No. 2 PCM hits the road again for battle with Norse

The Class 2A second-ranked Prairie City-Monroe football team was scheduled to host its first game of the season Friday night.

But the several inches of rain that dumped in Central Iowa the past few days has altered those plans.

The school announced Tuesday that the game has been moved to Pella High School. The Mustangs seek their first 3-0 start since 2011 when they take on Roland-Story on a neutral site at 7:30 p.m.

Still, PCM faces a school it is familiar with but a football program it has only faced twice since 2010. The Mustangs defeated the Norse 38-7 in the first round of the 2016 playoffs and also took down its Heart of Iowa Conference rivals, 27-26, in 2012.

PCM coach Greg Bonnett’s defense has been stellar this season. The Mustangs have allowed 16 total points in the first two games but no points after the first quarter.

Roland-Story is 1-1 but averages 36 points per game in the first two weeks.

“I think we have been consistent and have been able to make adjustments,” Bonnett said. “I do not think we have peaked yet though, and I look for this group to get better as we go on.”

Roland-Story’s offense features senior quarterback Drake Day and senior tailbacks Ben Chelsvig and Jakob Pittman.

Day has thrown for 220 yards, one touchdown and one pick and has 167 rushing yards and another two scores. Chelsvig has 261 yards rushing and four TDs, and Pittman has gained 114 rushing yards and three TDs.

The top receiver is sophomore Zach Twedt, who has 11 catches for 111 yards and one TD and also has a kickoff return touchdown.

“This week will be an outstanding challenge for our defense,” Bonnett said.

The PCM defense has 14 tackles for loss and two defensive scores in two games this season. Senior Brycen Rogers lead the way with 18 tackles and three tackles for loss. Junior Seth Greiner has 11 1/2 tackles, three tackles for loss and a fumble recovery.

The PCM offense scored 38 points in a Week 1 win over Class 3A Newton. They scored 29 points last week against then-No. 6 ranked West Marshall despite committing 100 yards in penalties.

The Mustangs’ offense will need to know where Nathan Bell is on the field. He leads the Norse with 26 1/2 tackles. The second best is Chelsvig’s 12 1/2 tackles.

“Their No. 56 (Bell) is a very good player, but they have a bunch of other very good players, too,” Bonnett said.

PCM’s offense goes with senior quarterback Reed Worth, who has 309 passing yards and 214 rushing yards through two games. He’s got six total touchdowns.

“I think Reed is a real dual threat QB, and that is hard for a defense to plan for,” Bonnett said. “You have to leave an extra guy on him so until teams really start spying him, we don’t mind him running the ball.”

Senior Wes Cummings ranks seventh in 2A after two games with 282 rushing yards. He’s averaging 9.4 yards per carry.

Colfax-Mingo (2-0) at Wayne (1-1), 7 p.m.

The Tigerhawks have scored 41 points in each of their first two wins and look to be 3-0 for the first time since 2014.

Their Week 3 opponent, Wayne, has thrown for only 11 yards in two games. But Chase Keifer has 439 rushing yards and five touchdowns.

The Wayne defense has collected five interceptions, but C-M junior Brady Berkey has eight TD passes and no picks in two games.

Colfax-Mingo’s offense is led by a balanced receiving group in seniors Zarek Hill (nine catches, 222 yards, 5 TDs) and Holister Koenig (seven catches, 93 yards) and juniors Trinity Schroeder (seven catches, 162 yards, two TDs) and Trystin Ross (five catches, 51 yards, one TD).

Berkey’s eight touchdown passes is first Class 1A. Hill’s five TD catches also are tops in 1A.

Junior Andres Villegas leads the defense with 13 tackles, four tackles for loss and two sacks. Berkey has three interceptions.

Lynnville-Sully (1-1) at Highland (2-0), 7 p.m.

The Hawks are coming off their first regular season loss since Oct. 21, 2016. And L-S coach Mike Parkinson said the defense allowed the most rushing yards during his tenure.

Sigourney/Keota rushed for 484 yards in the 44-18 win. The Hawks’ opponent, Highland, on Friday has rushed for 613 yards in two games and four players have at least 105 rushing yards.

Highland’s Trey Lasek also has 207 yards and four TDs through the air and leads the defense with two picks.

Senior Gage Vander Leest leads the Hawks on both sides of the ball. He has 19 1/2 tackles on defense. Offensively, Vander Leest has 125 passing yards, 289 rushing yards and four total TDs.

Baxter (0-2) at Melcher-Dallas (0-2), 7 p.m.

One of these two teams will get their first win on Friday.

The Bolts may have played the two best teams on their schedule in the first two weeks so the schedule lightens up with a Melcher-Dallas team which has 316 total yards in two games this season.

Eric Karpan leads the offense with 185 passing yards, two TDs and an interception and two rushing touchdowns. Ethan Harrington has eight catches, 120 yards and two scores and leads the defense with 14 1/2 tackles and one sack.

Blaise Cooper has the team’s other five catches.

Cole Damman has led the Bolts through two games. He has 330 passing yards, 145 rushing yards and five total TDs. He has a team-high 14 tackles and one sack on defense.

Senior Brendyn Padget has 13 catches for 131 yards and one TD for the offense.