OTTUMWA — The two-week warm-up period is over now and the games are for real as area teams open up district football play tonight on nearby high school gridirons.

Area Class 2A schools seemed to get the better of area Class 3A schools over the first two weeks of the season. Class 2A teams Albia and Davis County are both 2-0 after wins over 3A teams Fairfield and Centerville.

Last Friday, Albia (2-0) scored with 12.4 seconds remaining in the first half with a 12-yard touchdown pass from junior Brett Leshen to sophomore Ryan Sarver as the Blue Demons took a 7-0 win over Class 3A Centerville. Billed as the “Battle of Highway 5,” they 103rd contest between the two teams was a defensive struggle. Sarver finished with 84 yards on the ground as Albia was limited to under 160 yards of total offense.

The Blue Demon defense was stingy as well, as Albia also held Centerville under 160 total yards and kept the Big Reds out of the end zone and off the scoreboard.

Clarke (3-0) will be another tough test for the Blue Demons, as they come into Albia with wins over Clarinda, West Central Valley and Saydel. Junior quarterback Dalton Sweeney has thrown for 457 yards and five touchdowns while senior back Logan Wiers has 230 yards rushing and three rushing touchdowns on the season.

Ryan Fullenkamp was the hero for Davis County (2-0) last week, as he kicked his first career field goal under pressure, splitting the uprights from 20 yards with 18.6 seconds left to give Davis County a 27-26 win over Fairfield.

On the season, Mustang quarterback Calvin Utt has 411 passing yards with six touchdowns to go with his 213 rushing yards. Colton Roberts has rumbled for 168 yards rushing while Damon Dixon has 11 catches for 208 yards and four scores and Park Mikels has five catches for 96 yards and two scores.

Interstate-35 — Davis County’s opponent this week — is 0-2 coming into tonight’s game. They suffered a 49-6 loss to Winterset in the season opener and suffered a 62-27 loss to Central Decatur last week. Junior Briar Vogel leads I-35 with 125 rushing yards while senior quarterback Tommy Bregar has 230 passing yards and three touchdowns.

In Class 3A, District 7, Centerville (0-2) is at Keokuk (0-2) tonight. Centerville junior Grant Walker rushed for 115 yards on 23 carries against Albia, while Riley Denny leads the Centerville defense with 31 tackles in two games.

Keokuk was expected to be a title contender in District 7, but the Chiefs are off to a rough start after losses to Ottumwa and Mediapolis. Gabe Vandenberg has thrown for 415 yards and three touchdowns in two games, but has also been picked off three times.

It’s been a season of heartbreak so far for Fairfield, as the Trojans (0-2) have suffered a pair of close losses to 2A schools. Down 27-0 at Albia in week one, the Trojans battled back to 27-20 before they ran out of time. Then came the heartbreaking loss in the final seconds to Davis County at home last week. Dillon Fry rushed for 97 yards and passed for 164 in that contest. Fairfield’s opponent tonight, Washington (1-1), opened the season with a 30-0 win over Mid-Prairie then took a 16-10 loss to Pella last week.

In Class 3A, District 8, Norwalk (2-0) is at Chariton (1-1) while Oskaloosa (0-2) is at Carlisle (1-1).

In Class 1A, District 6, Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont (1-1) plays at Cardinal (2-0) tonight. The Rockets and Comets will get to know each other as district rivals for the first time. E-B-F will hope that their offense can pick up a pace that was similar to their opening-week 36-15 win over Pleasantville. Junior quarterback Trevor Swartz was nearly perfect in the E-B-F win, completing 11 of 15 passes for 187 yards while tossing two touchdowns to junior Cory Archer.

While E-B-F struggled from week one to week two, Cardinal built up more momentum after opening the season with a 28-0 shutout against Van Buren. Cardinal’s offense almost doubled their week one effort against the Warriors last Friday, scoring an impressive 55-16 win over Danville.

The victory an impressive night on the ground from Jonathan Pedersen, who joined his senior teammate Dakota Showman in breaking over 100 rushing yards against the Bears. Pedersen’s 140-yard, three touchdown effort included a 71-yard dash while Showman added 115 yards and an eight-yard rushing score. Elsewhere in District 6 tonight, Sigourney-Keota (1-1) plays at Wilton (1-1).

In Class A, District 6, Lynnville-Sully (1-1) plays at Pekin (2-0). The Panthers have been piling up rushing yards this season, as 603 of their 714 total yards have come on the ground. In District 5, Lisbon (1-1) is at Van Buren (0-2).

In area Eight-Player action tonight, Wayne (2-0, 1-0) is at Seymour (0-3, 0-1), Tri-County (1-2) is at Moravia (0-3, 0-1) and East Union (1-2) is at Twin Cedars (0-3).



2012 DISTRICT FOOTBALL STANDINGS

CLASS 4A

Division 3

Dowl. Cath        0-0    3-0

Ottumwa        0-0    2-1   

DM Hoover        0-0    1-2

Marshalltown    0-0    1-2

Mason City        0-0    0-3

CLASS 3A

District 7

Fort Madison    0-0    1-1

Washington        0-0    1-1

Williamsburg    0-0    1-1

Centerville    0-0    0-2

Fairfield        0-0    0-2

Keokuk            0-0    0-2

Mt Pleasant    0-0    0-2

CLASS 3A

District 8

Knoxville        0-0    2-0

Norwalk        0-0    2-0

Chariton        0-0    1-1

Carlisle        0-0    1-1

Pella            0-0    1-1

Winterset        0-0    1-1

Osklaoosa        0-0    0-2

CLASS 2A

District 6

Clarke            0-0    3-0

Albia            0-0    2-0

Davis County    0-0    2-0

Bond-Far        0-0    2-0

C-M-B            0-0    1-2

PCM            0-0    1-2

I-35            0-0    0-2

CLASS 1A

District 6

Cardinal        0-0    2-0

IC Regina        0-0    2-0

Wapello        0-0    2-0

West Branch    0-0    2-0

E-B-F            0-0    1-1

S-K            0-0    1-1

Wilton            0-0    1-1

CLASS A

District 5

WACO            0-0    2-0

Danville        0-0    1-1

Highland        0-0    1-1

Lisbon            0-0    1-1

Van Buren        0-0    0-2

Lone Tree        0-0    0-2

New London        0-0    0-2

Winfield-MU    0-0    0-2

District 6

Pekin            0-0    2-0

B-G-M            0-0    1-1

Montezuma        0-0    1-1

L-S            0-0    1-1

Eng. Valleys    0-0    1-2

Pleasantville    0-0    0-2

SE Warren        0-0    0-2

North Mahaska    0-0    0-3

EIGHT-PLAYER

District 5

Melcher-Dal    1-0    3-0

HLV            1-0    2-0

Wayne            1-0    2-0

Tri-County        0-0    1-2

Meskwaki Set.    0-0    0-2   

Moravia        0-1    0-3

Seymour        0-1    0-3

Twin Cedars    0-1    0-3



TONIGHT’S AREA GAMES

CLASS 4A, Division 3

Des Moines East at Ottumwa

CLASS 3A, District 7

Centerville at Keokuk

Washington at Fairfield

CLASS 3A, District 8

Norwalk at Chariton

Oskaloosa at Carlisle

CLASS 2A, District 6

Clarke at Albia

Interstate 35 at Davis County

CLASS 1A, District 6

Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont at Cardinal

Sigourney-Keota at Wilton

CLASS A, District 5

Lisbon at Van Buren

CLASS A, District 6

North Mahaska at English Valleys

Lynnville-Sully at Pekin

EIGHT-PLAYER, District 5

Wayne at Seymour

Tri-County at Moravia

East Union at Twin Cedars