Photo by Jim Nelson, Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier: Bishop Garrigan's Drew Lappe catches a touchdown during an eight-player semifinal on Wednesday at the UNI-Dome in Cedar Falls.

CEDAR FALLS — Time and time again this postseason, Bishop Garrigan has been counted out.

And each time, the Golden Bears have found a way to advance.

First it was when they ended the long run of defending state eight-player champion Remsen St. Mary’s. They followed that up by knocking off 2022 state champs Anita-CAM.

Down big to top-ranked Winfield-Mount Union here inside the UNI-Dome on Wednesday, Bishop Garrigan responded once more.

The Golden Bears punched their ticket to their first-ever eight-player championship game with a come-from-behind 34-20 victory over the previously-unbeaten Wolves.

Up next for legendary head coach Marty Wadle and Bishop Garrigan (11-1 overall) will be No. 2 Bedford (12-0) next Thursday morning at 9:30 a.m. A field goal with 13 seconds left allowed Bedford to top Gladbrook-Reinbeck in the other semifinal on Wednesday.

“In three years (of competing in eight-player) I’ve learned a heck of a lot,” said Wadle, who now has 227 career wins in three-plus decades on the sidelines. “This group of seniors has been incredible. They pull everybody along.

“We tell them to lead, but not just by example. Grab those young players by the hand and pull them right along with you. Our kids play hard and they play with guts.”

Down 20-6 at the break, the Golden Bears put together four consecutive touchdown drives with senior Caden Roethler punching in all four scores. Roethler finished with a game-high 181 yards rushing on 32 carries.

Tate Foertsch, a sophomore, added 181 yards passing with a firsthalf TD throw to Justin Bauer that got Garrigan on the board after two scoring drives by the Wolves in the opening quarter.

Foertsch added 61 yards rushing as part of a 270-yard team performance on the ground.

“Going into the half, we had a really good drive that ended without points. But we knew we could move the ball,” said Foertsch, who has fully recovered from a serious arm injury suffered during the summer. “When our coaches told us that we needed to just keep playing football and do what we do best, it wasn’t hard to convince us we could win.

“We have been down in big games before. We just needed to come out and score right away (to open the second half). That’s exactly what we did, and the defense got a stop. From then on, we had momentum and didn’t look back.”

While Roethler and Foertsch were leading the offense, the Golden Bear defense put together another strong showing. After holding the last two state champions — Remsen St. Mary’s and Anita-CAM — well below their averages in the previous two rounds, BGHS limited University of Iowa recruit Cam Buffington to just 36 yards rushing and 86 total yards, with much of that coming on a 31-yard catch.

“It starts up front,” Foertsch said. “On both sides of the ball our guys on the line do not give up or back down. They do their job and let our backfield and skill positions do ours in return.

“Our defense has just been great all year, so when we can’t punch it in, we have confidence to punt the ball and get another shot on the next drive.”

Coming into the contest, the Wolves had not scored less than 34 points in any game this season. Buffington had over 1,800 yards from scrimmage and 34 touchdowns.

Roethler had 6.5 tackles, including a sack, with Brody Ludwig recording a sack and forcing a fumble. Carter Schwab also had a sack for the Golden Bears, and Keaton Helleseth recovered a fumble.

Bishop Garrigan has now reached the finals all five times they have qualified for the semifinals, including a state title in 1985. They were a runner-up in 2006, and have qualified for the postseason 27 times in school history.

The Golden Bears had won just six times over the past two seasons — their first at the eight-player level. They have won 11 straight this year since a loss to St. Edmond in Week 1.

In the second half, Bishop Garrigan had 214 total yards on 36 plays while holding Winfield-Mount Union to 80 yards on 26 plays. The first four drives by the Wolves after the break ended on an interception, a punt, a fumble and a turnover on downs.

They also held the ball for over nine minutes of the fourth period, and 30 of the 48 minutes overall.

Jake Edwards threw for 212 yards, with Abram Edwards catching five passes for 81 and a score. Winfield-Mount Union finished with just 10 yards rushing.

Bedford will be the fourth consecutive unbeaten opponent standing in front of the Golden Bears. Kase Coleman’s 24-yard field goal capped a 15-0 rally to push them into the finals.