The Roland-Story Norsemen football team took home a win in their season-opener in Week 1, in a 40-0 domination of South Tama in Tama. The Norsemen now see a sizeable step up in competition as they make a much shorter trek down Highway 30 to take on (3A) #8 Nevada. The Cubs are coming off a 31-0 shutout of a West Marshall team that was ranked in Class 2A in the preseason.
Offensively, the Cubs have a consistent rushing attack led by senior Cason Stevenson, who rushed for 1,100 yards and 9 touchdowns as a junior. Stevenson just missed the 100-yard mark against the Trojans but did rush for a touchdown. The big star of the Cubs 31-0 win offensively was new quarterback Connor King, who completed 10-of-17 passes for 160 yards and 2 touchdowns, while rushing for 80 yards and a touchdown, which came on a 65-yard breakaway. King’s favorite target in Week 1 was senior receiver Jacob Khounsourath, who caught 6 balls for 69 yards and a touchdown, while fellow receiver Kyle Kingsbury caught 3 passes for 66 yards and a touchdown.
On the defensive side, the Cubs are led by middle linebacker Jackson Burlage, who accumulated 69.5 tackles, 5.5 sacks and 11.5 TFL as a sophomore in 2022. Burlage picked up where he left off in the season-opener with West Marshall, racking up 11.5 tackles with a 0.5 sack and 1.5 TFL. Joining Burlage in the linebacking core is junior Anthony Eaton, who had 35.5 tackles as sophomore as well. The defensive backfield returns a prolific performer in Kyle Kingsbury, who had 38.5 tackles a season ago, while picking off 3 passes as well. Isaac Williams and Jacob Khounsourath joined Kingsbury in the back end as well. Up front, Will Palmer had a big day against the Trojans, amassing a sack and 3.5 TFL in the ball game, Palmer had 3 sacks and 5 TFL as a junior in 2022.
Roland-Story got off to fast start behind the running of Hesston Johnson, the converted quarterback ran for 159 yards and 3 touchdowns at running back, while Sam Knoll completed 10-of-15 passes for 181 yards and a touchdown. Jonovan Wilkinson caught 4 passes for 98 yards and a 62-yard touchdown. Sophomore Cody Long led the Norsemen in tackles against the Trojans with 7, while linebackers Charlie Watts and Hesston Johnson each had 6 tackles on the night.
Roland-Story and Nevada will kickoff at 7:30 PM on Friday night from Nevada High School, the game can be heard on 95.7 KQWC or online at kqradio.com.