Gladbrook-Reinbeck running back Eric Stoakes, right, stiff-arms Denver defender Creed Krueger (2) during a third-quarter run in the Class A state semifinal football game last Friday at the UNI-Dome in Cedar Falls. Stoakes ran for 253 yards and two touchdowns in the Rebels’ 21-8 victory. PHOTO BY ROSS THEDE

REINBECK – From Nick Peterson to Eric Stoakes, an impressive line of backs have carried the ball for the Rebels over the past decade.

But ask any of those players and you’re likely to get the same response – the line they’ve been running behind is a major reason for their success.

Gladbrook-Reinbeck returns to the state championship of the Iowa High School Football Playoffs for the first time since 2004 and once again, a dynamic rusher leads the offense, though not without the help of an imposing front line.

Stoakes has racked up 2,296 yards and 34 touchdowns on the ground behind a front five averaging 6-foot-1, 230 pounds. Zach Pierce (6-5, 245), Jacob Walters (6-0, 230), Bradon Trepp (6-0, 2-5), Dalton Schwartz (5-10, 245) and Luke Holman (6-2, 240) comprise this year’s offensive line and have given Stoakes big seams to run through all season.

“I have faith in our linemen and know that they will get the job done and we will run fast right behind them,” said Stoakes, who ranks second in Class A in rushing yards and fifth in the state.

The junior speedster follows in the footsteps of Chase Clark, who rushed for a Class-A best 2,122 rushing yards and 25 touchdowns last season. The Iowa Newspaper Association first team selection also racked up 1,399 yards and 17 touchdowns as a junior.

The recent duo of Rebel greats earned the nicknames of Batman and Flash, with the latter pegged for Stoakes, who gained the moniker by leaving defenders in the dust.

“He’s flat-out the fastest one we’ve ever had,” Olson said of Stoakes. “Speed-wise it’s crazy how fast he is and put that together with his toughness. Chase Clark was all tough and deceptively fast and Eric Stoakes is super fast and deceptively tough. That’s where those two are almost the same type of player from that standpoint, but just a little bit different.”

Clark didn’t have one standout trait but simply was strong across the board while making the most of his abilities.

“He doesn’t really have any super powers,” G-R senior linebacker Bryce Ehlers said. “He was fast but not overly fast, he could break some tackles, he just had the tools he had and he did what he could with ’em, just like Batman.”

Stoakes has made the most of his fleet feet by improving on finding the cutback lanes.

“If he gets a crease the possibilities are endless,” Ehlers said. “If he gets contained, then he’s got that cutback lane. That’s one thing that young man has done a better job of is finding that lane. If there’s something not going on here he’ll cut it back.”

The recent tandem was preceded by Times-Republican All-Area selections Travis Freese (2010) and Austin Schmidt (2008), while Nick ‘Otis’ Peterson tallied 1,095 yards on the 2004 state runner-up squad.

Rebel assistant coach Sean Babinat created holes for Peterson on that UNI-Dome bound unit and knows first hand – as both a player and coach – how important the line is in the equation.

“We’ve ended up having a lot of intelligent guys, a lot of hard-working guys, guys that are athletes and strong,” said Babinat, who currently works with the Rebel offensive line. “The big thing is just having all those linemen in front of them understanding conceptually what’s happening on the football field so that they can make a seam. Instead of just blocking a guy you need to understand what we’re trying to accomplish with the different plays. They have the ability to attack defenses and they understand things a little better on the field.”

Of course, there’s also been some great talents carrying the pigskin for G-R and making the most of those openings.

“And obviously the backs themselves,” Babinat said, “sometimes you just get blessed and whether we get a higher percentage of the guys out for football than some other schools or whatever it ends up being, we just get some guys who naturally really understand how to play running back really well.”

Helping build that consistency is a strong foundation of coaches that have been with the program since 2001 including Olson, offensive coordinator Darren Trunck and offensive line coach Chad Bixby.

“We’ve all been here the whole time and we try to make things as simple as possible,” Olson said of the coaching trio. “We’re in the I-formation and everybody knows it. And the better the offensive line is, the better those tailbacks are going to be. The consistency of our blocking schemes up front, the consistency of us three coaches being together the whole time and having the exact same philosophy of what we’re trying to accomplish makes it easy for that tailback or easy for that fullback.”

While Clark and Stoakes have lived up to the hero nicknames with their diverse skills and abilities, they’ve had an assortment of strong sidekicks to lead the way.

“Obviously there’s talent there (in the backfield) because Chase would fight and break tackles and Eric can outrun anyone, but it starts and ends with the offensive line,” Pierce said. “If we’re not blocking well, no running back is going to have very many yards. But if we can open some big holes for them, they’re going to have some yards.”

Top-ranked Logan-Magnolia (13-0) has held opponents to just over nine points per outing but has been susceptible to the run allowing 100-yard rushers in the second round and quarterfinals, while giving up 99 to Mount Ayr’s Grant Staats in Friday’s semifinal.

As they’ve done since 2001, Olson, Trunck and Bixby have established a system for the Rebels – and Stoakes in particular – to play at their optimal speed: fast.

“It’s not easy to get 2,000 yards but easy to know where they’re going and that’s what we do on defense too,” Olson said. “Our schemes are easy and simple so that our kids can just play fast and that’s the goal.”