North, CBTJ meet in key MRAC tilt
Conference lead on the line
By Barry Poebpoe@siouxcityjournal.com | Posted: Friday, October 10, 2008
Call it what you want, but tonight's football game between North High and Council Bluffs Thomas Jefferson will go a long way toward deciding the Missouri River Activities Conference champion.
Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. at Council Bluffs Stadium.
The showdown matches teams with identical 4-2 overall records and 2-0 conference marks. North is the defending MRAC champion and Thomas Jefferson needs a victory to ensure itself of its first winning season since 2003.
Moreover, a victory over North would all but clinch the Yellow Jackets' first-ever trip to the playoffs.
"Each one of our games is big, but to get to our goal of winning the conference outright again and reaching the playoffs, we have to get this one," said North Coach Keith Hanks, Sr. "We're taking it one round at a time and this is round three. We've knocked two out and we have to keep winning to keep rolling to where we want to be."
Similarities abound, with each team relying heavily on a punishing ground attack. Each team has also lost games they probably thought they should have won and each has suffered one-sided losses to Ankeny, ranked No. 8 in Iowa Class 4A.
North lost its season-opener at Marshalltown 27-21 after leading 14-13 at the end of the third quarter. Thomas Jefferson, meanwhile, fell 34-32 to Urbandale in Week 2. Ankeny defeated the Stars 38-8 and Thomas Jefferson 45-8.
"They're well-coached and their kids know how to win," said Thomas Jefferson Coach Steve Cozad. "If we play well against them, it will tell us a lot about ourselves."
North's Josh Folchert, a 6-2, 188-pound senior, is nearing a milestone with 915 rushing yards on 108 carries with nine touchdowns. Folchert rambled for 200 yards, breaking loose for a 78-yard scoring scamper, in a 35-13 victory over city rival East last Friday.
"We're improving each week and we want to keep improving, so our goal this week is to score every time we touch the ball," said Hanks. "We would like to put some points on the board each time and see how many times we stop them."
The Stars have allowed just 13 points in the last three games and posted shutouts over West (14-0) and Des Moines Hoover (39-0).
Thomas Jefferson exploded for 515 rushing yards against West and its potent double-wing offense has racked up over 2,300 yards on the ground. Senior Derek Adkins leads the way with 707 yards and eight touchdowns while classmate Alex Rocha has 523 yards and five scores. Bruce Turpen, a senior quarterback, has rushed for 311 yards and four touchdowns and passed for 179 and four scores.
"They have a real quick team," said Hanks. "We were impressed with their speed and they have a couple of big boys up front who really get the job done. It'll be a big challenge for us, but it's not like we haven't faced a good offensive team before."
Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. at Council Bluffs Stadium.
The showdown matches teams with identical 4-2 overall records and 2-0 conference marks. North is the defending MRAC champion and Thomas Jefferson needs a victory to ensure itself of its first winning season since 2003.
Moreover, a victory over North would all but clinch the Yellow Jackets' first-ever trip to the playoffs.
"Each one of our games is big, but to get to our goal of winning the conference outright again and reaching the playoffs, we have to get this one," said North Coach Keith Hanks, Sr. "We're taking it one round at a time and this is round three. We've knocked two out and we have to keep winning to keep rolling to where we want to be."
Similarities abound, with each team relying heavily on a punishing ground attack. Each team has also lost games they probably thought they should have won and each has suffered one-sided losses to Ankeny, ranked No. 8 in Iowa Class 4A.
North lost its season-opener at Marshalltown 27-21 after leading 14-13 at the end of the third quarter. Thomas Jefferson, meanwhile, fell 34-32 to Urbandale in Week 2. Ankeny defeated the Stars 38-8 and Thomas Jefferson 45-8.
"They're well-coached and their kids know how to win," said Thomas Jefferson Coach Steve Cozad. "If we play well against them, it will tell us a lot about ourselves."
North's Josh Folchert, a 6-2, 188-pound senior, is nearing a milestone with 915 rushing yards on 108 carries with nine touchdowns. Folchert rambled for 200 yards, breaking loose for a 78-yard scoring scamper, in a 35-13 victory over city rival East last Friday.
"We're improving each week and we want to keep improving, so our goal this week is to score every time we touch the ball," said Hanks. "We would like to put some points on the board each time and see how many times we stop them."
The Stars have allowed just 13 points in the last three games and posted shutouts over West (14-0) and Des Moines Hoover (39-0).
Thomas Jefferson exploded for 515 rushing yards against West and its potent double-wing offense has racked up over 2,300 yards on the ground. Senior Derek Adkins leads the way with 707 yards and eight touchdowns while classmate Alex Rocha has 523 yards and five scores. Bruce Turpen, a senior quarterback, has rushed for 311 yards and four touchdowns and passed for 179 and four scores.
"They have a real quick team," said Hanks. "We were impressed with their speed and they have a couple of big boys up front who really get the job done. It'll be a big challenge for us, but it's not like we haven't faced a good offensive team before."
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