The Clarion-Goldfield-Dows Cowboys football team returns to action on Friday night, as they host the Forest City Indians on homecoming, in a Class 2A, District 2 matchup. CGD comes in with a record of 2-3 and 1-1 in district play following their 31-14 loss to Estherville-Lincoln Central, while Forest City also comes in at 2-3 and 1-1 in district play, following their 7-0 win over Garner-Hayfield-Ventura.
Forest City has found some traction in the last couple of weeks, picking up a hard-fought 7-0 win over Garner-Hayfield-Ventura on the Indians homecoming in Week 5. The Forest City attack has been balanced, albeit a passing-lean through the first half of the season. Junior quarterback Ty Dillavou has thrown for 777 yards and 4 touchdowns, but 5 interceptions and is completing just 45% of his passes. Dillavou has spread the wealth, with 5 receivers having over 100 yards on the season, but senior Jaxon Archer has been the top dog with 12 catches for 162 yards and a touchdown. Fellow senior Jack Thompson has 13 catches for 138 yards and 2 touchdowns on the season as well, sophomore Ty Spoko leads the Indians with 24.6 yards per reception. Sam Klaassen leads the ground attack for Forest City, with 417 yards and 6 touchdowns off 95 carries in 2023, as they challenge for the Indians will be protecting Ty Dillavou from a fast, deceiving 3-3 stack defense provided by the Cowboys.
Defensively, Forest City has seen a stellar senior season from linebacker Grant Wooge. Wooge has a team-high 53.5 tackles and 6 tackles for loss, as Wooge’s 53.5 tackles makes him the top tackler in Class 2A through the first 5 weeks, as Wooge has also recovered a fumble and made an interception. Triston Brandsoy has led the charge up front for the Indians, with 9 tackles, 7.5 tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks on the season, while fellow defensive lineman Nick Dontje has 18.5 tackles for 4 tackles for loss. Linebacker Sam Klaassen has also provided sparks on defense, with 23 tackles and 4 tackles for loss, while junior linebacker Parker Cox has a 1.5 tackles for loss, half a sack and has recovered a team-high 3 fumbles. Jack Thompson and Vinton Feldman lead the secondary with 1 interception each on the season.
Clarion-Goldfield-Dows will look to be more efficient with the football on offense following their loss to Estherville-Lincoln Central. Carson Nesheim threw 2 interceptions in the loss, while completing just 4-of-14 passes. However, CGD did find a compliment to running back Diego Gonzalez in the backfield, with freshman speedster Charlie Campbell, who had both of CGD’s touchdowns on Friday. The CGD defense will welcome the challenge of the Forest City passing attack, as cornerbacks Colin Kirstein and Wyatt Decoster have combined for 4 interceptions on the season.
Kickoff is slated for 7 PM at the CGD Football Field at CGD Middle School in Clarion.