Two of the teams expected to be in the hunt in class 2A district one collide this evening as seventh ranked Boyden-Hull/Rock Valley visits Sioux Center. Boyden-Hull/Rock Valley coach Cory Brandt says it will be a difficult test for his team as he is impressed with Sioux Center’s skill players. Brandt says the key to winning the game is to “reduce your mistakes” and make the other team work for everything they get with solid blocking and tackling.

Sioux Center coach Tim Van Regenmorter says Nighthawks’ quarterback Andrew Van Ginkle has been a factor on both sides of the football. “He’s definitely one of the top athletes in our district. He makes everything go for them and with all the new guys and new faces has done a good job of leading that team — both offensively and defensively,” Van Regenmorter says.

Two of the contenders in a loaded class A district one meet as top ranked West Lyon visits number 10 Hinton. West Lyon is 2-0 and coach Jay Rozeboom feels his team is ready for the start of district play. He says they played some great competition against bigger schools and learned some things about themselves.

Last year there were so many good teams in the district that Lawton-Bronson did not make the playoffs even though they finished with a 6-3 record. “I think it will be a real similar situation this year, it could be an outstanding district,” Rozeboom says.

West Lyon lost to Hinton in the regular season in 2012 and the second round of the playoffs. Hinton coach Bruce Held says a tough district race was a major factor in their run to the class A championship game a year ago. He says they see a little bit of everything in the district, from teams that throw every down to teams that rarely throw, and that prepared them for the playoffs.

Held says the Blackhawks were able to overcome West Lyon’s physical advantage last year and they hope to do the same, tonight. “We just did what we could do to win, and that was to spread them out and throw the ball all over the field…and the plan worked,” Held says.

Rateds collide in a class 2A non-district contest as fifth ranked West Marshall hosts 10th ranked PCM Monroe. Both teams are off to 2-0 starts. West Marshall coach Ken Winkler says they are looking for more consistency on both sides of the ball and he believes they will take care of them with time. He says they would like more balance from their offense. “We’ve been pretty inconsistent in trying to throw the ball and that’s something that we really need to improve on and hope to improve on. Our running game has been pretty good and that’s kind of where we hang our hat anyway,” Winkley says.

The Mustangs feature an improved ground game and a new look on defense. “We went from a 4 front to a 3 front and I really think that they like it a lot better, it gives them the opportunity to move around a little bit more and blitz more,” PCM coach Greg Bonnett says. He also says on offense they have been able to run the ball more.

Bonnett says the defense will need to tackle well against West Marshall running back Duncan Ferch. He says they have a better chance of winning if they stop him, and while he says Ferch will bust some big plays, the key is to limit those type of plays and not let him take over the game.

Elwin Huffman KOEL Oelwein and Doug Broek KSOU Sioux Center contributed to this story.