Playoff positioning will be on the line when Dike-New Hartford hosts Vinton-Shellsburg Friday in 2A District 4.
The district title is still up for grabs, with some playoff spots still to be clinched. After defeating the Wolverines 35-34 in overtime last week, Roland-Story leads at 3-0. DNH, Hampton-Dumont-CAL and Vinton-Shellsburg are each 2-1, with Denver and Oelwein sitting at 0-3.
“It’s a very balanced district and it’s just gonna come down to who plays the best on any given night,” Head Coach Don Betts. “And we’ve got two of those games left this year that those guys are battling for playoffs also. We just need to make sure that we continue to focus on the things that we have focused on all year and continue to get better.”
After falling behind early, the Wolverines will go for higher production out of the gate, having trailed 21-7 at halftime.
Vinton-Shellsburg has bounced back from winless seasons in 2023 and 2024, and defeated Oelwein 49-6. Under former Union coach Joe Hadachek, the Vikings have taken major strides with a balanced attack between the run and pass.
“That won’t be an easy win. They’ve got a lot of excitement going on over there. Coach Hadachek has gotten that program turned around probably a little quicker than most people expected. And Hampton-Dumont-CAL is a good program. And that will be a tough one for us also. So yeah, we’ve got two big games coming up, but the good news for us is that we’ve put ourselves in a position where these two games matter and they’re important for the playoffs.”
DNH has already clinched a playoff spot. A Vinton-Shellsburg win would clinch them a spot. The kickoff will be at 7:00 p.m. at Gunderson Sports Complex.
