The #2 (1A) Grundy Center football team will take on #3 (1A) Iowa City Regina in a Class 1A semifinal Friday, which’ll air on 99 The Wave.
The Spartans (11-0) are appearing in the UNI-Dome for the seventh consecutive season. A regular dome qualifier, they’ve played in six straight championship games and enter on a 50-game win streak. Head Coach Travis Zajac offers his words of advice about taking in the moment, but also taking care of business.
“It’s a moment in our journey, and we can’t dictate, determine the size of the moment,” Zajac says. “The schedule is the schedule and it’s the next one on the schedule, and it happens to be played indoors and it’s for a chance to play for a state championship. What is most important though is collectively our response to that moment. And that’s similar words like that every year at this time. You’re going to have more adrenaline. It’s normal, but we’ve got to know how to manage that appropriately, know that our schedule is built in such a way so that you’re going to have plenty of time to take it all in in pregame warmup and then focus in on getting a feeling for if you’re a receiver, being able to sightline the ball because the background is different, get a feel for the turf underneath your feet and just play free, play fast, have fun and love every second of it with your brothers.”
The Regals (11-0) are back in the dome for the first time since 2020, when they defeated the Spartans in the Class A championship game. With several players who appear in national recruiting rankings, they boast similar characteristics to those of Grundy Center. Zajac describes what makes the Regals dangerous.
“It’s just the amount of difference makers they have. They’ve got some pretty outstanding talent. And they’ve got sound schemes in all three phases of the game. They’re very worthy of being one of the last four. I think the state did it the right way in the way they built their pods. And I think legitimately we’ve got the four best teams left playing the semifinals. So they present a lot of issues. They’re very similar to us offensively, try to spread you out to run, and then they can throw it, the quarterback’s athletic enough to break contain and hurt you with his feet. So for us it’s more of just being able to handle the ebbs and flows and the momentum in the dome. Our experienced players coming back understand what that’s all about. It does goofy things to everyone. There’s just a little bit more adrenaline in your system. So being able to manage your response is going to be paramount for us to have success.”
Pregame coverage will start at 9:30 a.m., followed by the kickoff at 10:00. The winner will advance to the 1A championship game against either #1 (1A) West Lyon or #4 (1A) South Hardin.
Travis Zajac interview:
