prep football

Spartans rally to beat Plainsmen in postseason opener

Published by admin on Fri, 11/01/2019 - 9:14pm

BELLE PLAINE – The Grundy Center football team has absorbed a range of emotional experiences in recent weeks.

A gut-wrenching, last-second defeat at the hands of undefeated North Tama.

Raucous, bowling-shoe-ugly wins against smash-mouth teams from Hudson and Wapsie Valley to ensure the Spartans proved they belonged in the playoff field.

The strength of Class A District 7 bore its fruit tonight.

When crunch time arrived in the state playoffs, the Spartans weren't going to blink in the face of Belle Plaine's punishing run attack when it mattered most.

Down a touchdown in the third quarter, the Spartans made a critical defensive stand to get the ball back, and a handful plays from scrimmage later, Grundy Center flipped the game on its head in an incredible 28-14 victory against the Plainsmen at Belle Plaine High School on Friday, Nov. 1.

VIEW MORE PHOTOS: Grundy Center football at Belle Plaine

The Spartans' (9-1) next challenge may be its mightiest yet: MFL MarMac (10-0) awaits Grundy Center's arrival in Monona on Nov. 8.

For now, the Spartans can take a moment to bask in another victory wrestled from the rain-slick, swampy grass at Belle Plaine High School. Grundy Center owns two wins against Belle Plaine this season after a 29-12 Week 1 victory.

"You're a high school football player in Iowa that plays a game to decide which team goes to the UNI-Dome. There's not much else that needs to be said," Grundy Center head coach Travis Zajac said. "We'll enjoy the heck out of this win for the next 24 hours and then we'll take the next week to get ready to get on the bus for the two-hour ride and be ready to go next Friday."

Hendricks kick completes Spartan comeback

Published by admin on Wed, 10/30/2019 - 1:36pm

GRUNDY CENTER – The Grundy Center football team was done taking any further risks.

In a tense showdown at Wapsie Valley, the Spartans rallied from a 14-0 deficit in the third quarter to force overtime and then recovered a Warrior fumble on 2nd-and-goal in the overtime period.

Needing points any way they could get it, Grundy Center went conservative.

"I wasn't going to do anything to put our kids at a disadvantage in that overtime," Grundy Center head coach Travis Zajac said.

The Spartans called three QB sneaks, pushing the ball to the 3-yard line.

For Sweden!

Published by admin on Wed, 10/30/2019 - 11:43am

DIKE – The Dike-New Hartford football community gets a kick out of foreign exchange student Max Wall's pre-kickoff cry: "For Sweden!"

Wall, part of the D-NH kicking trio of Wall, Dall (Nolan) and Hall (Jerek), enjoys playing soccer in his home country and gravitated toward kicking around the American football for the Wolverines.

AGWSR football ends season with win

Published by admin on Wed, 10/30/2019 - 11:22am

ACKLEY – Jaden Penning has had a nose for the end zone all season and did once again here Friday, propelling the AGWSR football team to a 58-18 romp over Twin Cedars in the Eight-Player District 5 and regular-season finale.

The junior running back scored six of the Cougars’ eight touchdowns. Penning’s 36-point scoring spree started early, dashing 13-yards on the third play of the game for a touchdown followed by short runs of three and two yards, a 5-yard scoring strike from Titan Opperman, a 23-yard dash and finally, a 10-yard pick-six interception.

Undefeated Redhawks down BCLUW football

Published by admin on Wed, 10/30/2019 - 11:10am

TRAER – North Tama spun up 511 yards of total offense in a 57-12 blowout of BCLUW football in the Comets' regular-season finale at North Tama High School on Friday, Oct. 25.

The Redhawks advance to the first round of the football playoffs, hosting Central Decatur (5-4) on Friday. BCLUW's season ends at 1-8.

Joe Mason ran 23 times for 114 yards and a touchdown, with Sev Gonzales adding a 19-yard receiving touchdown on a pass from Kade Pekarek.

North Tama ran 41 times for 440 rushing yards, adding 71 yards through the air and forcing two BCLUW turnovers.

G-R football glides by Royals

Published by admin on Wed, 10/30/2019 - 11:08am

COLO-NESCO – Gladbrook-Reinbeck football took care of business in its regular-season finale, 46-14 winners at Colo-NESCO last Friday, Oct. 25.

The Rebels (7-2) had already clinched the district title and begin first-round postseason play against Easton Valley (8-1) at 7 p.m. in Gladbrook.

Keagan Giesking rushed 18 times for 149 yards and two touchdowns and Cullen Eiffler added two completions for touchdowns to Eli Thede and Aiden Wyatt in the second quarter. Eli Thede carried the ball seven times for 88 yards and two more scores on the ground.

Top-ranked D-NH football dominates Regina, wins district

Published by admin on Tue, 10/29/2019 - 4:24pm

DIKE – When the Dike-New Hartford offense gets rolling, it can be almost impossible to stop.

Buoyed by a 252-yard performance from senior tailback Cade Bennett, the Class 1A top-ranked Wolverines (9-0) used a masterful combination of run and pass to stifle Iowa City Regina and cap off an undefeated regular season with a district football title in Dike on Friday night.

Football playoff pairings for area teams

Published by admin on Sat, 10/26/2019 - 9:17am

The Iowa High School Athletic Association released playoff brackets for the football teams in the state early Saturday morning.

Of the teams from the Grundy Register coverage area, Dike-New Hartford, Gladbrook-Reinbeck and Grundy Center will compete in the 2019 playoffs.

Full brackets at iahsaa.org

All first-round games kick off at 7 p.m. on Friday, November 1 unless otherwise noted.

Grundy Center football earns hard-fought victory over Hudson

Published by admin on Tue, 10/22/2019 - 12:25pm

GRUNDY CENTER - The Grundy Center football team's defense knew when it needed to make plays, and the unit stepped up time after time.

D-NH football pulls away from Tigers

Published by admin on Tue, 10/22/2019 - 11:56am

ELDORA - Senior running backs Cade Bennett and Noah Epley combined for five touchdowns to carry the Dike-New Hartford football team past South Hardin 42-7 here Friday during Class 1A, District 6 play.

The top-ranked Wolverines remained unbeaten on the fall with the win, improving to 4-0 in the district and 8-0 overall.

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