A pair of rated teams in eight-man collide as fifth rated Graettinger-Terril visits ninth rated North Sentral Kossuth in a district two opener. Graettinger-Terril is off to a 2-0 start and coach Karlton Hector says teams have been crowding the line of scrimmage in an attempt to stop their ground game. Hector says they expect to see a lot of that and can create some holes and run the ball if they make their blocks.

The Knights have countered with an effective passing game. He says they lost a three-year starter at quarterback, but have a senior that has stepped up and will play the spot. Hector says North Sentral Kossuth will provide a tough opener to the district race as he says they are always good. He says they are always big and physical.

Hector says with three rated teams, including second ranked Armstrong-Ringsted, district two will be tough every week. He says there’s going to be a challenge every night as he says a lot of the teams have improved and it should be an interesting year.

Class A sixth ranked Lemars Gehlen will be at home to take on West Hancock. Gehlen has split two games against class 1A foes HMS (Hartley) and Hinton. Jays coach Tony Gunter says he wanted to put together a tough non district slate. Gunter says they thought they would be talented and were looking for a good game to schedule and Hartley filled the slot.

Gunter says a lot of class A teams are playing larger schools in non district games. He says it’s a good opportunity for the teams to show what they have, as he feels there’s not a lot of difference in the top teams in class A and some of the teams in 1A and some in Class 2A. He says a lot of the difference is in depth.

Gunter says the Jays will need to slow down West Hancock’s ground game, as he says they don’t throw the ball much, and they will have to bring 9 players into the box to try and stop them.