (AR) 5-180; Douglas (L) 4-105.

Defense: Interception: Thackery (AR).