March 29, 2024

SICL foes L-S, C-M square off in season opener

Lynnville-Sully’s football program has a yearly mantra it has followed since Mike Parkinson took over as head coach.

That mantra — “tradition never graduates” — is being used this season as Lynnville-Sully looks to replace several key players from last year’s quarterfinal team.

But Parkinson also said Wednesday he feels like his Week 1 opponent, Colfax-Mingo, could use that saying, too.

“Colfax-Mingo lost a lot of very talented seniors, but we look at that program like ours,” Parkinson said. “Their tradition never graduates. They have been really good the last few years.”

The Hawks, who went 8-4 last season, host the Tigerhawks at 7 p.m. Friday night in Sully.

Lynnville-Sully graduated all-state running back Sage Ehresman, its two top receivers and two key offensive linemen, but the Hawks return five of their top six tacklers from last year.

“A lot of those guys on defense have been playing for two years,” Parkinson said. “We should have a pretty experienced defense, but we expect guys to fill in those offensive positions that need to be replaced because of graduation.

“We preach next man in, and some younger guys worked hard this offseason. Hopefully they have matured enough, and we’ll find out Friday night.”

Colfax-Mingo coach Jeff Lietz admitted to not knowing much about this year’s Hawks’ squad. He does think L-S could throw it more this year.

“The personnel is different,” Lietz said. “We don’t know what to expect for sure. We are just focusing on ourselves and hope that we can execute enough to get the job done.”

Colfax-Mingo lost 13 seniors from a team that went 8-3 last season. The Tigerhawks won their first-ever playoff game, too.

Jimmy Camp, Wyatt Owens and Jake Dunsbergen are back, but the skill position players are brand new. Junior Reegan Van Dyke takes over at quarterback, Camp is the new running back and Zarek Hill, Alex Lewis and Adam Teed are filling in at wide receiver.

“The offense they run is tough to stop,” Parkinson said of Colfax-Mingo. “They snap it quick and go, and we’ll have to be ready to play.”

Colfax-Mingo took on Class 2A Saydel in a scrimmage last Friday. For the most part, Lietz was happy with his team’s performance, but the Tigerhawks need to clean up penalties and mistakes that usually haunt teams in early-season games.

“We don’t have a lot of experience, so we kind of just want to get them on the field and see how they react when the lights are on,” Lietz said. “I am anxious to see who steps up.”

Lynnville-Sully does bring back junior quarterback Tyler Van Zante. He played most of the way in the Hawks’ 40-15 loss to Colfax-Mingo last season, finishing 3-for-13 for 16 yards and one interception.

Dylan Roozeboom returns as the leader of the Hawks’ defense. He had 12 tackles and a sack against the Tigerhawks last season.

The Hawks were given a preseason ranking in Class A by the Des Moines Register. Parkinson said he has talked to his squad about the recognition, but it’s too early in the season to focus on that.

“I want our guys to understand that it doesn’t mean anything right now,” Parkinson said. “We have a nice little target on our back now. We better show up and play like we are a top 10 team now.”

Nevada at CMB in Maxwell, 7:30 p.m.

The Raiders dominated the Cubs in Week 3 last year. CMB rushed for 413 yards and held Nevada to only 51 rushing yards in a 41-21 victory.

Blake Coughenour returns to the Raiders’ offense after gaining 247 yards and three touchdowns on the ground against the Cubs in 2015.

Tucker Maxwell, also back for his senior year, scored his only touchdown of the year and 48 receiving yards on three catches in the win.

Nevada started last season 2-0 but lost seven straight games to end the year. Quarterback Macade Matuska is back after throwing for more than 1,100 yards and 12 scores last season.

The Cubs also bring back their top rusher. Andrew Strottman gained 600 yards on the ground. Five of the top six tacklers from 2015 graduated.

Pella Christian at PCM, 7 p.m.

PCM had a tough time slowing down the Eagles’ passing game last season during a 48-11 road loss. The Mustangs trailed 20-0 after one quarter and were down 35-0 at halftime. PCM committed six turnovers in the loss.

The bad news for PCM is that quarterback David Kacmarynski and wide receiver Levi Jungling are both back after leading Class 1A in several offensive categories last season.

Kacmarynski led 1A in passing yards (2,878) and passing touchdowns (31) last season, while Jungling led 1A with 80 catches, 1,602 receiving yards and 20 touchdowns.

Against PCM in last year’s season opener, Kacmarynski threw for 355 yards and six touchdowns. Jungling hauled in five of those touchdowns and finished with 312 receiving yards.

Defensively, seven of the top eight Eagle tacklers return. Pella Christian graduated only eight seniors.

PCM hands its offensive keys to senior quarterback Sheldon Speers. His only varsity pass last year was an eight-yard touchdown toss.

The Mustangs will rely heavily on an experienced offensive line. That may be a good thing for sophomore Wes Cummings, who takes over the starting job at running back.

PCM brings back its top two receivers in seniors Luke Greiner and Noah Clark, but six of the Mustangs’ top eight tacklers graduated.