The season starts with a bang tonight in Wellman as traditional rivals Mid-Prairie and Sigourney-Keota get together to open the 2020 high school football season. The Golden Hawks enter play coming off of a 6-3 season a year ago. They were 4-1 in district play. To start 2020, Mid-Prairie is ranked No. 12 in the first class 2A poll of the year. Vinny Bowlin will start under center for the Golden Hawks, he was three of 10 through the air a season ago, with one touchdown thrown and three interceptions. He also rushed for 361 yards and six touchdowns. Kayden Reinier leads the Golden Hawk ground game, back for his senior year after last season’s 1,127 yards and 21 touchdowns. Keegan Gingerich is the leading returner in the receiving corps, finishing third on the team last year with 10 catches for 256 yards and a pair of scores. The Mid-Prairie defense forced 25 turnovers last year, in the top 10 in 2A and are led by a pair of returning all-district performers in Justice Jones and Josh Wallington. Those two combined for 94.5 tackles, 15.5 tackles for loss and five sacks last season. This week, Mid-Prairie head coach Pete Cavanagh talked about getting ready for Sigourney-Keota. “Sigourney is traditionally a very good team. Their coaching staff does a great job and they run a different kind of offense that you have to prepare for. They bring back some qualified skill kids that make us nervous. Their guys up front are going to block and be physical. They pose a lot of challenges on both sides of the ball. We haven’t played them for a while so our kids are pretty excited.”

The SK Cobras are also coming in off of an impressive 2019. Sigourney-Keota was 8-1 a season ago, just missing the playoffs after a week nine loss. The Cobras lost 16 seniors from last year’s team, nine of them were all-district performers. In the first poll of 2020 in class 1A the Cobras are ranked ninth in Iowa. They will be led in the backfield by returner Cade Molyneux at spin back. Through the air last year he was 13 of 22 for 242 yards, five touchdowns and one interceptions. On the ground he’s the second leading returner with 40 carries for 197 yards and five scores in 2019. Sam Sieren was the leading rusher a season ago with 140 carries for 1,122 yards and 13 scores. Brady Duwa is a dual threat for SK, finishing last year with 34 carries for 442 yards and seven touchdowns on the ground while hauling in a team best seven catches for 151 yards and three touchdowns through the air. The Sigourney-Keota defense was stifling a season ago, allowing just 12 points per game, while forcing 30 turnovers, one of the top five totals in 1A in Iowa. Molyneux and Wyatt Sieren are back to lead the Cobra defense combining for 60 tackles, six for loss last season. This week, SK head coach Jared Jensen talked about preparing for Mid-Prairie. “They bring back a lot of guys, they are going to be talented, big, and physical. Their staff does a great job. They are a model of consistency. We need to control the ball. Sometimes your best defense is an offense that can drive the ball.”

These teams last met in 2015, with Mid-Prairie winning 49-26 in Sigourney. You can hear all of the action live in this top 15 match-up between the Golden Hawks and the Cobras on AM 1380, FM 102.5 and KCIIradio.com, beginning with the football Friday preview show at 5:30, pregame at 6:30 and kickoff from Dwight G. Sattler Field in Wellman at 7p.m.