MANHATTAN — The last football game Jesse Ertz played for Mediapolis High School was cause for celebration and dejection.
It was 2012 and Ertz was the quarterback who led Mediapolis to a 19-6 victory over Dyersville in the Iowa Class 2A state semifinals. The joy of reaching the state championship game was soon tempered by the news that Ertz wouldn’t be able to play in the ultimate game his senior season.
A knee injury sustained in the quarterfinal round was more serious than originally diagnosed. Without Ertz, Mediapolis lost the championship game to Spirit Lake, 17-15 – it’s only loss in a 13-1 season.