CEDAR FALLS — As a youth, Bryce Coppock watched from inside the UNI-Dome as Newell-Fonda football competed for state glory.

Now, as a senior, Coppock gets his opportunity to become a champion — but with a different school.

Coppock is a two-way starter for West Sioux, who takes on West Lyon Saturday at 1 p.m. in the Class 1A semifinals.

Following his junior season as a Mustang, Coppock and his family moved to the West Sioux school district.

“We moved in the summer and the team had football camps that I was able to go to,” said Coppock, who earned all-state honors with Newell-Fonda. “This was a really helpful start just so I had some familiar faces going into the new school year.”

Coppock also received a personal invitational from all-state quarterback Hunter Dekkers, who has signed to play at Iowa State University next year. Dekkers became the first Iowa high school signal-caller to surpass 10,000 career passing yards this year.

“Hunter reached out to me early in the moving process and that was really helpful,” Coppock said. “It allowed me to bounce questions off of someone in the system.”

Along with the change in teams, Coppock was also shifting from 8-man to 11-man football.

“That change wasn’t really a huge difference,” he said. “I do think there is overall more size and speed at this level. It definitely took me a while to learn the offense — that was one of the my biggest challenges as this offense is very complex and I have had completely different terminology my whole life.

“Coach (Ryan Schwiesow) helped me the whole way and stayed patient and eventually, the system — like they said it would — clicked for me.”

Coppock has hauled in 44 passes for 830 yards and nine touchdowns, averaging almost 19 yards per catch. He also has 382 yards rushing and six scores, along with a passing touchdown.

On defense, Coppock is the second-leading tackler with 43.5 stops. He also leads West Sioux with five interceptions and is a returner on special teams.

“Growing up, I always had the opportunity of watching Newell-Fonda teams make it to the Dome,” Coppock said. “That became a dream of mine. This year, when I was put into a culture that has won two state titles in a row, I knew we had the potential to do something special.

“It hasn’t been easy, but I think we have put ourselves in a really good spot to go win a state title, and that has me really excited. Saturday’s can’t come soon enough.”: