The Roland-Story Norsemen football team returns to action on Friday night, as they host the Southeast Valley Jaguars in Class 2A, District 8 action on homecoming at Kerry Van Winkle Field in Story City. Roland-Story won last year’s meeting in Gowrie 20-14, as the Norsemen lead the all-time series against Southeast Valley and its predecessors 3-1, dating back to 1969.
Southeast Valley enters Friday’s matchup with a 2-2 record after decisive home loss in their District 8 opener to Des Moines Christian, by a score of 33-6. Despite struggling to run the ball against the Lions, the Jaguars have been a run-focused team, as senior running back Brady Hanson leads the way by rushing for nearly 400 yards and 5 touchdowns in the first 4 games of the season. Quarterback Cale Vansickle is a dual-threat athlete as well, rushing for 361 yards and 6 touchdowns in addition to his 516 passing yards and 4 touchdowns. Vansickle’s favorite target in the passing game is sophomore receiver Logan Jaeschke, who’s caught 18 passes for 215 yards and 2 touchdowns. Gauge Jones has been the Jaguars most explosive receiver, catching 9 passes for 219 yards and 2 touchdowns, averaging 24.3 yards per catch. Southeast Valley’s offensive line has taken hit with Nathan Graves’s absence due to injury.
Defensively, the Jaguars back seven has been the highlight of the season so far, with Brady Hanson leading the team in tackles at linebacker with 24.5 tackles and 2.5 tackles for loss. Fellow linebackers Drew Temple and Lenis Albee have added 15 tackles and 13.5 tackles each. The secondary is led by a pair of sophomores in Logan Jaeschke and Casey Hanson, as Hanson leads the Jaguars in interceptions with 2 on the season. Cale Vansickle also has double digit tackles on the season as well. Southeast Valley’s defensive line has struggled to find a consistent playmaker with the absence of Nathan Graves.
Roland-Story will try and bounce back following their overtime loss at Kuemper Catholic a week ago. The Norsemen struggled to throw the football a majority of the game, and Friday could be a get-right game for Roland-Story in that aspect. The Norsemen defense will have stiff test with Jaguars two-headed rushing attack.
Kickoff is slated for 7 PM at Kerry Van Winkle Field in Story City on Friday Night.