Valley begins title defense as most teams start football season

The high school football season kicks into high gear tonight. In class 4A, top ranked West Des Moines Valley is coming off back-to-back state championships and with six all starters gone from last year’s team the Tigers open a new challenge at third ranked Ankeny. Valley coach Gary Swenson says it’ll be fun to see how they respond and says they’re definitely ready to play after a long preseason. He says the Tigers are not focused on being the defending champs. He says they are just trying to get ready to play a tough opening game. He says they’re trying to focus on what they want to accomplish this year, and feels they made progress in the preseason.Class 2A second rated Solon opens on the road with a game against class 3A fifth ranked Mount Vernon.Solon coach Kevin Miller says they may struggle at the start with several new players stepping in. He says with a game against third rated Central Dewitt next week the Spartans will know where they stand in a hurry. He says they take pride in competing against the best competition in their area and this season is no different. Two programs that have experienced a lot of success collide as class 1A Aplington-Parkersburg plays host to Dike-New Hartford.Dike-New Hartford coach Tom Wilson says this will be a tough opener as they’re still trying to piece things together until they gain some experience.