Friday Night Football

This is the article that was featured on the news on Tues already - I have a feeling that this game is going to be packed and lots of fun - Neither team has ever advanced to the third round of tournaments and now both are there but only one team can advance to play at the Dome!!


11/03/2009 10:56 PM
HSFB: The Battle For Hull, IA
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In a day and age where co-ops are king, its rare for two teams to call one small town home. But that's the situation in Hull, Iowa for Boyden-Hull/Rock Valley and Western Christian. And when the two sides meet Friday night in the Class 2A quarterfinals, moving on won't be the only thing at stake. Despite cliches like "taking it one game at a time" or "it's just another game," not even the coaches can deny Friday's matchup between Boyden-Hull/Rock Valley and Western Christian is a little different. "It's a unique dynamic," said Boyden-Hull/Rock Valley coach Cory Brandt. "A lot of times, to go to the UNI Dome, you're playing somebody you don't know. But in this game, we're going to play somebody we're extremely familiar with and the people know everyone in town. It will be a lot of fun." The Nighthawks and Wolfpack are a combined record of 21-1 this season. That one defeat came when the two teams played each other in October, a game Boyden-Hull/Rock Valley won 31-21. "The first game we played, I'm pretty sure there was no one left in the town," said Boyden-Hull/Rock Valley quarterback Josh Vander Maten. "Everyone was at the game, it was filled up, everyone was supporting their team."So is it going to be like that on Friday?"Oh, I'm sure," Vander Maten said. "Plus some other towns.""It'll be a town divided, there's no doubt about it," Brandt said. "There's a pretty sharp divide between those for Western and those for us, but that's the excitement in it."Western Christian has been designated as the "official" home team for Friday. Is that a home field advantage?It depends on who you ask. "It's kind of nice for us, we get to be in the home stands and stand on the home side," said Western Christian head coach Travis Kooima. "It's a little bit of an advantage, but not much though.""That's our home field too," Brandt said. "We still consider that our home place, there's no doubt about it. But yeah, they're designated home, they'll wear that jersey, we'll stand on the other side, but it's still a home field for us." And while neither team wants to lose the intra-city battle, the fact that there is a battle is a testament to the town. "I think we have a lot of pride in that, having so many athletes from such a little area," said Western Christian running back Theo Bartman. "We're going at each other to go to the Dome, it should be really exciting and fun." Friday's battle will also pit student against teacher. Kooima is a former player for the Nighthawks and coach Cory Brandt. The two will come head-to-head at 7 PM Friday night.