Northwest Iowa — The Iowa football playoffs move into the quarterfinal round Friday night. Boyden Hull Rock Valley is on the road to face Kuemper Catholic with the game site in Denison. The second ranked Nighthawks advanced with a 49-10 opening round win over South Central Calhoun at Hull. The sixth ranked Knights opened with a 21-20 win over number 10 Central Lyon George Little Rock in a game played at Denison. Both teams move into the quarterfinals at 9-1.
A trio of seniors lead the offense for Boyden Hull Rock Valley. Quarterback Brett Moser has completed 116-of-189 passes for 1,777 and 23 touchdowns against 3 interceptions averaging 15.3 yards per completion. Jacob Schafer is the leading rusher with 914 yards on 107 carries for 10 touchdowns. He’s averaging 8.5 yards per carry. Shane Solberg is the leading receiver with 36 receptions for 748 yards and 12 touchdowns. He’s averaging 20.8 yards per catch. Solberg has also rushed for another 9 touchdowns.
Kuemper Catholic is led by senior quarterback Gage Gunnerson who’s completed 89-of-151 for 1,382 yards and 14 touchdowns against 6 interceptions. He’s averaging 15.5 yards per completion. The Knights leading rusher is junior Miles Rupiper with 95 carries for 688 yards and 9 touchdowns. He’s averaging 7.2 yards per carry. The leading receiver for Kuemper Catholic is senior Jacob Schafaer with 41 receptions for 817 yards and 8 touchdowns. He’s averaged 19.9 yards per catch. The Knights have an added weapon in kicker Kyle Derner who has hit 8-of-11 field goal attempts with a long of 47 yards.
Defensively Boyden Hull Rock Valley has picked off 21 passes on the season and recovered 14 fumbles. The Kuemper Catholic defense counters with 10 interceptions and 6 fumble recoveries.
Nighthawks Head Coach Cory Brandt feels the Knights are solid on both sides of the ball.
Brandt says it’s all about protecting the football and making plays.
Kuemper Catholic Head Coach Chad Klein sums up the Nighthawks this way.
As Klein sees it the key and the goal for his Knights is to shorten the game and be productive on each possession.
Jon and Justin have the call from Denison. Pregame on KIWA FM 105.3 begins at 6:05 with the Radio Iowa Scouting Report. We’ll stream from the website at www.kiwaradio.com.
