Friday Football: Class A Week 1 Preview

It’s non-district games all around Class A District 8 as another football season begins.

Both Griswold and East Mills will be on the road Friday night.

Griswold at St. Albert

The Tigers enter this season looking to repeat a trip to the playoffs. But first, they’ll try to avenge their week one loss to St. Albert from last season.

In the opener, Griswold lost 41-7. It was the only time during the season that the Griswold defense gave up 30 or more points.

This Tigers team returns with most of its offensive linemen back, as well as the two leading rushers in Kenneth Clary and Tyler Muhlbauer.

Griswold will try to end its string of losses to St. Albert. They haven’t won against St. Albert since 1995.

East Mills at Shenandoah

The Wolverines will try to avenge their 11-man debut loss from last season when they head to Shenandoah.

East Mills lost several key players from last season, notably quarterback Austin Sommerla, as well as Colden Hillyer.

The team will have Colby Jennings, Michael Story, Travis Tupper and David Howell in the line-up this season.

Shenandoah lost a couple key players in Parker Rice and David Hogue. They will have Sam Kroepel, Jackson Baker and Jose Rendon back though.

Underwood at Treynor

Treynor has won four straight games against Underwood, including last season’s 34-12 victory. Underwood has not won against Treynor since 2008.

Underwood lost quite a few senior starters. Meanwhile, Treynor has their leading rusher back in Dane Livengood, who finished 2012 with 1,215 yards and 17 touchdowns.

Audubon at Riverside

Riverside had two wins in 2012, one against Shenandoah and the other versus West Monona.

Last season, Audubon defeated Riverside in their first meeting against each other since 2007.

Audubon will bring back Trevor Smith, Riley Jones and Dylan Jensen as key players for this season.

Conner Rankin is a key returner for Riverside this season as he led the team in tackles with 69.

Missouri Valley at Logan-Magnolia

Logan-Magnolia has won four straight against Missouri Valley. The last Missouri Valley win came in 2008.

However, Logan-Magnolia enters the season without their two leading rushers in Paul Hutson and Caden McDonald. The team will return Brady Charbonneau and Drake Cohrs.

Maple Valley-Anthon-Ono at West Monona

West Monona was held winless in 2012. In fact, they haven’t won a game since the 2011 season. MVAO defeated West Monona last season 49-6. The last time West Monona had a win over MVAO was 2004.

Tri-Center at A-H-S-T

Last season was the first time Tri-Center and A-H-S-T faced each other since 2003. Tri-Center came out on top in that one 53-14.

Both teams were able to get into the playoffs last season. Tri-Center was eliminated in the first round, while A-H-S-T went out in the second.

Jake Larson was a key loss for A-H-S-T last season. He led the team in rushing, as well as defensively in tackles.

Woodbury Central at Westwood

One of the worst losses last season for Westwood was in their week one opener at Woodbury Central.

Westwood finished 3-6, but won three straight to close out the regular season. Leading tackler Jacob becker is back for Westwood this season.