DIKE, Ia. — The Roland-Story Norsemen football team returned to action on Friday Night, as they made the long trip into the Cedar Valley to take on the Dike-New Hartford Wolverines in Class 2A, District 4 action at Dike-New Hartford High School. The Norse entered at 4-1 and ranked #3 in Class 2A, while Dike-New Hartford entered at 3-2.
Dike-New Hartford would see their opening drive stall in Norsemen territory, as Roland-Story took the ball and scored on a 19-yard touchdown pass from Colin Willis to Luke Thoreson as the Norse took a 7-0 lead. The Wolverines responded with a 24-yard touchdown run by Peyton Pokorny to tie the game at 7-7. Roland-Story would punch in another touchdown before the end of the first quarter on a 15-yard touchdown pass from Willis to Brody Kilstofte to put the Norse up 13-7 after a failed PAT. The Norse then scored in the 2nd quarter on a 25-yard touchdown pass from Willis to Cooper Triggs as the Norse took a 19-7 lead into the halftime break.
In the 2nd half, Dike-New Hartford flipped the script, as the Wolverines mounted a furious comeback as Peyton Pokorny found Keagan Slack for an 8-yard touchdown pass to bring the score to 19-14 by the end of the 3rd quarter. The Wolverines then took the lead in the 4th quarter on a Peyton Pokorny QB sneak as Dike-New Hartford took a 21-19 lead. A Norsemen fumble then led to a 24-yard touchdown pass from Pokorny to Aiden Walston to extend the lead to 27-19. Roland-Story would get the football inside the 10-yard line of Dike-New Hartford with 2 minutes to go, but could not punch in a touchdown as the Wolverines knelt it out for a 27-19 upset of Roland-Story.
Quarterback Colin Willis was 17-for-36 for 321 yards, 3 touchdowns and 2 interceptions, while Luke Thoreson caught 9 passes for 167 yards and a touchdown, as Cooper Triggs added 4 catches for 110 yards and a touchdown. Jake Knoll led the Norsemen defense with 8.5 tackles.
Roland-Story football returns to the gridiron on Friday night, when they host the Hampton-Dumont-CAL Bulldogs in Class 2A, District 4 action for senior night at Kerry Van Winkle Field, with kickoff at 7 PM.