The Roland-Story Norsemen football team return to action on Friday night, as they host the Des Moines Christian Lions in non-district action at Kerry Van Winkle Field in Story City. Roland-Story enters Friday at 1-0 and ranked #4 in Class 2A, as DMC enters Friday at 1-0 and ranked #10 in Class 3A. Friday’s meeting is the 3rd all-time meeting between the 2 programs, as Roland-Story took the first 2 meetings in 2023 and 2024.
Week 1 was a landmark moment in the history of Des Moines Christian football, as the Lions defeated perennial powerhouse Van Meter for the first time in program history in a 29-21 win. Over the years, the Lions have established themselves as a high-flying, pass-first team that struggled against physicality. However, the Lions proved to be the more physical team on Friday, as the Lions rolled up over 250 yards rushing and 3 touchdowns, as junior Davis Tokheim had 123 yards, with quarterback Max Town had 58 yards and 2 rushing touchdowns. Town is a threat to throw the football as well, throwing for 137 yards and a touchdown, as junior receiver Tate Olsen had 8 receptions in the game for 104 yards and a 45-yard touchdown reception, while Olsen had a rushing touchdown on a trick play from 14 yards out as well. The Lions offensive line will have it’s hands full with a deceiving and lightning fast 3-3-5 look from the Norsemen defense.
For the Lions defense, the defensive line appears to have taken a big step forward in 2025, as defensive end Caleb Bailey tallied a team-high 11.5 tackles in the game against Van Meter, as Cooper Handsaker had 2.5 tkls and a fumble recovery. The linebacking core for the Lions is improved as well, as sophomore Oliver Grice had a unit-high 8 tackles and an interception, while Kyle Friend added 3.5 tackles as well. The defensive backfield does have quite a bit of experience back, as Tate Olsen proved to be a big play guy on both sides of the ball, with 6 tackles, 2 TFL and a sack in Week 1. Davis Tokheim is someone who could make a lot of noise in the secondary as well.
Roland-Story is coming off a 600-yard performance offensively in their win over Pella Christian, but there are things to shore up for the Norsemen offense such as taking care of the football. Defensively, Roland-Story will want to avoid a slow start like it had against Pella Christian, but the speed of the Norsemen defense could very well be enough to offset the new-found focus on power for the Des Moines Christian offense.
Kickoff is slated for 7 PM on Friday Night from Kerry Van Winkle Field in Story City.