The Roland-Story Norsemen football team looks to ride their positive momentum into district play on Friday, following their 29-20 win over (1A) #9 South Hamilton in Week 3. The Norsemen also plan on opening the newly-renovated Kerry Van Winkle Field as they open up Class 2A, District 8 play with the Knights of Carroll Kuemper. Kuemper enters with a record of 1-2 with losses to Bishop Heelan and Underwood, and defeated AHSTW, Avoca in Week 3.
The Kuemper offense coming into the season was headlined by senior quarterback and Iowa football commit DJ Vonnahme. However, Vonnahme was injured in the Knights season-opening loss to the Crusaders, and backup Brock Badding stepped in during the following weeks. In relief, Badding has completed 29-of-43 passes for 433 yards and 5 touchdowns with 3 interceptions. The favorite target of the Knight offense so far has been senior Benjamin Gerken, whose caught 11 balls for 172 yards and 4 touchdowns, while fellow senior Michael Kasperbauer has caught 7 passes for 186 yards and 2 touchdowns, averaging a whopping 26.6 yards per catch. The rushing attack for the Knights has been limited, with running back Kent Sanders only amassing 140 yards through the season’s first 3 weeks. The offensive line will see yet another challenge with a Roland-Story front that is continuing to gain confidence week-in and week-out.
Defensively, while the Knights have missed Vonnahme’s presence, linebackers Kent Sanders and fellow junior Tate Bieret have stepped up, with 24.5 tackles and 22.5 tackles respectively. Sanders has tallied a sack and 2 tackles for loss, while Bieret has tallied a sack and 5 tackles for loss. Up front, senior Kyle Sundrup has seen a stellar start to his senior season, with 14.5 tackles, 3 sacks and 3 tackles for loss, while fellow lineman Bryce Wiskus and Evan Adams have put up solid starts to their senior years as well. The defensive backfield has been full of solid producers so far, as senior Jake Hausman leads the group with 17 tackles, as 3 of the 4 starters in the secondary have amassed double-digit tackles. Junior Carson Kanne has the lone interception for the Knights on the season.
Roland-Story has gotten it done on the ground for a majority of the season, but as district play begins, the passing game will have to become an important factor if the Norsemen want to contend for the district crown. Quarterback Sam Knoll has shown flashes, but a consistent, high-level performance could help put this offense over the top. Expect Hesston Johnson to be heavily-involved in the offense once again, while the challenge for the Norsemen defense is preparing for the possibility of either Brock Badding or DJ Vonnahme at quarterback.
Kickoff is slated for 7:30 PM on Friday night from Kerry Van Winkle Field in Story City.