Falcon Football hosting South Hardin in non-district finale
Week 3 will be the final night of non-district play in Class 1A, and Aplington-Parkersburg will host South Hardin for Homecoming.
The Falcons enter 1-1 after being stymied 31-7 at #1 (1A) Grundy Center last week, a game where moving the ball proved to be a challenge. Head Coach Alex Pollock says having better starts to drives on offense and playing with more physicality on defense will be keys against South Hardin and beyond.
"Low pad level is the biggest thing," Pollock says. "We were consistent - we were consistently not good at it. We were consistently high last Friday. If we're going to have the success we want to have this year, it's got to be a focal point. We've got some good kids, some good players up front, but it's a matter of doing it. I think offensively, trying to be more successful on first down, that's pretty common, be we need to get off to a good start on our drives. Penalties are absolutely huge, and we can't have them. All those things sound simple, but it's really difficult to do all those at one time. We're working on it and working on getting better."
The Falcons had only 147 yards of offense last week, 108 of which quarterback Gavin Thomas was responsible for, including the game’s only touchdown.
South Hardin is 1-1 after a 35-14 win over Iowa Falls-Alden last week, where they ran away in the second half. A somewhat new-look team is led by sophomore quarterback Peyton Welch, who has thrown for 296 yards in the first two games. Junior running back Jaxson Drury has 266 yards and two touchdowns on 49 carries, the third-most carries in Class 1A. Drury’s 5.4 yards per carry are the second-most in Class 1A. Head Coach Nick Eller says the run game will be a key factor.
"Really expecting a good game," Eller says. We've been in two tough ones already, and we knew this non-district schedule would be tough. We know it'll be a dogfight, always is with them. I think we both get up to play each other, so I was glad they wanted to keep playing even though we're not in the same district. We're similar teams. Both are going to run the ball first, and it's going to be a battle of wills, who can execute and play disciplined football. It'll be a fun game, and we're looking forward to the challenge. It's going to be a tough game, especially going up there."
The Falcons have won two straight in the series, including a 28-12 win in Eldora last year. The kickoff is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. at Ed Thomas Field.
