A pair of ranked teams in eight man district four collide Friday night as ninth ranked Turkey Valley visits fifth rated Central Elkader. Senior running back Nathan Fitzgerald has scored 20 touchdowns and is averaging more than 15 yards per carry behind an experienced offensive line.
Central Elkader coach Tom Wilwert says they play an offensive front with two guards, a center and then a tight end and he says once they get Fitzgerald a hole, he is hard to stop. He says the Warriors look forward to the challenge as they want to find out how good they are. Wilwert says they’ve had to work hard to keep the team focused the last couple of weeks as they’ve been geared up for this game.
Central Elkader is the highest scoring offense in the eight man class but Wilwert says Turkey Valley will also be tough to stop as they get off the ball quickly and attack the ball.
Turkey Valley coach Mark Scott says slowing down Central Elkader begins with slowing down Fitzgerald as he is “a big strong kid who moves well.” Scott says they can also throw the ball and aren’t not one-dimensional on offense.
Turkey Valley is 5-0 in its first season of eight man competition. “We’re new here, so every team we play we don’t know a lot about them,” Scott says.
Scott says the Trojans have battled injuries the past few weeks, including their quarterback and a middle linebacker, but others have stepped up to make plays.
(Reporting by Darin Svenson, KDEC, Decorah)