The State high school football playoffs open across the state tonight. In the class 2A opening round, third rated Fort Dodge St. Edmond is at home against seventh rated Emettsburg. The E-Hawks only loss came to St. Edmond and coach Tom Steen’s club is looking to get revenge. He says the first time they played, they had some kids get injured and they got “disoriented” and had some things go wrong. He says they hope to play a complete game this time around.
St. Edmond coach Dick Tighe is the state’s all time leader in wins and this is the 15th time he has led a team to the playoffs. He hopes to earn his first state title this month. He says they like to run and that leads to people being open when they do throw.
In class 3A, seventh rated Decorah will be at home against a Mount Vernon team that is 5-4. Decorah coach Bill Post does not want his team to focus on the Mustang’s record. He says he’s cautioned his team that just because they have four loses doesn’t mean they aren’t going to be a formidable opponent. Post says Mount Vernon will show up expecting to win. He says they have a class program that’s been in the playoffs many times.
Class 2A, second rated North Fayette is at home against Center Point-Urbana. The Hawks enter the playoffs with a record of 9-0. North Fayette coach Ron Wymer says he’s happy with the way the defense is playing and he says the offense and special teams have been palsying well all year. Wymer says staying healthy is a key to a playoff run. The Hawks found that out in 2004 when they lost to eventual state champ Waterloo Columbus. They lost their quarterback to a broken arm and two other two-way starters to injury in the first round of the playoffs. Wymer says you can’t recover from those things in the playoffs.