Rematch for the dome

MARENGO - On a wet and rainy October weekend in Marengo, the two best teams in Class 8-Man's fourth district met with first place on the line. Undefeated New London, ranked No. 1 in a handful of polls, traveled to face also undefeated Iowa Valley, who had climbed up the rankings themselves.

In a game that had to be moved to Saturday due to lightning the night before, previously unblemished New London suffered their lone setback, falling 22-12 on a wet and sloppy field and relinquishing control of the district title.

The result was a bit curious when looking at the rest of the district schedule. New London trounced third-place H-L-V 51-16 in the season opener, and Iowa Valley had to squeak out a 32-30 win over that same team at the end of the regular season. Iowa Valley had to battle against WACO, winning 46-32 in their second game, and New London thrashed the Warriors 71-12 just two weeks later.

Take out the defacto district championship game, and New London looked to be the class of the district. So was Iowa Valley's 10-point win in the biggest game of the regular season just a product of a sloppy field and a rescheduled contest, or does Iowa Valley just simply have New London's number? On Friday, Nov. 2, that question will be answered.

It might not be ideal weather for the speedy New London team, with rain scheduled for the afternoon hours in Marengo, but the field should be much different from the first time the two squads met up. On that day, star New London running back Keontae Luckett went for just 54 yards on the ground and 35 yards receiving, his worst game of the season. Quarterback Isaac McSorley, who has gashed teams with his arm and scrambling ability all year, threw for just 75 yards and ran for 23.

The Iowa Valley offense didn't have a banner day themselves. Junior dual-threat quarterback Ben Smith, who has now thrown for 909 yards and rushed for 1,113, was held to just 115 yards passing and 69 yards rushing. Smith finished with three total touchdowns, accounting for all Iowa Valley scores, but did throw three interceptions. McSorley was picked off twice on the other side.

With conditions improving for the second matchup between the two in Friday's Class 8-Man quarterfinal, one would expect the game to look more like a track meet.Especially since Iowa Valley scored a whopping 92 points against Wyoming Midland in the quarterfinals (albeit giving up 46 themselves), and New London winning 60-12 over District 5 champion Gladbrook-Reinbeck.

Luckett showed out in the first round game last Friday night, going for 176 yards and four touchdowns on the ground. Fellow running back Jordan Johnson ran all over Gladbrook-Reinbeck as well, finishing the night with 191 yards and two scores.

In Marengo, Iowa Valley had a couple of huge games on the ground as well. Senior running back Noah Mumby, who carries quite a bit of the load along with Smith, went for 188 yards and two touchdowns on the ground. Smith ran for 174 yards and found the end zone four times on the ground.

Whether Friday night's game is a defensive struggle like in early October, or a back-and-forth shootout, it is sure to be a night to remember, especially for the winner. The winner, of course, gets to head to Cedar Falls the following Thursday for the state semifinals at the UNI-dome.

'I can't even explain how much we want to beat those guys,” Luckett said after the Gladbrook-Reinbeck win last Friday. 'They're a good team, so we just have to play our best game still. We can't just come out thinking we're going to win. We have to play hard.”

The game, which will be played in Marengo at 7 p.m., is one of 24 games being played across Iowa on Friday night, all of them play-in games for the dome. In the other 8-Man games, Exira/Elk Horn-Kimballton will host Freemont-Mills, Don Bosco will host Rockford and Westside Ar-We-Va will play host to Southeast Warren.

The remaining four 8-Man teams will kick off the festifities in Cedar Falls the next Thursday, Nov. 8. Both 8-Man games will be either in the morning or afternoon, and the championship game will be a morning game the next weekend.