The #1 (1A) Grundy Center football team will begin the playoffs by hosting Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont in a 1A first round game Friday.
The defending champion Spartans (8-0, 5-0 1A-4) have completed the program’s third consecutive undefeated regular season, and each game was decided by multiple possessions. Throughout the season, the Spartans have compiled one of the more complete offenses in Class 1A. Quarterback Judd Jirovsky’s 30 touchdowns and 18 passing touchdowns are both the third-most in the Class. Tiernan Vokes has the second-most receiving yards and receiving touchdowns in 1A. Defensively, Grundy Center has given up just 26 points to opponents in district play.
Head Coach Travis Zajac says his team will be ready for the playoff atmosphere.
“You don’t do what you’re supposed to do and you don’t take it seriously, and you know, you’ve got a really good chance of of losing that football game,” Zajac says. “And obviously you don’t want to be put in that position. We’ve done a really good job historically here of really being dialed in during playoff weeks and doing the work necessary to put themselves in a position to be successful. So that’s what I’m kind of leaning on this week.”
Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont (2-6, 2-3 1A-6) enters off last week’s 79-6 loss at #7 (1A) Sigourney Keota, where they were torched defensively while gaining just 95 yards on offense. They earned the #4-seed in the district with wins over Cardinal and Colfax-Mingo.
It’ll be the first meeting between the programs. The kickoff will be at 7:00 p.m.
