The Roland-Story Norsemen hit the road for their regular season-finale on Friday night as they make the trip down to Monroe to take on the Mustangs of PCM in Class 2A, District 7 action. The Norsemen enter Friday with a record of 4-3 and 3-1 in district play, as PCM enters with a similar 4-3 record and 3-1 district record.
Friday’s game is of significant importance to Roland-Story as it relates to the Class 2A Playoff race, as with a win, the Norsemen would have a home playoff game for the first round of the playoffs. A loss keeps them on the road. The Mustangs stand in the way of the Norsemen, but with a very new-look roster than the one that defeated Roland-Story 43-20 last year in Story City. The quarterback spot has been one of controversy this year for the Mustangs between Gavin VanGorp and August Stock. VanGorp has been the quarterback most recently, throwing for 246 yards and 3 touchdowns, while rushing for another 164 yards and 2 touchdowns. PCM’s leading rusher has been Adrien Robbins, who’s ran for nearly 600 yards and 6 touchdowns, as sophomore Kaleb Devries has contributed another 153 yards. August Stock has been moved to receiver and is the teams leader with 9 receptions, 140 yards and a touchdown.
Defensively, senior defensive lineman Donovan Nickelson is the bell cow for the PCM defense, with 37.5 tackles and 7 tackles for loss, while Joel Griener added 21 tackles and 4 tackles for loss. William Vanderpool has led the linebacking core with 32.5 tackles and 5 tackles for loss. The defensive backfield has been led statistically by Gavin Fenton, who’s recorded 20 tackles and an interception on the year for the Mustangs secondary.
For Roland-Story, following playing a physical West Marshall team, it will be imperative that the PCM ground game is slowed down to keep the Mustangs from going score for score with the explosive Norsemen offense.
Kickoff is slated for 7 PM at PCM High School in Monroe on Friday Night.