The Aplington-Parkersburg football team will face another stiff test when it travels to #7 (1A) South Hardin to close non-district play Friday. The game will air on 99 The Wave.
Coming off consecutive losses to begin the season, the Falcons will be in search of their first win. They’ll seek vast improvement on both sides of the ball, having not gained a first down until the fourth quarter in last week’s 43-7 loss to #2 (1A) Grundy Center.
“We’ve got to set the edge and keep them contained,” Interim coach Aaron Thomas says. “They’re not afraid to run up inside between the tight end and tackle or right off tackle. And we have to set that edge. But biggest thing is we got to make sure with a big strong back, we’ve got to get guys there and gang tackle. It can’t be one. And our guys up front have to reestablish the line of scrimmage, which that might look a little different with our size. We’re not going to run right through them. So we may have to get around them, really break down. But I think that’ll be a huge key for us defensively. And then we’ve got to limit the big plays. You can’t give up the long passes, they had I think three long plays last week. They’ve ran the pitch pass three times already this year. So they are not above some trick plays. So we got to make sure we stay home in the secondary.”
South Hardin has started hot, with blowout wins over South Hamilton and Iowa Falls-Alden to begin the season. Several offensive playmakers have made the Tigers a dangerous team, led by running back Jaxson Drury with 344 yards and five touchdowns so far. Head Coach Nick Eller says the matchup with AP is always spirited.
“There’s not a time where we play each other that it’s not a hard fought game,” Eller says. “I think both teams get excited to play each other. We’ve played each other a lot. So there’s a little bit of rivalry there, I think also. But it feels like you’re always going to get their best shot. It’s always a physical game. And I feel that would be that way this year too. You’re going to see a lot of running right at you. Smashmouth football, we like to do that some too. So I think it’s just going to be a good hard fought game. We’ve got to definitely stop their running attack and stay home on a lot of the other stuff they do. And on offense, we’ve just got to get back to playing a full four quarter game like we did the first game versus South Hamilton. We’re going to do that this week versus AP.”
The Falcons won 35-26 when the teams met last year.
Pregame coverage will begin at 6:15 p.m. with the Roling Ford Road to the Dome Warmup Show, followed by the kickoff at 7:00.
Aaron Thomas interview:
Nick Eller interview:
