The Grundy Center football team has begun preseason practices, entering the season as a three-time defending state champion and with a 39-game win streak.
An x-factor at quarterback, Judd Jirovsky will return for his senior season. Last year, he led Class 1A in passing touchdowns and total touchdowns, and was second in passing yards and total yards. At defensive back, his eight interceptions was tied for the best in 1A. For his performances, he was named the captain of the Iowa Football Coaches Association Class 1A All-State team.
“Most Friday nights when we step on the field, Judd will be the most talented player that’s on the field,” Head Coach Travis Zajac says. “He tilts things and he’s going to attract a lot of attention, and the on-field production will continue to be outstanding. I think that the next step for Judd is just continuing to grow in his leadership capabilities. Judd is already a good leader. He’s an outstanding student, he carries himself the right way, he has a positive influence on everyone that he’s around. I’m so excited for him. You know he’s going to do everything that we ask him to do and then some. He’s going to be one of our hardest workers on the practice field, in the weight room and in his preparation. So sky’s the limit for him. If we can keep him healthy, he’s going to have another outstanding season.”
With success comes expectations, but Zajac says the preseason practices and mastering the basics will set the tone for the season.
“Everyone wants to talk about streaks and what happened last year and all that stuff, which is great. We’ve earned the right to get some of those flowers. But at the same time, like none of it matters unless we take care of our business here and now. From the players and the coaches, our athletic trainer and our managers, we’ve just got to worry about us. Let’s just work on us every day. Let’s have fun being gathered and getting good work accomplished. And we keep building days like that on top of one another, that’s going to lead to a pretty good product on the field when we start playing games here in a couple of weeks. So right now, as cliche as it sounds, fundamentals and technique and alignments and things like that, kind of the boring stuff, I guess, from the outside looking in, but really the most important piece is if you’re going to sustain success and extend your season past week eight.”
They’ll begin the season by hosting Aplington-Parkersburg on Friday, August 29.
