HAWKS ROLL 62-16

Open D7 Play Tonight At Glidden; Team-By-Team Outlook

East Greene rolled over Charter Oak-Ute last Friday night 62-12 in Grand Junction to even its record at 1-1.

The Hawks open up District 7 action tonight in Glidden against Glidden-Ralston. EG will face a very tough opponent in the Wildcats, who are 2-0 after a drubbing of Whiting, 80-16, in the season opener on the road two weeks ago and a big win over No. 8 Ar-We-Va in Glidden last Friday night, 20-19.

GR becomes a key contender for the hotly contested District 7 championship, which gets underway tonight as CAM (Anita) travels to Walnut while Adair-Casey hosts Elk Horn-Kimballton/Exira in addition to the EG-GR matchup. Only the CAM-Walnut and EG-GR tilts will count in the standings as EHK/Exira is not eligible for the 8-Man State Playoffs as the combined enrollment of the two schools is above the maximum enrollment number (115 for grades 9-11) for 8-Man eligibility. EHK/Exira is playing the schedule that was mapped out two years ago for EHK, and alternating its home games between Elk Horn and Exira. None of the games against EHK/Exira will count in the standings for D7 teams and will be treated as “non-district” contests. EG finishes up the regular season against EHK/Exira on Oct. 23 in Exira.

With the sharing arrangement between EHK and Exira, the district drops from eight to seven members and with the ineligibility of EHK/Exira for post-season play, it creates an interesting scenario wherein four of the six eligible schools will qualify for the sub-state round of 8-Man state playoffs, as opposed to most districts where eight teams must compete for four playoff spots or in some cases, seven. The seventh District 7 member, Coon Rapids-Bayard, will host Meskwaki Settlement School of Tama in Coon Rapids tonight. Meskwaki is in its first season of football and playing as in independent in 8-Man, and is also ineligible for playoff action. EG will host Meskwaki for Homecoming 2009 in Grand Junction on Friday, Oct. 3.

GR’s upset win over state-ranked Ar-We-Va makes the Wildcats solid contenders for the 2009 District 7 crown. Entering the season, CAM was the hands-down favorite as the Cougars virtually return their entire 2008 team--winners of District 7--intact. But CAM had a rough time against East Mills (Malvern) last week, needing overtime before escaping with a 44-42 win. It should be noted, though, that East Mills was a playoff qualifier last year, falling to CRB in the substate round.

Here is a look at District 7 for 2009 team by team:

CAM: Close only counts in horseshoes and even though CAM had a close calls against East Mills in Week 2, that is really not a serious discredit to their capability of repeating as D7 champs, as CAM had several close calls last year, among them a 24-22 win over Adair-Casey in the season finale with the title on the line. The week before that, they were tested by last place Exira, escaping 26-24. Both East Greene and Glidden-Ralston were within two touchdowns (or less) of the Cougars, EG falling 26-14 and GR 24-14.

CAM is ranked No. 6 in the state 8-Man poll by the Des Moines Register, moving up one spot after its win over East Mills. Leading the team this season are three first-team All-District picks from 2008: Alex Stork, running back; Dayton Amdor, offensive lineman; and Jaxson Armstrong, defensive back. All three are seniors. Also returning are junior Eric McKee, offensive lineman, and senior Luke Symonds, wide receiver, both second team picks last year.

CAM had seven all-district picks on the first and second teams last year, and five of them return, with the Cougars losing only DJ Whitlatch, a first team pick at kick returner and second team pick at running back. Whitlatch does leave a big hole to replace however, as he racked up 1,030 yards and 10 touchdowns in 162 carries. He and Stork made for a formidable 1-2 punch as Stork rushed 189 times for 1,338 yards and 26 touchdowns. Armstrong is back at quarterback after passing for 990 yards and 14 touchdowns last year.

Whitlatch was the only senior on CAM’s 22-man roster last year, meaning the team returns 21 veterans who fill 14 of 16 offensive and defensive starting positions.

Glidden-Ralston: The Wildcats have strong tradition in football, having won a state championship in the very first Class 1-A playoff in 1975 and securing another championship in their first year of 8-Man competition in 2005. Starting with that 2005 title, GR has qualified for the 8-Man playoffs four years straight.

The Wildcats do have some key holes to fill this year, among them first-team all-district running back and linebacker Trevor Van Scoy, GR’s only first-team pick last year. Key to the team’s success this year are Zach Rohrbeck, second team all-district in 2008 as a receiver on offense and punt returner on defense, and Lee Schon, who was a second-team pick as defensive lineman.

GR has put up big numbers in its first two games, amassing 443 total yards in its blowout of Whiting and 334 last week against Ar-We-Va. Junior QB Wade Hoyle has the offense firing on all cylinders as he has ran and passed for 312 total yards and four touchdowns in two games. He burned the Rockets 168 total yards. Seniors Aaron Fay and Stuart Conner and junior Taylor Hackett have put up solid numbers on the ground and each has scored two touchdowns.

Coon Rapids-Bayard: The Crusaders turned out to be the big success story of 2008. Behind the arm of QB Johnny Schwaller, CRB finished third in the district at 5-2 after CAM and Adair-Casey but advanced farther in the playoffs than any other D7 team, reaching the quarterfinals after dispatching D7 rival and regular season champion CAM in the first round, 38-14. Adair-Casey also fell in the first round and Glidden-Ralston was sidelined in the substate round. Stanton ended the Crusaders playoff run with a 42-17 win in the quarterfinals.

Schwaller has graduated but CRB returns senior Tyler Boeke, a first-team all-district pick last year as a receiver. Back anchoring the defense are two first-team picks--senior lineman Jon Meyer and kicker Jacob Esdohr, a sophomore, who was also named to the first team on offense as place kicker.

CRB has rolled over Charter Oak-Ute 68-0 and Whiting 61-6 to open the season. Those two teams were a combined 1-17 last year though, and CRB will face a team with even less caliber tonight in newcomer Meskwaki. QB Michael Schwenk has put up big numbers in the early going. Against Whiting last week he was 10 of 14 for 174 yards and seven passing TDs and a rushing score. Boeke, Esdohr and Alex Golay each had two receptions for touchdowns.

CRB’s competition will step up dramatically in the next two weeks as they go on the road to face EHK/Exira on Sept. 18 and then they travel to Glidden on Sept. 25 to face the Wildcats in their first game to count in the standings.

ADAIR-CASEY: Last year was a banner year for the Bombers, as they advanced to State in football, basketball and baseball. But those state playoff berths were largely accumulated by senior dominated teams. Six seniors are gone from the baseball team, five from the basketball team, and seven from last year’s D7 runner-up grid squad. There are big shoes to fill as QB Brent Westergaard threw for 1,431 yards and 19 touchdowns. Westergaard and running backs Josh Krueger and Kyle Lundy teamed up for over 2,000 yards rushing and an amazing 33 touchdowns, and Alex Bireline anchored the receiving corps, hauling in 41 catches for 714 yards and 9 touchdowns. Bireline, Krueger and defensive lineman Seth Comly, another member of the departed 2008-09 senior class, were all first-team district picks while Comly was a second-team pick on offense as was Krueger at place kicker, and Westergaard was a second team pick at both offensive and defensive slots.

The cupboard is clearly bare at AC, but the Bombers have deep tradition, having won the first two 8-Man State Championships in 2000 and 2001. In fact, AC has qualified for every 8-Man playoff except for 2005 and 2007. Along with its two state titles, AC was runner-up in the championship game in both 2003 and 2004, but then fell out of the running in 2005 with a 1-4 showing in District 7, good only for fifth place among six teams. After coming back to win a district title in 2006 going undefeated at 6-0 and 8-1 for the regular season and a first round playoff win, the Bombers were just 1-5 and 2-7 in 2007 finishing next to last among seven teams in D7.

So the question for 2009 is will the Bombers reload or rebuild after last year’s 6-1 season that saw them beat Villisca in the substate round, 53-12, but then get drubbed 56-6 in the first round by Stanton, the team that went on to eliminate CRB in the quarters and advance on to the semifinals. AC will look to senior Austin Ayers, its lone all-district honoree from last year. Ayers was named to the second unit in 2008 as kick returner. He was the Bombers’ second leading receiver last year, nabbing 15 passes for 325 yards and 5 touchdowns. Ayers had 136 yards rushing and 2 TDs last year also. Junior Wade Taylor will be taking up the mantle at quarterback. He saw limited action as Westergaard’s back up last year, throwing 2 of 4 passes for 61 yards.

EAST GREENE: The Hawks return a solid nucleus and a deep roster for the 2009 campaign, which could be the best EG season since the 2001 team led by Isaac Gannon just missed the fourth of four playoff spots with EG finishing just behind Adair-Casey in District 2 at 6-1 and overall at 6-2. Its lone non-district loss also came at the hands of AC as the 26 teams competing in 8-Man that year were spread across three districts covering a wide swath of the state from as far south Lamoni to the southwest corner at Fenton near the Minnesota state line and some district teams needed to double up to make a complete schedule.

Co-coaches Tony Beger and Tim Bardole have had the Hawks in a rebuilding mode which got underway when EG broke a 19-game losing streak with a win over CAL (Latimer) in Grand Junction to open the 2007 season. EG went on to post a 3-6 record and 1-4 in District 7, moving up from its last place finish in 2006 to fifth (of six teams). Last year, D7 was expanded to eight teams and the Hawks faced a seven-game district schedule rather than just give games, but they were up to the challenge, beating Exira, Elk Horn-Kimballton and Walnut to go 3-4 in district play good for fifth place and 4-5 overall with a non-district win over Charter Oak-Ute. The losses were to perennial 8-Man powers Ar-We-Va (non-district season opener), Glidden-Ralston and Adair-Casey in addition to longtime rival Coon Rapids-Bayard, which had its best 8-Man season ever, and undefeated D7 champion CAM.

EG fields a veteran team this year anchored by senior Josh Neese on the offensive line and senior Tom Beger and junior Schyler Bardole in the backfield. Neese was an all-district first team pick last year on offense. Beger and Bardole, sons of the co-coaches, put up great offensive numbers but also played key roles on the EG defense. Bardole was named the all-district second team on offense as a running back while Beger snared a spot on the defensive second team as a linebacker.

The Hawks will be looking to shore up a hole left by the graduation of Jeff Moore who was second team all-district as both an offensive and defensive lineman.

EG is picking up where it left off last year with a strong showing by its defense against Ar-We-Va in the season opener and by its offense in a 62-point performance against Charter Oak-Ute last week.

Beger put up solid numbers last year with 42 pass completions in 91 attempts for 12 touchdowns, and three 7 interceptions. Three of his top four receivers are back: senior Jesse Priest, 223 yards and 3 touchdowns; Bardole, 219 yards and two touchdowns; and junior Nic Nicolaisen, 128 yards and three touchdowns.

Bardole was one of the four top D7 running backs last year and two of them (Van Scoy of GR and Whitlatch of CAM) have graduated leaving CAM’s Stork to contend with as top back in 2009. Stork may find the going a bit tougher with half of last year’s successful backfield tandem absent. Bardole rushed for 1,297 yards last year for 20 touchdowns. He also racked up 133 yards in put returns, and on defense he intercepted four passes for 97 yards and recovered a fumble.

Also back for the Hawks is speedy senior kick return specialist Tyler Gathercoal who had 19 returns for 332 yards last season. Another two-way player returning from last year’s starting lineup is senior Zach Beyerink.

ELK HORN-KIMBALLTON/EXIRA: The “double E” will be a big question mark this season as independently EHK and Exira had some standout players returning from last year’s teams but how they will perform--and in which roles--is the big mystery for this newly formed team, whose new nickname is the Spartans. The team is sporting new uniforms featuring its newly chosen colors of maroon and black. In volleyball this fall and other major sports, the teams compete separately and their team nicknames reflect their communities’ Scandinavian heritage--Danes (EHK) and Vikings (Exira). Both schools are members of the Rolling Hills Conference along with D7 schools AC, GR, CAM and Walnut.

EHK’s Carson Smith was a standout last year as a junior, earning first team all-district honors as utility player on offense. Exira’s Matt Kilworth earned the same honors as utility player on defense. He is also a senior this season. Smith picked up multiple honors as a second team selection last year at three different positions--place kicker on offense, and defensive back and kicker (for kickoffs) on defense.

EHK/Exira is off to a solid start with wins over Sydney at Exira in the season opener, 47-22, and last week at Hamburg, 56-18. Tonight’s battle with AC should determine how these teams will fare in the D7 mix this season.

WALNUT: At 2-1 in the pre-D7 season, Walnut will be looking to improve its 2-5 district record from last year--good for sixth place ahead of EHK and Exira--and its overall mark of 4-5.

First team all-district Dillan Hamilton returns for the Warriors at linebacker. Walnut is off to a solid start with wins over Essex, 70-0, and Hamburg, 52-12, and a loss last week to Farragut, 30-22. All three teams are in District 8.

One thing that could hamper Walnut is a lack of depth and low numbers. Walnut suits up just 15 players while EG and EHK field teams with twice that number and CRB (35) are GR (41) have even bigger teams. Injuries could be crucial to the Warriors as the season wears on. Walnut will have a tall order in its D7 opener tonight against CAM.

EYE ON GJ SAYS: EG faces some stiff competition in the first few weeks of D7 competition as its opens on the road at Glidden and then returns home to face Adair-Casey and then a road game the following week at Anita against CAM. The Hawks’ game with AC on Sept. 18 could go a long way in determining who makes it to the playoffs this year. The Hawks dropped a 34-14 game at home to GR last year and then went down to Adair and got whipped 60-24 by the Bombers in their homecoming game.

With just 5 games in the D7 counting in the standings, a 2-3 record should be good enough for fourth place, although the fourth-place team will face the first place team in D8, which was Stanton last year. So the winner of the EG-AC game could be crucial to how the final standings shake out. Upsets along the way could leave two or more teams in a tie too, so the tie-breaker of margin of victory in each game could be very significant this season.

EG gets a break by not having to face EHK/Exira in the exempt D7 game until the last game of the season. Other D7 teams must face EHK earlier in the season and a loss to a program whose teams were last and next-to-last in the district last year before merging [for football] this year could be harmful to the confidence level of a team with expectations of easily dispensing of the Spartans.

EG also gets a bit of a break as it’s replacement game for the week it would have played Exira is Meskwaki at home for Homecoming on Oct. 9, which offers a mid-season break from D7 play. The Hawks’ following two games against D7 opponents CRB and Walnut are both in Grand Junction.

D7 showed that is one of the deepest and most talented districts in the state in the 8-Man game as the teams compiled a 12-3 non-district record in competition against mostly D1 and D8 teams. That was topped only by D6, which includes Des Moines area teams Ankeny Christian Academy/Iowa Christian Academy, at 13-3. D2 and D4 both went 9-7; D3 was 7-11; and D1, D5 and D8 each went 5-11.

Here is the complete EG schedule for 2009:
(Kickoff time for all games is 7 p.m.)
Aug. 28 Ar-We-Va @ Westside (L 15-2)
Sept. 4 Charter Oak-Ute @ GJ (W 62-16)
Sept. 11 Glidden-Ralston @ Glidden
Sept. 18 Adair-Casey @ GJ
Sept. 25 CAM (Anita) @ Anita
Oct. 2 Meskwaki @ GJ (Homecoming)
Oct. 9 Coon Rapids-Bayard @ GJ
Oct. 16 Walnut @ GJ (Parents’ Night)
Oct. 23 Elk Horn-Kimballton/Exira @ Exira