LAST MEETING — Woodward-Granger dominated in all facets, strolling to a 56-0 victory. Quarterback Brendan Bird hit 6-of-7 passes for 91 yards and two touchdowns to compliment a ground game that chewed up 351 yards and produced six scores. The W-G defense was stout, suffocating the Academy offense and falling on two fumbles while intercepting a pass.
ABOUT THE HAWKS — W-G opened with a 26-6 win over visiting Madrid and trailed host Van Meter only 7-3 before the Bulldogs pulled away for a 31-3 win.
Bird is 13-24-3 passing for 179 yards, with J.P. Nixon (eight catches, 94 yards) his favorite target through two weeks.
The running attack has produced 385 yards and four TDs on 73 carries. Josh Saak (19-134, 2 TDs), Bird (7-97, 1 TD), Payton Tague (22-86, 1 TD) and Austin Scharlau (22-73) have almost all the carries and yardage.
Scharlau has 20 tackles, Bryce Achenbach 19, Cole Carmen 17.5 and Saak 13.5. Nixon has an interception, with Logan Canova and Gabe Yingst falling on opposition fumbles.
Matt Hansen is 2-for-4 on PAT kicks and 1-of-2 field goals, connecting from 28 yards out. Punter Reese Jamison has been excellent, averaging 43.1 yards on nine punts so far.
ABOUT THE KNIGHTS — The Academy suffered a tough overtime loss, 40-32, at Ogden to start the season, then fell to visiting Panorama, 52-14, last week.
Galvester Robinson II is 12-30-4 for 183 passing and Marc Hughes is 4-13-1 for 60 yards, with each tossing a TD.
Speedster Kareem Wilson has both TDs and three total catches for 131 yards, while Deshawn Johnson has six receptions for 84 yards.
The Knights have rushed for 331 yards and five scores, with Anthony Ward III (37-287, 5 TDs) far and away the lead carrier. No other Knight has more than seven rush attempts.
Ward’s 25.5 tackles leads the defense, with Anthony Green in on 18.5 stops and Demarcus Gee on 16.
OUTLOOK — The Knights have weapons, and, given their particular circumstances, are a team that will always need a few weeks to gel. Ward III has shown explosiveness at times, and Wilson is always one step breaking away.
W-G should be too much to handle, particularly if they receive solid play up front. Bird has not been asked to do much in the passing game and Friday’s game could be one where he is either unneeded and thus throws little, or is given a chance to show what the aerial attack might look like if it is needed down the stretch.
DISTRICT 5
| District | Overall | Point Diff Avg |
|||||
| Win | Loss | Tie | Win | Loss | Tie | ||
| Central Decatur | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Des Moines Christian | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Interstate 35 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Mount Ayr | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Pella Christian | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Pleasantville | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Woodward Academy | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Woodward-Granger | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Friday, Sept. 8
Woodward Academy at Woodward-Granger
Central Decatur at Mount AyrÂ
Des Moines Christian at Pella ChristianÂ
Interstate 35 at Pleasantville
