August 31, 2018 By Chris Varney
The Grinnell Tigers (1-0) go on the road to battle the Comets of Alleman North Polk (1-0) in a Week 2 match-up, coverage on 1410 KGRN and myiowainfo.com.
The Tigers are coming off a 27-12 win over Wellman Mid-Prairie. Senior QB Drew Coffman led the way with 203 yards of total offense. The passing game was a little off — Drew was 14-22 for 101 yards. 2 TD and 1 INT — but he did some serious damage on the ground with 17 carries for 101 yards and a TD. GHS used some trick-eration as Cole McGriff threw a 35 yard TD to Owen Coffman off of a backwards lateral. Owen had 4 catches for 70 yards and 2 scores while TE Matayas Durr had 4 catches for 26 yards. Six different receivers caught a pass.
The big reason for the win was the defense. Head Coach Brian Sauser gave tremendous credit to inside linebackers Eli Rose and Wyatt Hunter, both sophomores who combined for 27 tackles. Senior CB Eli Ivanov has earned a starting spot this week after shutting down Mid Prairie’s Justin Schwartz in the second half and making a great interception early in the 4th quarter to end a Wellman drive. Grinnell forced 3 turnovers, all in the 4th quarter after the weather delay to preserve the victory.
North Polk beat Nevada 49-35 last Friday. The Comets amassed 293 yards on the ground led by Junior Logan Engebretson with 12 carries for 121 yards and a TD. Senior QB Colten Parkins ran for 86 yards and was 9-18 passing for 97 yards, 3 TD, and 1 INT. Parkins favorite target was Senior Quentin Sommers who had 4 catches for 52 yards, 31 coming on one play for a TD.
The Comets defense made plays as well — Junior Trevor Mathis returned an interception 29 yards for a TD and got another turnover on a fumble recovery. Nevada, however, did generate 332 yards on offense, 227 through the air. Nevada QB Kody Krushwitz threw for 224 yards and 5 TD.
One player to watch for North Polk will be #44 Caleb Lomica, who is a Division I recruit on defense. He goes both ways, lining up at tight end and linebacker. Lomica had 8 tackles on defense, 1 TFL and 1 catch for 16 yards on offense. He has offers from UNI, South Dakota and Central Michigan — Iowa and Iowa St. both have him on their radar but he appears to be a fallback plan for the Hawkeyes and Cyclones if other guys fall through.
Grinnell beat North Polk 24-23 last year on a last second field goal from Wyatt Dillon so the Comets will remember. Lomica did not play in that game because of an injury. If this were at T.T. Cranny Field, the Tigers would have the edge but its on the road so anything can happen. Both teams are coming off big wins. Grinnell will have to control the ground game and the offense will have to create first downs and move the football in the short passing game.
The forecast is calling for scattered showers and thunderstorms in the North Polk district but chances of rain around game time appear to diminish so — knock on wood — there will be a window to play the game without a weather delay.
Game time is at 7:30, our coverage starts with the Tiger Pre-Game at 7:05 on KGRN.
Interview with North Polk Head Coach Evan Groepper