Spencer, Ia (KICD) – Four KICD area teams remain as we go to the Iowa High School Football Playoffs Round of 16. Today we will recap the Round of 32 for these teams and meet their opponents for this week.

MMCRU @ West Hancock

The Royals of MMCRU had little trouble with Logan-Magnolia in the round of 32. It was a dominant day on the ground for the Royals, marching for 296 yards and 5 Touchdowns on the ground. That was complimented well by the passing attack. Sophomore Eli Harpenau completed 9 of his 12 attempts for 156 yards, 2 Touchdowns and no interceptions. Defensively for MMCRU, it was a feast in the Panther backfield, collecting 6 sacks, 2 of them coming from John Schmillen. When they weren’t sacking Logan-Magnolia Quarterback Ashton Peszulik, MMCRU still made things difficult for the heavy air attack by the Panthers. Peszulik only completed 12 of his 33 passes for 175 yards, 2 Touchdowns, and an interception. Michael Schmillen had a fumble recovery and an interception on the day.

The difficulty rachets up this week for The Royals. We previewed West Hancock last week before their contest with Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn. The Eagles handled the Hawks, with all of their production coming on the ground, as expected. West Hancock ran for 485 yards and 6 Touchdowns. 240 of those yards came from Brady Bixel, who did that on only 11 carries with Four Touchdowns. West Hancock’s rushing attack couldn’t be stopped and hasn’t been all season long. What sticks out about their round of 32 matchup against Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn, was the Hawks ability to move the football. Most of that was Jack Mastbergen, who passed for 301 and rushed for 118 on his own, totaling for 419 of his team’s 451 yards of offense. MMCRU’s Eli Harpenau has the ability to do similar things with his arm and legs. The question is, can MMCRU’s defense minimize the ground assault by West Hancock’s offense.

Emmetsburg @ South Hardin

Grand View Christian is one of the fastest growing schools in the State. Only 3 years ago, the Thunder were an 8-Player team. Welcome to Small-School 11-Player Football in Northwest Iowa GVC. Emmetsburg, an under seeded team due to a week 9 loss to Manson-Northwest Webster, dismantled Grand View Christian in aa 57-7 drubbing. Thunder Quarterback Judah Lock was able to throw for 259 yards and a Touchdown but did it with a 44.7% completion percentage and 3 interceptions. Grand View couldn’t do anything on the ground, as Emmetsburg held them to -35 rushing yards. Offensively, it was the exact day Emmetsburg wanted to have, getting 389 yards rushing and completing 3 passes for 99 yards.

A long road trip to Eldora is next for the E-Hawks. The Tigers have put together a really nice year, with their only loss coming to the defending State Champions Grundy Center 35-0. Otherwise, it is a ton of blowouts for South Hardin, with their average margin of victory at 25.7. The Tigers offense is a powerful one, averaging 385.2 yards per game. Although capable through the air, they lead with a rushing attack, headed by Senior Jaxson Drury who has 1,275 yards this season and 19 Touchdowns. Quarterback Peyton Welch is efficient, and doesn’t make mistakes in the passing game, only throwing 5 interceptions this season to 18 Touchdowns with a 65.2% completion percentage. The defense has been outstanding at forcing turnovers this year, averaging 2 and a half per game. Sam Benson has 4 interceptions and a fumble recovery on the year. The Tigers effectively routed Pella Christian in the round of 32 40-7. Jaxson Drury went for 250 yards and 3 Touchdowns on 19 carries to highlight a dominant day on the ground for South Hardin.

Osage @ Spirit Lake

Cherokee gave Spirit Lake a scare in the round of 32. Spirit Lake held a 24-7 lead going into the 4th Quarter, and the Braves were able to get within 4, but Spirit Lake held them off for a 31-27 win. Spirit Lake wasn’t able to move the ball on the ground as well as they typically do, only averaging 3.2 yards per carry on 25 attempts. Caden Lundt threw 2 interceptions, which marred an otherwise good day throwing the Football. Cherokee also struggled to move the football on the ground as well as they typically do, carrying the ball 33 times for only 92 yards at a 2.8 clip. It will be interesting to see if this was the toughness of the Cherokee defense, or a sign of more to come for Spirit Lake in the coming rounds.

Osage is their date to the round of 16. The Green Devils will make the 2-and-a-half-hour trip west after rocking Jesup 53-13 in the round of 32. It was a bumpy start to the season for Osage, and their season trends seem to reflect the Quarterback position. Madden Uhlenhopp began the season under center, and after a 35-6 loss to Dike-New Hartford, Sophomore Tate Tabbert would take the starting roll. Tabbert’s campaign ended after a couple of games, and a 35-0 loss to North Fayette Valley. Quinn Street, a Junior, would then take the reins, and Osage is 4-0 since. I don’t know the nature of the changes at the position, or if injury is involved, but Quinn Street seems to be what’s working, especially after the route of Jesup in the first round. They have a balanced attack on the ground, with no one runner breaking away from the rest, but the team averages 4.6 yards per carry this season with 1,140 total.

ADM @ Spencer

It was a disappointing final game in what was a strong regular season for Spencer. It was a sloppy night for the Tigers, in a game they certainly had a lot of opportunities to win. But the 24-20 loss didn’t change the way the District fell, with Spencer taking the title and homefield advantage in the first round of the 4A Playoffs.

They will need that homefield advantage, and a few other things to go their way when they host Adel-DeSoto-Minburn Friday night at Dale Norton Field. ADM, also the Tigers, ended the season at 7-2, with losses to the #1 team in 4A RPI, and the #6 team in 4A RPI. BCMoore ranks ADM as the #7 schedule in Class 4A. Statistically, ADM runs the ball effectively, with just under 2,000 yards on the ground this season. Both Hudson Shull and Jonathon Hatchitt have over 100 carries this season with Shull, the Quarterback at 846 yards and Hatchitt has 644. Along with his ability to scramble, Shull has been strong through the air, completing almost 60 percent of his passes for 1203 yards this season with a 12-8 Touchdown to Interception ratio. ADM forces a lot of turnovers, specifically via the interception, snatching 17 of them this year and taking two of them back for Touchdowns. Brayden Rynearson alone has picked off 5 passes.