Thursday’s Class 1A Football Championship game will be the biggest game in history between Grundy Center and Dike-New Hartford.
Wolverine coach Don Betts says it’ll be a meeting between two historically strong programs.
“It’s two excellent football programs, two great groups of kids,” Betts says. “The kids on their team, they’ve got some exceptional athletes down there. I think we’ve got some really good athletes. The programs are both top-notch programs. I think both of them go about it the right way. I don’t think you could get a better matchup for a championship game than this one between these two schools.”
Dike-New Hartford leads the all-time series 13-7, but Grundy Center has won four straight. The Spartans won 21-7 in Week 1 and 40-0 in last year’s quarterfinal round, which was the first postseason meeting between the programs.
Grundy Center coach Travis Zajac says it’ll be a historic meeting between the schools that are separated by just 15 miles in Grundy County, but that won’t matter when the game kicks off.
“It’s going to have a ton of meaning for all involved,” Zajac says. “Obviously the kids that are playing on the field, the staffs on both sidelines, both school districts, both communities, the county. It’s a special thing. But we still understand that at 4:06 on Thursday afternoon when that ball kicks off, it’s a high school football game. And who can play longer, who can play harder, who can play cleaner is going to win the football game. And they’re good, we’re good, it’s the two best teams left in the state. Can’t wait.”
Grundy Center is 5-3 in state championship games, including wins in the 2023 Class 1A championship game and the 2022 Class A championship game. Dike-New Hartford is 0-5 in championship games, having last appeared in 2018 in Class 1A.
Thursday’s game will start at 4:00 p.m. and will air on 99 The Wave.
Don Betts interview:
Travis Zajac interview:
