The #1 (1A) Grundy Center football team will appear in the UNI-Dome for the sixth consecutive season when it takes on #6 (1A) Wilton in a 1A semifinal Friday on 99 The Wave.
The two-time defending state champion Spartans (11-0) will bring a 37-game win streak into the game, which dates to the start of the 2022 season. Head Coach Travis Zajac hopes his team is able to cherish the opportunity.
“It’s something that’s been fairly repetitive in our program in the last couple years, but the goal is to never take it for granted,” Zajac says. “Success is earned, and being able to just still be a team together and do all the things together with meetings and practices and lifts, and all of the things that go along with it. And obviously playing the game, just an abundance of gratitude. I think our kids have done a good job of always kind of putting that in the proper perspective, that we’re doing things that a ton of high school boys and teams in our state would love to be doing right now. We’re definitely not taking it for granted. We’re cherishing the opportunity to compete once again.”
Grundy Center has dispatched its playoff opponents with ease, including a 35-6 quarterfinal win at home over Sumner-Fredericksburg last week. Junior quarterback Judd Jirovsky has proven to be an x-factor, leading Class 1A with 39 touchdowns, including 22 passing with just one interception on the season.
Wilton (10-1) is coming off a 21-14 win at Iowa City Regina in last week’s quarterfinal, which avenged their only regular season loss. With quarterback Drew Keith’s dual-threat ability and stout running game, Zajac sees many similarities between the teams.
“They won their district because of tiebreaker stuff, and then had to go on the road in the quarterfinals and beat the one team that beat them in the regular season. They’ve got a lot of talented players and they do a lot of things stylistically that are similar to what we do. We’re excited for the opportunity to match up with those guys, and we’ll try to turn it into a physical football game.”
Pregame coverage will begin at 9:30 a.m., followed by the kickoff at 10:00. The winner will advance to the 1A championship game against either #2 (1A) Dike-New Hartford or #3 (1A) Hinton.
Travis Zajac interview:
