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5 IOWA VS. THE NATIONIowa’s best youth football players compete in Football University National Championship.

6 BLADES OF GLORYA pair of Des Moines high school hockey teams are enjoying success.

18-19 B-BALL NEWS AND NOTESTop performances and developing storylines from around the state.

20 A SEASON TO REMEMBERGrand View wraps up a stellar season on the gridiron.

Editor’s NoteIn this issue, we take a look at what it takes and what it means to become a four-time state wrestling champion, with insights from a pair of decorated for-mer preps. Also read up on the Des Moines Oak Leafs and Capitals, both of whom are near the top of the Midwest High School Hockey League standings. And the high school season may be long since over, but Des Moines has played host to youth and college playoff games in recent weeks; check out stories on Grand View and Team Iowa (Football University National Championships)! You’ll also find news and notes for boys and girls hoops inside! C

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Youth Academy

4 SportsSpotlight.comVolume 2 Issue 4

DES MOINES HOSTS NATIONAL PLAYOFFSTork Mason | Editor-in-Chief

The high school football season had been over for a month, but the lights were on at Valley Stadium in West Des Moines. No, the Class 4A state semifinalist Valley Tigers weren’t taking to the ice-caked turf in mid-December; instead, some of the state’s best youth players were there, fighting to move one step closer to a national championship.

Three different Team Iowas — at the sixth, seventh and eight grade levels — were competing on Dec. 14-15 in the opening rounds of the Football University National Championship. The tournament features teams loaded with the nation’s elite youth athletes, with national semifinals and championship games held at the Alamo Dome in San Antonio, Texas. Team Iowa’s sixth and seventh grade squads advanced to the regional semifinals in Wichita, Kan., which were played on Dec. 21; results were not available at print time.

Team Iowa players were chosen through tryouts held in the summer, with participants hailing from Council Bluffs to Dubuque, to piece

together three 35-player rosters. Team director Tyler Blum said the program offers kids a unique opportunity.

“What I want these kids to experience when they come through Team Iowa, is what football at the next level could be like,” Blum said. “We run our practices like a college team; we don’t have anyone playing both ways and everyone plays one position; some of the schemes are a little more complicated.”

Coordinating with such a diverse roster made scheduling practices challenging, but the team still worked together twice per week — once at Valley Stadium and once at Cedar Rapids Prairie High School. Blum said communication and dedication from the families are the keys to making the program successful.

“You’ve got to find committed families,” he said. “There’s some travel involved and you’ve got to be up front with them from the start, let them know what the required commitment is to be part of this. I think everybody who comes through the program would absolutely tell you

that it’s worth it.”Another aspect the players and

families have to be prepared to handle is the weather. Temperatures reached single digits by the time the last game wrapped up, and that environment isn’t necessarily what the players are accustomed to. But Blum said it’s a good experience for the kids who could potentially play past the varsity level.

“I tell them if they are lucky enough to play football long enough in their career, they’re going to have to play when it’s cold,” Blum said.

Ultimately, though, Blum said his primary focus isn’t winning during the playoffs. The program offers an opportunity for success on a national stage, but its first mission is to provide a unique learning experience for its players.

“Whether we win or lose in the tournament, I want the experience to be better than any camp that the kids could have gone to,” Blum said. “We got to practice for two months; we worked heavily on fundamentals and technique. We want to come out here and win games and that was our goal.

But at the end of the day, if every player walks off that field a better football player — more equipped for the rest of their career — that’s something we can all be proud of.”

Youth

Team Iowa’s Creighton Mitchell runs against Team St. Louis during the FBU National Championsips on Dec. 15.

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Photos were taken at the FBU National Championships on Dec. 15 and a junior high wrestling meet at Dallas Center-Grimes.

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high School

Tucked away down a long hallway and hidden inside Buccaneers Arena in Urbandale, a young coach jokes with three players, ‘Do you guys even know what the Mighty Ducks are?’ The jabs go back and forth during the brief discussion about the requisite hockey movie for any kid who grew up in the 90s.

The coach is Brian Spring and the three players are the captains for the Des Moines Capitals hockey team. The Capitals and fellow metro squad the Des Moines Oak Leafs comprise the majority of the organized competitive hockey in central Iowa.

Both squads compete in the Midwest High School Hockey League, a 12-team league with squads from Iowa, Missouri and Nebraska that traces its roots back to the 1970s. High school teams from Sioux City and Waterloo joined squads from the Des Moines Metro League to form the base of an organized league. The Iowa High School Hockey League was established in 1976, and became the launch pad for the MHSHL. Currently, nine of the teams are from Iowa.

The MHSHL teams differ from many other high school sports in Iowa in that there are tryouts and, in some cases, a draft. In Des Moines, auditions are held every year for players looking to test their skills on the ice. Often, these youngsters are freshmen who are drafted to either the Oak Leafs or the Capitals, and they play with their respective team throughout high school.

This can create some unusual alignments and a unique team atmosphere. Since there are not teams for the respective high schools, students from Urbandale, Dowling Catholic, Southeast Polk and Ankeny

could all end up on the same roster. This also works the other way; players who go to the same high school could get drafted to opposing squads, thus making passing in the hallway the day after a game contentious.

“They all get along well and it’s fun to watch kids from different areas come together,” said Rob Rose, head coach of the Oak Leafs. “We have kids that play football against each other and, there, they’re competitors; then when they’re on the ice with us, they’re a team.”

Thus far in the 2013-2014 season, the two Des Moines units have held steady at the top of the standings. The high-scoring Oak Leafs have tallied the league’s best goal differential. The veteran squad features 10 seniors, nine of whom have played together

since they were drafted.“We have a great group of seniors

and leaders on this team,” Rose said. “These guys are motivated to work as a team and do the things that need to be done in order to get it done. They are very mature in the game and they are fast.”

The Capitals have shown more of a balanced approach, relying on their speed and attacking style. For a large portion of the season, the Capitals didn’t have single player among the league’s top ten in points. Spring said that’s just the way he wants it.

“Capital hockey was always defensive hockey; we believe that if you play defense first, the offense will come,” Spring said. “It’s not just about hockey skill; it’s about hard work and being mentally tough. You have

to stick it out in ugly games and win those games.”

The two teams squared off right before the Thanksgiving break in a rivalry game known as the Turkey Cup. The annual event takes place the Tuesday before Thanksgiving every year and is the first regular season matchup between the teams each season. The 2013 Turkey Cup went the Oak Leafs’ way in a 5-3 victory. The game draws some of the largest crowds Buccaneer Arena sees every year and is viewed as the showcase for what high school hockey could be in Iowa.

With a strong talent pool in the select few areas that are able to sustain high school hockey programs, the question remains: why isn’t youth hockey more prevalent in Iowa? In

SportsSpotlight.com6 Volume 2 Issue 4

The Des Moines Capitals’ Noah Gyldenvand fights for puck possession against the Des Moines Oak Leafs at the Buccaneers Ice Arena in Urbandale on Dec. 20. The Oak Leafs won the game in overtime, 2-1.

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Minnesota and Wisconsin, hockey rinks dot the landscape like football fields or baseball diamonds in Iowa, and the coaches for Iowa teams believe that this long-standing community support has been the key.

“Minnesota has hundreds and maybe even over a thousand rinks,” said Shawn Edwards, an assistant coach for the Oak Leafs and a long-time supporter of hockey in Des Moines. “It really caught on there long ago, but those weren’t built here, so there aren’t places for kids to play. It’s the ‘if you build it, they will come’ idea. Des Moines has 500,000 people 3 rinks; in Minnesota, towns of 20,000

will have 3 rinks.” Nonetheless, they view the Iowa

hockey scene with an optimistic view. A fledgling Metro Hockey league for high school students in Des Moines is bringing hockey to a more local level. The league was started in the late 2000s and currently fields four teams: Waukee/Norwalk, West Des Moines Valley, Dowling Catholic, and Lincoln/Roosevelt.

2013 also marked the inaugural season for the Iowa Wild — the minor league affiliate for the NHL’s Minnesota Wild. Combined with the Buccaneers — the USHL squad that provides elite recent high school

graduates a chance to showcase their skills for college recruiters — and the exposure to higher level hockey for Iowa fans is growing.

“When the Stars and the Chops were here in Des Moines, I don’t think anybody really knew about them or the NHL franchises (the Anaheim Ducks and the Dallas Stars) that they were with,” Spring said. “But more people know the Wild and can connect better.”

Through a combination of talent, local connections and overall passion for the sport, those in the hockey circles of Des Moines believe there’s a great deal of potential for the sport

in Iowa. “Hockey is a game that is really

beneficial if you can start younger and it would be nice to see more of that,” Rose said. “If we could give the really young kids a chance to try it, I think parents are surprised a lot by how much their kids enjoy it. There are very few things that compare to being out on the ice.”

high School

The Des Moines Oak Leafs’ Connor Cox dangles with the puck against the Omaha Junior Lancers at the Metro Ice Sports Facility in Urbandale on Dec. 14. The Oak Leafs won the game, 4-0, thanks in part to Cox’s 2 points (1 goal, 1 assist).

Senior |William

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Senior | Manson-N

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Senior | DSM

CapitalsSenior | Bishop H

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Senior | Iowa Falls-A

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Junior | Dike-N

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artford Trent Solsma

Casey Schlatter Ellie Herzberg

Paige Greiner

Nate Scott

Photo courtesy of Rick NilesPhoto courtesy of John Jensen/The Grundy Register

Photo courtesy of Iowa Falls-Alden High SchoolP

Photo courtesy of Mary Greiner

Photo by Tork Mason

Rachel Koop

Photo courtesy of Manson-NW Webster High School

Herzberg is one of Class 2A’s top offensive players this season. She was averaging 26 points per game as of Dec. 23, which was second-best in the state, and tallied those points at a 64.4 percent shooting rate.

Scott is among the Midwest High School Hockey League’s top net-minders. He owned an 8-4 record and a .917 save percent-age as of Dec. 23, a key reason for the Captials’ 10-3-1 start.

Koop keyed the Wolverines’ Class 2A state volleyball championship this fall. The junior tallied 97 assists in three games during the tournament, including 42 assists in the Wolverines’ 3-1 win over Western Christian (Hull) in the championship bout.

Solsma led the Crusaders to their first Class 3A state championship since 2008, and was nearly perfect in the state semifinals against Clear Lake. Solsma completed 23 of 24 pass attempts for 376 yards and 5 touchdowns in a 48-13 rout.

Schlatter has cooled off slightly since scoring 45 points in the Cadets’ game against Clear Lake. He still led Class 2A in scoring at 35.8 points per game, though, as of Dec. 23.

Greiner recently became the third player in school history to enter the 1,000-point club. She led her team to a perfect 8-0 record as of Dec. 23, thanks to her 14.4-points-per-game average. She also led the team in assists (31) and steals (29).

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Unmatched performance:Meyer is one of Class 5A’s top players this season. As of Dec. 23, the senior was tied for the state lead in scoring with Iowa City High’s Haley Lorenzen at 24.4 points per game, and she was among state leaders with 9.7 rebounds per contest. She was also shooting just over 50 percent from the floor and nearly 80 percent from the free throw line for the 5-2 Wolverines.

Each month, Sports Spotlight recognizes a Kinetico Pure Performance High School Athlete of the Month from a list based on

their performances.

Tanya MeyerSioux City West - Basketball

And dependability:Meyer has been one of the most consistently dominant players in the state during her career. In her sophomore and junior seasons, Meyer finished fourth and second, respectively, in statewide scoring. She averaged 19.6 points per game last to finish second in Class 5A, and that effort translated into a 18-5 team record.

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TIME CHAMP

4FRATERNITY

Iowa HS Wrestling

Some names are synonymous with greatness in the history of wrestling in Iowa. Brands. Gibbons. Gable. But there is another list of names, one that carries considerable clout in a state that holds wrestling as central to its culture: the list of four-time high school state champions.

Just 23 athletes have reached the top of the podium at the state tournament four times, the last of whom being Denver/Tripoli’s Brandon Sorensen and Creston/Orient-Macksburg’s Jake Marlin, who joined the fraternity last season. There are no grapplers with a chance to win a fourth championship this season, but three juniors — Lisbon’s Carter Happel, Alburnett’s Hunter Washburn and Union’s (La Porte City) Max Thomsen — are on the hunt for their third titles.

But what does it take to get into the sport’s elite club, and what does it mean to get there?

Reaching for the stars

To claim four state championships, a wrestler obviously has to win the title as a freshman, when he might be competing against upperclassmen with more experience. Beating those older opponents right away requires sharpness and a polish that doesn’t often develop overnight.

Former Centerville prep T.J. Sebolt, who won four titles from 2003-06 and shares the state record with 207 career victories, said learning to set goals has to start at an early age to attain that polish as a freshman.

“It’s not like you get to high school and decide to start working hard,” Sebolt said. “It has to come from before [then]; you have to be pretty well-rounded before you step on the mat as a freshman.”

Sebolt said he competed as a youth in local-, state- and national-level events, which helped him realize how much potential he had and set a clear goal. That goal became loftier as time passed.

“Once I started having success in kids wrestling at a national level, I started setting my goals a little higher,” Sebolt said. “Once I got into junior high, it seemed like I won all the time. I’d seen a couple four-timers win it and I decided that’s what I wanted to do. I made the goal that I wanted to win it as a freshman while I was in junior high.”

Evolution at work

Former Linn-Mar (Marion) star Jay Borschel knows something about evolution. He didn’t win championships at the youth level and was relatively anonymous when he reached high school, but he used people’s indifference to his advantage on his way to winning four state championships. In fact, he said, it was one of the biggest keys to his success.

“One of the things that drove and motivated me, at that time, was proving people wrong,” Borschel said. “I didn’t pop up on many people’s radar as a threat. To me, it was a thing to prove people wrong, sneak up on people, knock them off one by one

and put myself at the top.”Even after winning the Class 3A title at 103

pounds as a freshman in 2003-04, Borschel said he could still surprise people. That’s because he made a large jump in weight as a sophomore — he put on 22 pounds to compete at 125 pounds in his second season. That had observers questioning whether he could have the same level of success in his second year.

But Borschel proved his doubters wrong again, and no one thought he’d have any trouble as a junior when he bumped up to 152 pounds, or when he bulked up and competed at 171 pounds during his senior year. At that point, he said, “no one wanted to be at [my] weight, anyway.”

Borschel, who is currently an assistant coach at Northwestern University, said it’s important, in order to evolve, for kids to learn how to wrestle each time they move up in weight. A kid at 103 pounds doesn’t wrestle the same way someone at 152 or 171 pounds does, but applying lessons learned at lighter weights can still be very useful.

“If you ever talk to a heavyweight that started out as a smaller kid, they’ll tell you that a lot of their success comes from the fact that they were

a little guy,” Borschel said. “They learned how to wrestle like a little guy, how to move, how to scramble and all that.”

Sebolt agreed and added that the ability to make all the necessary adjustments over four years is a true testament to how great a four-time champion is.

“It says that those guys are no joke and can wrestle with anybody, at any weight, and still dominate,” Sebolt said. “That pretty much puts a stamp on it that you deserve that four-time title [status].”

You have to be willing to

sacrifice, if you want to reach a goal like this. It doesn’t come

without sacrifice

- T.J. Sebolt

Tork Mason | Editor-in-Chief

Staying hungry

It can be difficult to stay driven when failure is such a rare occurrence, and Borschel and Sebolt both stressed the need to find little motivators to keep pushing every day. Whether it’s remembering the lone loss they each suffered in their prep careers or keeping messages in a locker, there needs to be a driving force and a desire to stay focused on the ultimate goal.

“Anybody can be beaten, no matter how good you are,” Sebolt said. “If you’re not constantly hungry and you’re not constantly wanting more, you’re going to get caught. Wrestling is like swimming upstream; you’ve got to keep paddling because the second you stop, you going backwards.”

Tom Kettman coached Don Bosco (Gilbertville) to five consecutive Class 1A team titles from 2006-10, as well as four-time champions Mack and Bart Reiter, and he said the best wrestlers strive for perfection, because the margin for error is at its slimmest once the act moves to Wells Fargo Arena.

“One mistake, one flaw [is all it takes to get beat],” Kettman said. “If it happens during the season, it’s not so bad; you can rebound and learn from that. But once the state tournament starts, you can’t make mistakes.”

Sebolt said the most important attribute for any four-time champion is the willingness to pass up more entertaining prospects in favor of getting in an extra workout.

“In wrestling, you don’t get to do all the things that normal kids do all the time, if you want to reach your goals,” he said. “Maybe you don’t go out with your friends or on a date with that girl. You just have to look at yourself and ask, ‘Am I doing what I need to do to reach my goals? Is skipping this workout really worth it?’

“You have to be willing to sacrifice, if you want to reach a goal like [this]. It doesn’t come without sacrifice.”

Still elite?

The number of four-time champions has more than doubled since the turn of the century and, in some eyes, it’s raised the question whether it’s still as special to achieve as it once was.

Sebolt said he isn’t one of the people who wonders if that’s the case.“You can’t take anything away from winning four state titles,” he

said. “I wouldn’t say it’s not as tough as it used to be, because there are kids who are just unbelievable that do it.”

Regardless of how many kids join the elite club in the future, Borschel said four-time champions play a big role in the development of young wrestlers in Iowa. And that’s one thing that sticks with him when he thinks about what it means to reach that goal.

“A lot of times, the kids might not know the current college wrestlers or USA Wrestling guys, but they do know who’s tough in Iowa and the guys who are state champions — those are the guys that they’re watching,” Borschel said. “It starts at the local level; you’ve got a 1A school with a tough kid and a huge youth wrestling program, and each of those kids are looking up to him and thinking that’s who they’re going to be someday.”

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Justin WinnettJohnston, Class of 2014 - 3.5 GPA

SPORTS: Swimming

ATHLETIC ACHIEVEMENTS/HONORS: 3x State swim meet medalist; 3x state runner-up (2x 200 medley relay, 100 breast stroke); Iowa High School Swim Coaches Association District Athlete of the Year.

ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENTS/HONORS: Honor Roll, 9-11; CIML All-Academic team, 9-11; National Honor Society, 10-12.

COLLEGE OR POST-HIGH SCHOOL PLANS: Attend St. Cloud State University in St. Cloud, Minn. I’ve signed a Letter of Intent to compete on the men’s swim team.

Achievements

Justin’s Q & A

Photo courtesy of Bob Culbert

What’s your favorite sport to play? Why? My favorite sport is definitely swimming. I truly enjoy the sport because it gives me a sense of pride knowing every day after school I get to go do something that I truly love and have fun doing. I also get to hang out with a great group of friends that always support me and also have the enthusiasm I do.

What’s your favorite sports memory? My favorite funny memory is when my Johnston Senior teammates froze my goggles in jello my freshman year.

Do you have any fun pre-game “rituals” that prepare you for an event?Our team walks in on a motivating song and does a team chant before each swim meet. Honestly, I don’t have a personal “ritual” except meditation and then jump around to get my heart rate up and get fired up for my race.

What’s your favorite subject in school and why?I like all the sciences, especially biology and chemistry, because it’s always changing and I’m learning something new every day.

Who inspires you? Why?My parents inspire me the most with the way they work hard to achieve their own goals and dreams together, and they’ve always been there for me in every aspect of my life in pursuing my goals and dreams. I’m very thankful for my family.

What is your dream job?The ultimate dream job would be an Olympic swimmer for the USA Olympic Swim Team.

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high School

The high school basketball season is a little over a month old and this is a chance to look back on some of the top performers and storylines from the season’s opening act.

Surprising startFort Madison was a mediocre 12-9

last season, but the Bloodhounds got off to a 5-0 start this winter, thanks in large part to the efforts of Miles Wentzien. The junior was averaging 22 points per game to start the year and he wasn’t a pure volume scorer. He was shooting 46.3 percent from the floor and 52.4 percent from behind the arc to give the Bloodhounds an efficient weapon offensively. He also pulled down 8.4 rebounds per game and dished out 5.6 assists per contest in the team’s impressive start.

Same story, different chapterWest Lyon (Inwood) dominated

all comers on its way to a 14-0 state championship this past football season. The Wildcats have since taken to the hardwood and picked up right

where they left off on the gridiron. West Lyon jumped out to a 5-0 start while averaging 73.4 points per game and allowing just 45.8.

That opening salvo was spearheaded by a quartet of Wildcat seniors scoring in double figures: Cody Bauman, Brandon Snyder, Kacey Myrlie and Kyle Groeneweg. Bauman led the team with 17.6-point scoring average and 64.7 percent shooting percentage. Snyder was tops in assists and steals with game averages of 5.4 and 3.6, respectively, and was scoring 13.0 points per game. Myrlie and Groeneweg were scoring 13.0 and 11.4 points per game, respectively, and Myrlie led the team at 6.8 rebounds per contest.

Living on the edgeHinton started the year 6-1, but the

Blackhawks had a few close shaves on their way to that mark, as they won three consecutive nail-biters in December by a combined 10 points.

Their early-season success was sparked by a variety of players, as

a different player led the team in scoring in each of those three close victories. On the season, senior Logan Jurgensmeier (16.6 ppg), freshman Jay Small (15.7 ppg) and senior Jake Hasselquist (9.9 ppg) led the charge.

Duo on fireClarinda Academy was just 2-4 to

start the season, but that wasn’t for lack of effort on the parts of Maurice Dawkins and Isaiah Lake. Dawkins, though six games, was Class 1A’s second-leading scorer at 26.8 points per game and Lake wasn’t far behind at 22.3 points per contest.

But scoring wasn’t the only thing that stood out on the duo’s stat line. Dawkins was shooting at a blistering rate, connecting on 61.1 percent of his field goal attempts — including 63 percent of his shots from behind the arc. Lake was even better on shots inside the arc, as he shot 62.1 percent overall despite only hitting a third of his three-point attempts. Lake also led the team with 5.1 assists and 3.5 steals per game.

Boys Basketball News & NotesTop performances and storylines from around the stateTork Mason | Editor-in-Chief

West Lyon’s Brandon Snyder. (Photo courtesy of West Lyon High School)

Volume 2 Issue 4 19SportsSpotlight.com

high School

On the girls’ side, there have been some dominating efforts put forth on the hardwood. Some were supreme individual performances, while others were total team achievements.

Shouldering the loadCedar Valley Christian might have

started the year 0-7, but junior Shelby Hembera did everything she could to change that. She led the state with 33.0 points per game, which is impressive in itself. But consider that the Huskies average 37.5 points per game, and that mark gets a lot more mesmerizing.

Hembera also led the team with 15.4 rebounds per game, 3 blocks per game and 2.6 steals per game.

Doing it allNorth Linn (Troy Mills) has an all-

round threat who led the charge to the Lynxes’ 8-0 start. Junior Nicole Miller is one of the state’s most efficient offensive players, as she is among state leaders in scoring (26.1 ppg) while shooting at a sparkling 52.9 percent clip. She also averages 7.9 rebounds,

5.6 assists and 3.9 steals per game.She opened the season with an

outstanding performance against Prince of Peace Prep on Nov. 26. She scored a season-high 35 points while shooting 53.3 percent from the floor. She also dished out 6 assists, pulled down 4 rebounds and swiped 4 steals in a 65-25 victory.

The Three AmigasIowa City High was one of Class

5A’s top teams a year ago, and the Little Hawks didn’t miss a beat as they entered the 2013-14 season. Three players combined to dominate all comers and lead the Little Hawks to a perfect 8-0 record: seniors Haley Lorenzen and Kiera Washpun, and sophomore Courtney Joens.

Lorenzen led Class 5A in scoring at 24.4 points per game, but Joens and Washpun chipped in more than their fair share of scoring, too. The duo averaged 30.2 combined points per game to keep teams from keying solely on Lorenzen and give the Little

Hawks one of the most potent offenses in the state. Even more impressive than bulk scoring, though, was the trio’s efficiency; they shot a scorching 59.5 percent from the floor to open the season.

Lorenzen also led the team with 8.3 rebounds and 3.4 blocks per game, while Joens tallied the most steals at 4.8 per contest. Washpun led the team with 5.4 assists per game and chipped in 4.4 steals per game for good measure.

Family connectionOne quick glance at both the boys’

and girls’ stat sheets at Heartland Christian (Council Bluffs) shows a common surname. A trio of Cunards — Steffi, Molly and Cody — put up stellar number in leading the Eagles to 5-3 starts.

Steffi and Molly averaged 22.4 and 20.1 points per game, respectively, for the girls’ team while Cody put up 23.1 points a night for the boys. They also pulled down rebounds at a high

rate, led by Molly’s 13.0-rebounds-per-game average. Molly and Steffi combined for 6.6 steals per game, too.

Girls Basketball News & NotesTop performances and storylines from the first month of the seasonTork Mason | Editor-in-Chief

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Iowa City High’s Haley Lorenzen. (Photo courtesy of Karen Lorenzen)

Grand View University head football coach Mike Woodley took a moment to reflect on what his team had just accomplished in the aftermath of the No. 2 Vikings’ 35-23 victory over No. 1 Cumberlands (Kent.) in the NAIA national championship game on Dec. 21.

“I’m proud of our football team,” Woodley said in a release. “This group of kids is one of the finest [I’ve coached]. Tonight’s victory is the biggest victory for me coaching. You run the table and go 14-0, you’re a pretty good football team.

“This NAIA football is good football. People who haven’t watched enough of it need to watch it. It’s good football.”

The win put an exclamation point at the end of Grand View’s best season in program history. The fact that this was just the program’s sixth year of existence made this year’s run even more impressive.

It marked the second consecutive season in which a six-year-old program claimed its first national

championship. Last season, it was the Knights of Marian University (Ind.) who knocked off Morningside College in a 30-27 classic.

The journey started with pair of close games against Drake and Siena Heights University (Mich.). The Vikings took a 14-3 lead into halftime against the Bulldogs, but had to weather a second half rally to come away with a 21-16 win. They followed that up with a 24-21 squeaker of a win against the Saints.

But after those two early nail-biters, the Vikings simply dominated their competition.

Never was their supremacy more clear than when they faced ranked opponents. In eight games against ranked foes, Grand View outscored its opponents by a whopping 291-106 margin. That included a 176-72 advantage against teams ranked in the top 10 and a 35-0 shutout of then-No. 5 Morningside in the national semifinals on Dec. 7.

The offense was headlined by an explosive pitch and catch duo.

Sophomore quarterback Derek Fulton flourished in his second year as a starter. The Bettendorf native threw for 3,451 yards and 34 touchdowns, while tossing just 11 interceptions, on 60.2 percent passing. He also led the team with 707 rushing yards and scored 5 times on the ground.

In the championship game, Fulton threw for 300 yards and 4 touchdowns, while also tallying 74 rushing yards and another score, to earn offensive MVP honors following the victory.

Fulton’s favorite target this season was junior wideout Brady Roland.

The best a man can get.

GRAND VIEW CAP TREMENDOUS SEASON WITH TITLETork Mason | Editor-in-Chief

Just six years into the program’s existence, the Vikings’ football team wins a national championship

college

20 SportsSpotlight.comVolume 2 Issue 4

Grand View quarterback Derek Fulton (left) was the driving force behind a high-powered Viking offense this fall as he threw for over 3,000 yards and led the team in rushing. Wideout Brady Roland provided a dynamic target and caught 14 touchdown passes. (Photos courtesy of Doug Wells)

Roland, a Carlisle native, emerged as one of the nation’s elite receivers as he torched defenses on a consistent basis. He finished the regular season with 59 receptions for 865 yards and 9 touchdowns and earned first team all-conference honors.

But Roland took his game to a whole other level during the Vikings’ four playoff games. He hauled in 24 passes for 471 yards and 5 scores in the postseason.

Even more important than the high-powered offense, though, was Grand View’s suffocating defense. The Vikings were among the nation’s stingiest defensive units and gave up just 14.8 points per contest.

That success on the scoreboard was largely due to making opposing offenses one-dimensional; the Vikings surrendered only 78.8 rushing yards per game, forcing teams to go through the air. That led to 19 interceptions, headlined by Lance Lewis’ 7 picks — two of which he returned for touchdowns.

But the real heart of Grand View’s defense was senior linebacker Jason Gladfelder. The Ozark, Mo., native led the team with 87 total tackles and was an absolute terror behind the line of scrimmage. Gladfelder racked up 29.5 tackles for loss — including 18 quarterback sacks — and set opposing

offenses back by 145 total yards. He was outstanding in the

championship game, too. He tallied 12 tackles with one stop for loss and broke up a pass. That was good

enough to earn defensive MVP honors in his final game wearing the Red and Silver.

The 2013 season is in the books, and Woodley and his team can now

turn their focus towards their title defense. With several key players returning, including Fulton and Roland, the Vikings appear to have the pieces to make noise once again.

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Volume 2 Issue 4 21SportsSpotlight.com

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Grand View linebacker Jason Gladfelder was a walking nightmare for opposing offenses and made a home in their respective backfields. The senior led the team with 29 tackles for loss and 18 sacks this season. (Photo courtesy of Doug Wells)

REAL INJURIES. REAL ATHLETES.REAL RESULTS.

Off the Sidelines. Back in the Game.

General OrthopaedicsIan Lin, M.D.Thomas Dulaney, M.D.Barron Bremner, D.O.Wesley Smidt, M.D.

Spine SurgeryLynn Nelson, M.D.David Hatfield, M.D.

Foot and Ankle SurgeryJon Gehrke, M.D.Julie Grundberg, D.P.M.R.D. Lee Evans, D.P.M.

Hand, Elbow, andMicrovascular SurgeryJeffrey Rodgers, M.D.Patricia Kallemeier, M.D.Melissa Young, M.D.John Gaffey, M.D.

Hip and Knee SurgeryPatrick Sullivan, M.D. *also shoulder

Devon Goetz, M.D.David Vittetoe, M.D.Christopher Nelson, D.O.Matthew Weresh, M.D.

Sports Medicine, Kneeand Shoulder SurgeryStephen Taylor, M.D.Jeffrey Davick, M.D.Kary Schulte, M.D.Nicholas Honkamp, M.D.Matthew DeWall, M.D. *except shoulder

Jason Sullivan, M.D.

Pain Management CenterKenneth Pollack, M.D.

AdministratorKevin DeRonde

West: (515) 224-1414 ◆ East: (515) 263-9696 ◆ Carroll: (712) 792-2093 ◆ Urgent Injury: (515) 224-4210

THE URGENT INJURY CLINIC AT

The Urgent Injury Clinic at DMOS-West is available for patients with acute orthopaedic injuries to receive timely, personalized care. Our goal is to help student athletes limit their time away from school and competition.

Urgent Injury Clinic Hours (No appointment necessary!)Mon-Thur: Noon-8 pm Fri: Noon-4 pm ◆ Sat: 8 am-Noon

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For more information, go to www.urgentinjury.com

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DMOS–West Location!

22 SportsSpotlight.comVolume 2 Issue 4

Anterior Knee Pain Separated ShoulderPain around the knee cap is a very

common problem which most people will experience at some point. The two most common causes are patellar tendonitis and patello-femoral pain syndrome.

Patellar tendonitis is also known as “jumper’s knee.” The tendon becomes inflamed and tender, most commonly at its attachment to the bottom of the patella (knee cap). Treatment of this condition should include a period of rest and stretching, combined with measures to decrease the inflammation. A Chopat strap worn below the patella can provide support and help to alleviate symptoms as well.

Patello-femoral pain syndrome occurs when there is irritation between the knee cap and its articulation with the femur, or thigh bone. Activities known to put high levels of stress on this area include lunges, squats, and stairs. The problem can be exacerbated if there is any softening or roughening of the patellar cartilage, known medically as chondromalacia. Treatment centers on reducing inflammation, with the use of rest, ice, and anti-inflammatory

medications, or in severe situations an injection of steroid into the joint. Most importantly, the key to preventing recurrence is to build strength within the quadriceps muscle, which is the major support for the patella.

Information provided by Dr. Matthew DeWall, Des Moines Orthopedic Surgeons, 6001 Westown Parkway, West Des Moines, IA, (515)224-5223.

What is a separated shoulder (acromioclavicular sprain)?

Acromioclavicular sprains (AC sprains) occur frequently in high energy contact sports. The mechanism of injury is usually a direct blow to the side of the shoulder. The patient feels pain at the end of the collar bone.

Mild AC joint injuries cause little displacement of the collar bone, and are manifested as some local swelling and pain to touch. More severe inju-ries are easily noticed by a huge bulge on the end of the clavicle.

Treatment of most shoulder sepa-rations are with a sling for comfort for a week or two, anti-inflammatories, ice, and gentle motion. The ligaments heal in several weeks. An athlete’s pain level dictates how quickly they may return to sports. Infrequently, an AC joint injection can be used to improve pain in acute injuries.

Treatment of more severe injuries can include surgical options to place the collar bone in a more anatomic position. Full recovery for surgical intervention can take 6 months. Some patients initially treated without sur-gery have poor results. These patients

may decide to have surgery in the future to place the clavicle back into a more functional position.

Information provided by Dr. Barron Bremner, Des Moines Orthopedic Sur-geons, 1301 Pennsylvania Ave., Suite 213, Des Moines, (515)299-6363.

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