The Roland-Story Norsemen football team returns to action on Friday night, as they make the trip west on Highway 30 to take on the Greene County Rams in Class 2A, District 8 action at Linduska Field in Jefferson. Roland-Story enters at 3-2 and ranked #10 in Class 2A in the Radio Iowa poll, while Greene County enters at 2-3. Roland-Story won last season’s meeting in Story City by a score of 63-31, but Greene County leads the all-time series 3-1 dating back to 2012.
Greene County enters with a 2-3 record with wins over Perry and Saydel, with losses to Carroll, Atlantic and Kuemper Catholic. The Rams have been a ground-heavy attack to this point in 2024, as senior running back Nick Stream has 524 yards and 6 touchdowns on 93 carries. Crew Conner directs the offense, as the senior quarterback has thrown for 368 yards, 3 touchdowns and 3 interceptions, while rushing for another 137 yards and 2 touchdowns. Conner’s favorite receiver has been Trevor Keely, who’s caught 9 balls for 151 yards and a touchdown, while junior Broc Stream has caught 8 passes for 131 yards and a touchdown. The offensive line does have good size for the Rams, led by upperclassmen such as Bryce Habben, Kamden Kinne and Rafe Michaelsen.
Defensively, the Rams back seven has seen a lot of production so far in 2024. The linebacking core has seen high production, as junior Christopher Daugherty leads the team in tackles with 40.5 and a tackle for loss. Aden Bardole has added 27 tackles and 2.5 tackles for loss, while Nick Stream has 19 tackles and 2 tackles for loss. The defensive backfield is full of veteran talent, led by senior Broc Stream with 18.5 tackles and 2 interceptions. Sophomore Jaron Jacobs leads the unit with 27 tackles, while Camden Jacobs has added 16 tackles. Kamden Kinne has been the bell cow on the defensive line with 22.5 tackles, 4 tackles for loss and 3 sacks.
Roland-Story looks to continue their quest to keep pace in Class 2A, District 8 as the Norsemen still have Des Moines Christian on the horizon, as the Lions play Kuemper Catholic this Friday. If DMC pulls the upset, it opens the door for a 3-way tie in the district that would send the district title to a point differential tiebreaker, but Roland-Story would need to beat DMC first. Look for Roland-Story to continue to sharpen their areal assault similar to last week.
Kickoff is slated for 7 PM at Linduska Field on Friday Night.