The #2 (1A) Dike-New Hartford football team will begin the playoffs by hosting Ogden in a 1A first round game Friday.
The Wolverines (7-1, 5-0 1A-3) have proven to be among the best in Class 1A this season, having completely dominated district play. They’ve surged with a stifling defense that gave up just 26 points in district play. The offense has been led by running back Noah Borcherding, whose 1,337 all-purpose yards are the fifth-most in Class 1A.
Head Coach Don Betts says the team’s work throughout the season has put itself in a great position to succeed in the playoffs.
“One of the things our kids wanted was to be undefeated district champion,” Betts says. “They didn’t want to share that. We’ve gotten a piece of the district championship the last couple of years. They wanted to make sure that they took that thing outright. They’ve accomplished that. They wanted to set themselves up to not have the long road trips. Last year we had some really long road trips in the playoffs, and they’ve done that. So we’ve put ourselves in position to make a postseason run, and now it’s a matter of getting dialed in and focused for that.”
Ogden (2-6, 2-3 1A-7) is coming off last week’s 44-14 win over Nodaway Valley, which helped secure their playoff spot. They were second in a three-way tie for third, earning the #4-seed. It’s a pass-heavy team, and quarterback CeJay Jones enters with the second-most passing yards in Class 1A with 1,738.
It’ll be the first-ever meeting between the programs. The kickoff will be at 7:00 p.m. at Gunderson Sports Complex.
