The Waterboys program airs every Football Friday at 6:05 pm on KIWA AM 1550/FM 100.7 and KIWA FM 105.3. Jordan Harmelink, LA, and Stino couldn’t cut it as players back in the day, so instead bring you high quality insights and coaches interviews from the sidelines across Northwest Iowa.
Unity Christian vs Gehlen Catholic
Unity Christian is looking to take “that next step” heading into the 2019 season.
Knight’s Head Coach Josh Van Kempen breaks down what Unity has done in the offseason to get to that next step
The Knights week 1 opponent is Gehlen Catholic. Van Kempen breaks down what he has seen of the Jays.
Van Kempen says the keys to the game starts with the defense understanding their responsibilities.
Kick off is at 7 pm at Korver Field, De Valois Stadium on the campus of Northwestern College in Orange City.
South O’Brien vs GTRA
The South O’Brien Wolverines return many of their 2018 starters this season.
Last Friday, the Wolverines scrimmaged against Cherokee, and Head Coach Mark Fuhrman liked what he saw.
Looking at the tape for South O’Brien’s week one opponent GT/RA, Furhman says the defensive front of the Titans is what gets his attention.
Coach Furhman says the keys to a Wolverines victory goes back to the fundamentals.
Kick off between the Wolverines and Titans is at 7 pm in Paullina
Hartley-Melvin- Sanborn vs Okoboji
The HMS Hawks put up over 35 points five different times last season en route to a 6-3 record in 2018.
After losing many seniors to graduation, Head Coach Tyler Horkey says even with the new players taking over, it’s been a seamless transition.
After losing Brett Wohlert to graduation, the Hawks have three choices at quarterback this season.
HMS’s week one opponent is Okoboji, and Coach Horkey gives us his opinion of the Pioneers.
Horkey’s keys to the game is simple, execute.
Kick off is at 7 pm in Okoboji
Central Lyon/George-Little Rock vs West Lyon
Central Lyon/George-Little Rock heads into the 2019 season looking to build off the momentum from the end of last season that saw the Lions win their last four regular season games.
“I thought we played extremely well those last few games,” said CL/GLR head coach Curtis Eben as he heads into his third season at the helm of the program. “Even those first five games I felt we did a lot of things well, but we just didn’t do it consistently and against good competition you can’t do that. Those last four games we did the little things like blocking and tackling well. When you do those little things right, good things will happen.”
Tonight in their season opener against West Lyon the Lions will look to break in a new starting quarterback.
Junior Ben Anderson will start at QB for the Lions as senior Colby Postma recovers from an illness. After a scrimmage last week against the Hinton Blackhawks, Eben was encouraged with what we saw from Anderson.
“He’s come a long ways the last couple of years. Last week against Hinton he had composure and he controlled the offense. We’re excited to see what he can do Friday night.”
Eben said with West Lyon there are no secrets.
“They’ll be physical, line up and pound the ball at you,” Eben said. “Last year I thought we played them well defensively. Our alignment and physicality was where it needed to be, so hopefully we can replicate that this year.”
Kick off between the Lions and Wildcats in the annual Beef Bowl is set for 7 pm in Larchwood.
Western vs MOC-Floyd Valley
With many battles going on for starting positions heading into week one, Western Christian Head Coach Travis Kooima utilized last Friday’s scrimmage to see who his starters will be.
Delving into the tape for the the Wolfpack’s week one opponent MOC-Floyd Valley, Coach Kooima says the little things that the Dutch do grab his attention.
Kooima’s keys to the game is tempo and rhythm.
Coach Hegstad of MOC-Floyd Valley says the Dutchmen’s scrimmage against Sibley-Ocheyedan was very beneficial.
Hegstad says Western’s athleticism makes Western a difficult team to prepare for.
The key to a Dutch victory according to Hegstad is a full four quarter effort.
Kick off is at 7 pm at A.R. Hesla Field in Hull.
Sheldon vs Sibley-Ocheyedan
The Sheldon Orabs open the season on the road at Sibley-Ocheyedan. The Generals bring a lot of experience to the season opener.
That’s Orab Head Coach Tyler Lloyd. The coach added that the Generals will come in with the guns fully loaded for the opener.
First year Head Coach Tate Kellenberger will guide the Generals this season. Kellenberger comes from a strong winning tradition having played high school ball at West Lyon before his college career as a Northwestern Red Raider.
Kellenberger would like his team to be physical on offense.
The Coach says the key to the game doesn’t need to be made more complicated than is really is.
The Coach Kory Roos joins LA for the broadcast again this year on FM 100.7 and AM 1550.
BHRV vs West Sioux
In Hawarden it’s a battle of State ranked teams that both went to the Dome last season. The Falcons are the defending Class 1A Champions and topped the preseason poll this year. Boyd Hull Rock Valley is ranked #2 in the first 2A poll of the season.
Nighthawks Head Coach Cory Brandt says while last season was special that was last year and the focus will remain the same for his team each week of this season.
Brandt says while there is some history between the two teams it’s still difficult to prepare for a season opener.
Falcons Head Coach Ryan Schwiesow is well aware of the Nighthawks athleticism.
The story of West Sioux quarterback Hunter Dekkers has been well documented. What may not be known is how much work he put in during the off season.
Jon and Justin Hellinga bring you season long coverage of Nighthawk football on KIWA FM 105.3. Opening kickoff is set for 7:00 and will be streamed from the website at www.kiwaradio.com.
Remsen St. Mary’s vs Audubon
Rated teams collide in 8-man as fifth ranked Remsen St. Mary’s hosts number-seven Audubon. Remsen St. Mary’s coach Zach Arnold says the Wheelers have a lot of weapons.
Arnold says Audubon has some explosive players.
Arnold says the Hawks have a lot of experience.
Kick off is at 7 pm in Remsen.
Northwestern College
Expectations are always high when it comes to Northwestern College Football and this year is no exception. Northwestern was ranked 11th in the NAIA preseason poll released earlier this month and the Red Raiders return 19 starters.
With a great deal of talent and experience back this year there is a chance to do something special. Head Coach Matt McCarty agrees.
We asked about the high number of area players on the roster. Is it a result of a conscious effort to recruit the area or just the high level of talent in northwest Iowa?
Northwestern went 8-1 in the GPAC last season and hosted Dickinson State of North Dakota in an NAIA FCS first round match-up, the first home playoff game since 2006. The Red Raiders will host Valley City State in the season opener on Saturday September 7th
ISU vs UNI
Northern Iowa coach Mark Farley says the Panthers are ready for a game. UNI opens at Iowa State.
Farley says this is by far the best Cyclone team he has coached against. Iowa State enters the season nationally ranked for the first time since 1978.
Iowa State coach Matt Campbell hopes to see a more multiple offense in Saturday’s opener against Northern Iowa. Running back David Montgomery and receiver Hakeem Butler are gone but the line is experienced and quarterback Brock Purdy returns for his sophomore season from an offense that ranked seventh in the Big-12 a year ago.
Campbell says the defense will be challenged by UNI quarterback Will McElvain. The redshirt freshman was going to walk on at Iowa State as a defensive back but decided to walk on at UNI as a quarterback.
Kick off is at 11:00 am at Jack Trice Stadium in Ames.
Miami (OH) vs Iowa
Miami of Ohio coach Chuck Martin says experience at quarterback is one of the concerns heading into Saturday night’s season opener at 20th ranked Iowa. Nate Stanley is set to begin his third season as the Hawkeye starter under center.
Miami of Ohio was 6-6 a year ago and Martin wants his team to be physically and mentally tougher.
Dordt vs Keiser Recap
Keiser (Florida) jumped out to a 24-0 halftime lead and rode that advantage to an eventual 34-21 win over the Dordt Defenders in non-conference football on Thursday night in Sioux Center.
Keiser marched 61 yards to open the game, settling for a 38 yard field goal that just cleared the cross bar to give the Seahawks a 3-0 lead. Keiser faced third and eight on the first series of downs but the Defenders couldn’t get the stop to force a punt.
Dordt answered with a drive that got to the Keiser four yard line after a 30 yard completion from Noah Clayberg to Levi Jungling. A lost fumble on the next play ended the drive and Keiser responded with a 95 yard drive that culminated with a nine yard pass for a touchdown with 3:19 left in the quarter.
Keiser added drives of 94 yards and 31 yards to build the lead to 24-0 at halftime.
Dordt’s first score came with 8:23 left in the third quarter when Levi Schoonhoven capped a three play drive that was set up by a Sam Warner fumble recovery at the Keiser 26.
Keiser had an answer with a 12 play, 65 yard drive that ended with an eight yard touchdown pass with 2:51 left in the quarter to establish a 31-8 Keiser lead.
Dordt’s second score came with 14:21 left in the game on a Tyler Reynolds keeper from one yard out for a 31-15 deficit after the point after by Brett Zachman.
Keiser tacked on a field goal to finish their scoring and Dordt had a 14 play, 77 yard drive to end the scoring with 4:17 left in the game on a Charley Young eight yard touchdown run.
