(Greenfield) Nodaway Valley travels to northeast Iowa on Friday to take on Grundy Center. The Wolverines advance following two shutouts in the first and second rounds. Coach Duane Matthess squad blanked North Mahaska 20-0 in round one, and avenged an earlier loss to Earlham with a 26-0 victory in round two.
Nodaway Valley Head Coach Duane Matthess says good things happen when the players are locked in, and they had a good week of practice before the game against Earlham. Matthess felt they let the game slip away the first time they played the Cardinals.
The Wolverines matchup against #1 rated Grundy Center. Coach Matthess says the Spartans are ranked number one for a reason. For one, they’ve only given up four touchdowns the entire season.
Coach Matthess notes the Spartans are led by running back Zach Opheim who has rushed for 1,336 yards this season, and quarterback Logan Knaack can both run and pass. The junior QB has completed 52-percent of his passes for 639 yards, and rushed for another 822.
The Wolverines run a balanced attack offensively with 2,232 total yards. Nathan Russell has completed 45.3 percent of his passes for 1,039 yards, and 13 touchdowns, and Tony and Adam Ayase, have combined for 1,134 of the teams 1,177 yards on the ground.
Coach Matthess says the team is excited about reaching the third round of the playoff’s and his players are looking forward to it.
