Friday, November 25, 2016

Scheels Athlete of the Week: Regina Senior Jack Jensen Ends Career With Big Title Game

Jack Jensen hauls in a touchdown pass in the Class 1A title game at the UNI-Dome. Jeff Yoder/For Your Prep Sports.
By Ryan Murken
Your Prep Sports

Regina didn’t end the season it way it wanted last week at the UNI-Dome in Cedar Falls.

Fifth-ranked Western Christian stopped the Regals run of six straight state titles with a 47-34 win over the top-ranked Regina in the Class 1A title game.

That didn’t stop Regina senior Jack Jensen from putting an exclamation point on an impressive season.

Jensen hauled in a touchdown pass and added two interceptions, one that he returned 71 yards to set up a Regina touchdowns.

“It’s tough, we knew it was going to be a really good game and if we made mistakes they would hurt us,” Jensen said. “They are a good talented team and they executed off our mistakes.”

Jensen had the best season of her career as a senior leading Regina with 44 receptions for 836 yards and 10 touchdowns as a receiver.

The 5-foot-9, 141-pound senior tied for the team lead with seven interceptions from his corner back spot.

He played his best football in the postseason.

Jensen had an interception in all four playoff games, with six of his seven picks coming in the playoffs.

His first interception in the 1A title game came on a tipped pass inside the Regina 15 yard line and he returned it to the Western Christian 15 to set up the Regal’s first touchdown of the game.

“It was tipped and I just grabbed it with one hand and I saw open field so I took off,” Jensen said. “Isaac (Vollstedt) there and got me a good block.”

The second interception for the game for Jensen was a diving pick in the end zone that turned away a Western Christian scoring chance.

Jensen was equally important for Regina on offense in the title game.

He caught four passes for 91 yards including a 68-yard touchdown pass from junior Michael Conlon that put Regina up 27-19 with 1:37 left in the first half.

“That was a big play and we got some big plays, you want to dial those up and take them when you can get them,” Regina coach Marv Cook said. “My hat is off to Western Christian, they were sound defensively we did make a couple of big plays on them but it seemed like they recovered and made plays when they had to.”

The big effort by Jensen wasn’t enough to earn Regina a seventh straight state title but it hardly sullied an outstanding career by Jensen and his classmates that featured three state titles and a 51-4 four-year record.

“It shows that we are a tough team and we are love each other and play for one another,” Jensen said. “It was an amazing time.”

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