Okoboji at Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn: Looking for district sweep

A battle of offenses, a battle of wills and a battle between two area teams who look to contend in their districts will be on display tonight in Hartley when Okoboji squares off with Siouxland Conference rival H-M-S.

The two schools will also look to sweep their district schedules -- Okoboji is seeking its first 2-0 start since 2004.

"It would be a big confidence builder," said Okoboji head coach Travis Schipper, who led the Pioneers to a 5-4 mark in his first season last year. "If we're able to win both district games, we've beaten two pretty solid teams and it should bode well as we get into our district schedule."

Both the Pioneers and the Hawks came away victorious on opening night with Okoboji beating Sibley-Ocheydan 22-14 and Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn beating Spirit Lake 19-7.

A member of Class 1A District 1, H-M-S had its way with Spirit Lake, rushing for 319 yards and three touchdowns on 53 carries out of its Wing-T offense. Okoboji will be prepared for much of the same defensively. The Hawks attempted just five passes in their opener, two resulting in interceptions.

"They're a team that just likes to pound it at you and get you in some mis-matches in their formations. There's not a lot of finesse in their offense," Schipper commented. "They line it up, run it right at you and see if you can stop them."

Logan Sweeney led H-M-S on the ground, rushing 20 times for 186 yards and a touchdown. Josh Treybal carried 22 times for 98 yards and two scores. Okoboji surrendered 157 yards to the Generals last week.

"We have to stay disciplined and play assignment football as you should every week," Schipper said. "They're going to do their job really well and we have to do the same thing defensively."

Okoboji's defense faced a few questions coming into the season, losing all-time leading tackler Matt Tschetter and Spenser Taylor, both defensive leaders of the '07 squad. The Pioneers provided some answers last Friday, holding Sibley-Ocheydan scoreless for 42 minutes.

"We had some unknowns, but our seniors really stepped up. We play a lot of kids both ways and we did tire down a little bit, but the guys did a nice job for three quarters," Schipper said.

The Pioneers will get some relief with the return of offensive lineman Andrew Nase, a 6-foot-3, 255-pounder who sat out the opener with an injury. Okoboji hopes Nase's return will help lead another productive offensive night.

The Pioneers racked up 262 yards of offense in the opener, nearly splitting the rushing and passing production right down the middle.

Quarterback Ryan Wurtz, who threw for nearly 900 yards in '07, played mistake-free and was efficient, completing 8-of-12 passes for 88 yards and one touchdown despite the constant double coverage of his favorite target, wide receiver Blake Kliegl.

"Ryan is in his third year as a starter and there's just a comfort level with him on the field," Schipper said. "There's no play in the playbook that we can't call. He really opens things up for us."

Okoboji anticipates more double teams on Kliegl, who produced 328 yards and six touchdowns in '07, but H-M-S is well aware of the Pioneers' capabilities on the ground. Okoboji ran for 326 yards on the Hawks in a 28-14 win last year. Running back Max Burgeson carried 18 times for 182 yards and two touchdowns.

"If they double cover Blake, that leaves a lot of other options open for us," Schipper stated. "It's going to take one more kid out of the box, and maybe Max and Kevin (James) can get some open running room."

Opening kick for Okoboji's non-district game with H-M-S is set for 7 p.m. in Hartley.

Outstanding Offense

Spencer

The Tigers were anything but outstanding with the football in their hands in a shutout loss to Emmetsburg in the opener. After averaging more than 200 yards rushing in 2007, Spencer was held to just 40 against the E-Hawks. Spencer's top returning rusher, Skylaur Konrady, averaged 8.4 yards per carry as a halfback in '07, but managed just 31 yards on 12 carries in his debut at fullback. Kyle Fitch led the Tigers' offensive efforts, racking up 154 all-purpose yards on four touches. Storm Lake put up 358 yards and five touchdowns on Cherokee's defense in Week 1, throwing for more than 250 yards.

Okoboji

The Pioneers showed off their versatility right out of the gates, rushing for 122 yards and passing for 140. Running back Max Burgeson put up 252 all-purpose yards and scored three touchdowns -- one rushing, one receiving and one passing. Ryan Wurtz was an efficient 8-for-12 for 88 yards and a touchdown; Blake Kliegl hauled in two passes for 73 yards.

Sioux Central

Sioux Central saw a vast improvement in its ground game from 2007 as Trevor Tiefenthaler's transition to quarterback proved successful. Tiefenthaler ran for 160 yards in his debut under center. Running back Mike Ripke added 109 yards and a touchdown on 27 carries. Sioux Central scored just once, but will look to finish off drives tonight against Spirit Lake, who surrendered 319 yards rushing and three touchdowns on opening week.

Clay Central-Everly

The Mavericks were nearly flawless on offense Friday, racking up 471 total yards, including 416 on the ground. Fullback Lance Englert tallied 140 yards and two scores on 24 carries. Wes Christensen threw for 48 yards and ran for 96 more, putting up three total touchdowns. Kasey Kunzmann added 75 yards rushing, while Austin Klett and Aaron Berberich each hauled in a touchdown pass. "We feel like we can run all three of our backs," said CC-E coach Kevin Fahnlander. "All three of them have the ability to make plays with the ball in their hands."

Ruthven-Ayrshire

Ruthven-Ayrshire put up 174 total yards on the sixth-ranked team in the state, but turnovers ultimately did in the Raiders. Ruthven-Ayrshire committed nine turnovers, throwing five interceptions and giving away four fumbles -- two directly resulting in touchdowns. Shawn Molitor led the Raiders' ground game with 90 yards on 12 carries; Brad Geelan completed four passes for 86 yards and a score.

Dominating Defense

Spencer

The Tigers won the turnover battle in week one, recovering three Emmetsburg fumbles, but Spencer's defensive success stopped there. The Tigers allowed 350 total yards, 292 coming on the ground. Sean Elliott led Spencer with 7.5 tackles. Brad Murphy had 5.5 tackles, 2.5 for loss, and recovered a fumble. Tyler Kacmarynski had four tackles and a fumble recovery. Jordan Rasmussen also recovered a fumble.

Okoboji

After forcing more than two turnovers per game in 2007, the Pioneers were back at it in their opener, hauling in three interceptions in a 22-14 win over Sibley-Ocheydan. Okoboji also carried a shutout into the final six minutes. J.B. Ellis led Okoboji with 16 tackles; Kevin James added 15 and Tate Hanson had 12. Hanson, T.J. Alger and Blake Kliegl each had an interception.

Sioux Central

The Rebels gave up nearly 300 yards of offense, surrendering 290 to Alta on opening night, but half of that yardage came on Alta's three scoring plays -- a 35-yard pass, a 60-yard pass and a 55-yard run. Sioux Central won the turnover battle 3-2 with Trevor Tiefenthaler grabbing two interception for a school record 12 over his career. Tiefenthaler, Mike Ripke and Cesar Menchaca each had nine tackles; Matt Dahlin recovered a fumble.

Clay Central-Everly

The Mavericks were more than dominant in a season-openin win, pitching a shutout and holding Kingsley-Pierson to just 30 yards. CC-E will face perhaps its most offensively versatile opponent of the season Friday against Marcus-Meriden-Cleghorn, who will line up in a wishbone formation with two tight ends on one play before coming out with five wide receivers on the next play. Austin Klett pace CC-E with 7.5 tackles in the opener.

Ruthven-Ayrshire

State-ranked Remson-Union ran roughshod on the Raiders to the tune of 401 total yards, 255 rushing, last week. Ruthven-Ayrshire faces another tough task tonight against Aurelia, who put up 38 points in a loss to Graettinger-Terril Friday. Brad Geelan led the Raiders in tackles with 11, he also pulled down an interception. Ryan Sikora added eight tackles and an interception; Mark Langner had 10 tackles. Colton Bakken also recovered a fumble.

Coach'sNotes

Spencer

"(After a loss like last week) You need to just get back to fundamentals. We need to get confident in doing the basics of blocking and tackling because we didn't do those things well last week."

- Tigers head coach Jim Tighe

Okoboji

"We're going to have to play with some intensity. Hartley teams are always ready to play. We have to match them with our intensity and play mistake-free football."

- Pioneers head coach Travis Schipper

Sioux Central

"If you can't prevent the big play defensively, you're going to come out on the short end and that's what happened. But, we think good things are going to happen for us if we control the ball like we did last week against Alta."

- Rebels head coach Jeff Tiefenthaler

Clay Central-Everly

"We need to be more physical. That's what we've been trying to hammer at 'em this week. We have to be physical on both sides of the ball."

- Mavs head coach Kevin Fahnlander

Friday Night Matchups

Spencer (0-1) at Cherokee (0-1), 7 p.m.

Okoboji (1-0) at H-M-S (1-0), 7 p.m.

Sioux Central (0-1) vs. Spirit Lake (0-1), 7 p.m.

No. 10 Clay Central-Everly (1-0) at

Marcus-Meriden-Cleghorn (0-1), 7:30 p.m.

Ruthven-Ayrshire (0-1) vs. Aurelia (1-0), 7 p.m.

Iowa Prep Football Poll

The Top Ten teams in the Associated Press Iowa high school football polls of the 2008 season with first-place votes in parentheses, won-loss record, and total points:

Class 3A

Others receiving votes: 11. West Delaware 9, 11. Council Bluffs Lewis Central 9, 11. Pella 9, 14. Dallas Center-Grimes 7, 14. New Hampton 7, 16. Grinnell 6, 17. Carlisle 3, 18. Algona 1, 18. Western Dubuque 1, 18. Estherville-Lincoln Central 1, 18. Fairfield 1, 18. Hampton-Dumont 1.

Class 2A

Others receiving votes: 11. Clarinda 11, 12. Waterloo Columbus 10, 13. Colfax-Mingo 9, 13. North Fayette 9, 15. Bondurant Farrar 8, 16. CMB 6, 16. West Marshall 6, 18. Battle Creek-Ida Grove 5, 19. Hudson 4, 20. Dike-New Hartford 2, 20. West Burlington 2, 22. North Cedar 1, 22. Unity Christian 1, 22. Gilbert 1.

Class 1A

Others receiving votes: 11. Lawton-Bronson 13, 12. Belle Plaine 8, 13. Grundy Center 6, 13. Guthrie Center 6, 15. South Winneshiek 5, 16. Turkey Valley 4, 16. Nashua-Plainfield 4, 18. Pekin 3, 18. Panorama 3, 18. Griswold 3, 21. Iowa Valley 2, 21. Wapello 2, 23. Van Buren 1, 23. H-M-S 1.

Class A

Others receiving votes: 13. Mason City Newman 9, 14. Rockford 8, 15. North Mahaska 6, 16. Le Mars Gehlen 5, 16. BGM 5, 18. Algona Garrigan 4, 18. Montezuma 4, 20. Colo-NESCO 3, 21. Rockwell City-Lytton 2.

Class 8-Man

Others receiving votes: 11. Tri-County 13, 12. Remsen Saint Mary's 11, 12. Adair-Casey 11, 14. Janesville 7, 15. Central City 4, 15. Graettinger-Terril 4, 17. CWL 3, 18. NE Hamilton 1, 18. Laurens-Marathon 1, 18. Ankeny Christian Academy 1, 18. Des Moines Grandview Park Baptist 1.

District Football Standings

Class 3A District 1

Class 2A District 2

Class 1A District 1

Class A District 2

8-Man District 2