There is a one versus two showdown in class 1A as top ranked Iowa City Regina visits second ranked West Branch in district six action. This will be a homecoming of sorts for Regina coach Marv Cook who starred at West Branch in the 1980s before moving on to the University of Iowa.
“I’m excited for the kids just to have the chance to go over and play in the Little Rose Bowl, and be a part of a great high school environment for football and play against a great traditional program, a program that has some great football players,” Cook says.
Cook’s nephew, Cole is the West Branch quarterback and Marv Cook says the Bears will be a tough test. “They’re loaded talent wise and unlike most typical 1A programs where you can look at where you are going to go to work, it’s tough to find that since they are so solid across the board,” Cook says.
Cook quarterbacked West Branch when current Bears coach Butch Pederson was in his rookie season as the head coach. Pederson says Cook was a very good athlete who outworked everyone and did very well at Iowa and as a professional.
Pederson is no stranger to coaching against someone he is close to. He says he coaches against a former assistant and his son too, so it is nothing unusual.
Pederson says to have a chance the Bears will need to slow down Regina’s balanced attack. “Their key is the fact that they are so quick and they have a lot of depth….in space they do a really, really, good job, and they are going to be a really big challenge for us,” Cook says.
The early lead in class 2A district 2 is on the line tonight in Forest City, as the 7th ranked Indians take on last year’s 2A runners-up, the 4th ranked Spirit Lake Indians. Both teams are 2-0, and coming off district titles last year. Forest City football coach Chad Moore is extremely impressed with Spirit Lake.
“They might be one of the best teams I’ve ever watched on tape in high school,” Moore says. He says they have balance and speed and spread the field really well.
Spirit Lke coach Josh Bolluyt is equally impressed with Forest City. He says they have an explosive quarterback and a good running back on a strong offense.
Moore this game stacks up to be one of the bigger games in Forest City football history.
A pair of ranked teams in district four collide in class 1A as fifth ranked South Winneshiek visits number seven Sumner-Fredericksburg. In a 2-0 start South Winneshiek has combined a powerful ground game with a big play passing attack that is averaging just over 36 yards per completion.
Warriors coach Jason Ohrt who says his defense will need to be assignment sound against a Sumner-Fredricksburg running game that is averaging more than 300 yards per game. He says they need to stay in their gaps as they will run outside and then turn it back inside.
Sumner-Fredericksburg coach Brad Mohs says the Cougar defense cannot afford to give up big plays. “If they really want to go for your jugular, they are going to throw the ball down the field,” Mohs says. He says they have to avoid the big plays and keep everything in front of them.
Rated foes collide in class A district one as ninth ranked Akron-Westfield hosts number five Woodbury Central. Akron-Westfield is off to a 2-0 start and coach Eric Walkingstick says the senior class is one of their biggest strengths. “They’ve stepped up when we needed them to, they’ve been people I’ve been proud of both on and off the field,” Walkinstick.
Karl Wooldridge KIOW Forest City contributed to this story.