*photo courtesy of Molly Bird
The Hampton-Dumont-CAL football team will go for its first district win of the season when it visits Charles City for Friday’s Week 8 game, which will air on 104.9 KLMJ.
The Bulldogs (2-5, 0-3 3A-2) are currently at #25 in the Class 3A RPI, meaning an at-large playoff spot is likely out of reach with two weeks left in the regular season. But Head Coach Cole Miller says his student-athletes still have a positive outlook for the remainder of the season.
“They want to go out there and work hard and put their best foot forward every day in practice,” Miller says. “We’ve got a good group of seniors that are leading them and their work ethic speaks for itself. So just them playing for pride and that they’re not going to quit on you, and they’re going to give you their best effort every day. And then just adding a couple more wins to the overall record, that’s another motivating factor too. Want to make that record look as best as they can for these kids that are still competing.”
Hampton-Dumont-CAL will look to bounce back from last week’s 36-0 loss to #10 (3A) Clear Lake, where they recorded just over 100 yards of offense.
Charles City (3-4, 0-3 3A-2) has lost four straight games, and has not competed well in district play, with each loss happening in blowout fashion. However, the Comets boast running back Deacon Caspers, whose 1,220 rushing yards are the fourth-most in Class 3A. Miller says containing the ground game will be a key.
“Their coach is new to their program, kind of like I am semi-new to this program. So he’s building something over there and they had some success early on. So they’re probably going to look to build off of that. I know they have a really tough running back. He carries the load on offense and he’s a big, strong kid that’s tough to tackle. I’m not sure if I’ve seen him get hit and go backwards. So a very physical kid, good runner. Defensively, they got some kids that’ll fly around to the ball and make plays if you let them. So we’ve got to make sure we’re sound in our schemes on offense.”
Hampton-Dumont-CAL has won three straight in the series, including two straight shutouts.
Jon Mohwinkle and Dan Stevens will call the action on 104.9 KLMJ. The Roling Ford Road to the Dome Warmup Show will begin at 6:15 p.m., followed by the kickoff at 7:00.
Cole Miller interview:
