The Roland-Story Norsemen football team returns to action on Friday night, as they host the Dike-New Hartford Wolverines in Class 2A, District 4 action at Kerry Van Winkle Field in Story City. Roland-Story enters at 3-2, as Dike-New Hartford enters at 4-1. Friday’s meeting is the 5th all-time meeting between the two programs, as the series is tied 2-2, with Dike-New Hartford winning the most recent meeting in 2017 by a score of 16-0.
Dike-New Hartford enters at 4-1 with their lone loss coming to (1A) #1 Grundy Center in non-district play, with non-district wins over Jesup and Aplington-Parkersburg, as well as district wins over Oelwein and Denver. Junior quarterback Peyton Pokorny leads the Wolverines offense, throwing for 570 yards and 8 touchdowns, while rushing for another 73 yards and a score. Pokorny’s favorite target has been junior Aiden Walston, who’s caught 8 passes for 159 yards and 3 touchdowns, while senior Tate Block has 8 catches for 64 yards and a touchdown. The Wolverines rushing attack is led by senior Devlin Davis, who’s rushed for 446 yards and 5ouchdowns on 89 carries, while Gavin Gerbracht has 39 carries for 183 yards and 4 touchdowns as a short-yardage back. The Wolverines do have size on the offensive line, but many players are in their first-year starting at the varsity level.
On the defensive side, it’s been hard to find big standouts for the Wolverines with so many different contributing pieces to Don Betts defense. The defensive line has a pair of big play guys in seniors Dawson Dietrick and Lane Girsch, as Girsch has 14.5 tackles, 4.5 TFL and 2 sacks, while Dietrick has 8.5 tackles, 4.5 TFL and 2.5 sacks. Devlin Davis is the team’s leading tackler with 17 from his linebacker spot, along with 2.5 TFL and 1.5 sacks, as Gavin Gerbracht has 11.5 tackles, 1.5 TFL and 1.5 sacks. The secondary has made plays when asked during the season, as the unit has 4 interceptions from Trey Jensen, Jacob Feaker, Quinn Mills and Caeden Bakker. Mills and Camden Tott lead the unti with 11.5 tackles, while Tate Block has 10 tackles.
Roland-Story has started off district play 2-0 and face their toughest district test yet in the Wolverines. It will be imperative for the Norsemen offense to avoid turnover, while also establishing Cody Long and Jake Knoll on the ground to control the line of scrimmage. Roland-Story’s defense will likely try and make the Wolverines one-dimensional in hopes of rattling a 1st-year starting quarterback.
Kickoff is slated for 7 PM on Friday Night at Kerry Van Winkle Field in Story City.