March 29, 2024

Raiders face similar attack in second round

MOUNT AYR — The Iowa High School Athletic Association is serving Mount Ayr fresh meat on Monday, sending Van Buren of Keosauqua to Raider Country for the second round of the Class A playoffs.

The Raiders have been carnivorous in feasting upon opposing teams’ offenses this year.

Whether it was run-heavy teams like Bedford and Earlham, or the top passing attack in Class A in Colfax-Mingo, Mount Ayr’s defense has dominated Class A competition all year long.

It’s a 127-mile trip for Van Buren to Mount Ayr.

The Raiders sent Colfax-Mingo packing Wednesday with a 63-7 win in the first round, while Van Buren was a 30-28 winner over Belle Plaine in Wednesday’s first round.

And while Van Buren is an unfamiliar opponent, Mount Ayr co-head coach Delwyn Showalter said the Warriors are similar offensively to recent opponents Pleasantville and Colfax-Mingo.

“They remind me a little bit of the last several teams we’ve played,” he said. “They’re a team that likes to spread the field and throw the ball a lot. They’re a little more balanced than Colfax-Mingo was. Van Buren will run it some. They have a fairly mobile quarterback. They rely on him to do a lot of things.”

Garrett Saunders has completed 61.7 percent of his passes for 1,833 yards with 25 touchdowns and nine interceptions.

He primarily has four weapons on the outside, led by Will Mertens with 40 catches and 709 yards with 10 touchdowns. Brandon Plecker adds 34 catches for 679 yards with 10 touchdowns. Brayden Starnes has 25 catches for 264 yards, while Noah Whitten adds 15 catches for 110 yards and four scores.

Saunders is the second-leading rusher on the team with 657 yards and six touchdowns, averaging 7.4 yards per carry. Vaughn Helling leads the Warriors with 736 yards and 13 touchdowns on the ground.

“A lot of things we did last week in preparation for Colfax-Mingo are going to carry over really well this week” Showalter said. “Emphasis on pass defense and how we want to handle trips and spread sets, that’s going to continue where we left off.”

Showalter said he expects to see a five-man front from Van Buren, although the Warriors are likely to mix up looks on the defensive side of the ball.

Two areas Mount Ayr holds a decided advantage over the Warriors are size and depth.

“They don’t have as much size as we do,” Showalter said. “They don’t appear on film of games we have, don’t appear to be real physical games. They don’t appear to be a real deep team. I think they have 30 on their roster. That’s another thing we think we have in our favor. We’ve been able to play a lot of people and rotate people and keep them fresh.”

Van Buren has had seven players carry the ball and six players catch a pass this year. In contrast, Mount Ayr has 14 players with eight or more carries this year and 13 players have caught a pass.

Junior Kyle Dolecheck, a state track champion in the spring, returned to the Mount Ayr lineup Wednesday after suffering a fractured arm on Oct. 3. Dolecheck was one of four Mount Ayr runners who neared the century mark in rushing yards on Wednesday.

Mount Ayr, 9-1 overall and District 8 champion, will be the third district champion that Van Buren (8-2) will have played this year.

The Warriors lost to Montezuma in non-district play and to Pekin in district action.

“We’d like to keep that streak alive, of them losing to district champions,” Showalter said.

The Raiders and Warriors will meet at Raider Stadium, with game time scheduled for 7 p.m.