Photo Courtesy of Columbus School District Social Media
Two old Louisa County rivals take the football field tonight in Wapello when the Indians entertain the Columbus Wildcats. The Wildcats started the season ranked in the top 10 of Class A and fell to fellow top 10 Class 2A member Mediapolis 33-7 in week 1. MEPO controlled things early, leading 13-0 after one and 26-0 at half. The Bulldogs added another touchdown in the third before the Wildcats spoiled the shut out with a Kaden Amigon touchdown rush in the fourth. The Wildcats were outgained 374 to 139 in the contest, 238 to 100 on the ground and 136 to 39 by air. Amigon was the bright spot on offense for the ‘Cats, cracking 100 yards with 113 on 26 carries and a score. Trevor Phillips went one of three through the air for 39 yards, connecting with Markell Zapiensz. Riley Kaalberg had a game high eight tackles and Drew Totemeier recovered a Bulldog fumble.
Wapello now stands across the field in Week 2. The Indians started the campaign with a 46-6 loss to West Burlington Notre Dame a week ago where not much went right. Each team found the end zone in the first quarter, leaving the proceedings tied at six, then things fell apart for the Indians, who gave up 20 in the second quarter and 20 more points after half. Wapello was outgained 371 to 238 in total including 244 to 108 on the ground but did win the aerial battle 130-127. Carson Belzer was nine of 22 through the air for the Indians with 130 yards and a pick. Grant Wilson had a two yard touchdown dive for Wapello. Matthew Helscher piled up nine stops for the Indian defense. This week, Wildcat head coach Dave Lekwa recapped what he saw from his team week one against the Bulldogs, their focus in house to get ready for Wapello, what the Indians bring to the table, and what he sees as the keys to a Columbus win. “Ultimately, in week 1, we just made too many mistakes. There are also plenty of positives to pull out. I think our boys were able to self-evaluate during film review. This has been a solid week of practice to game plan for Wapello. We’re not trying to change anything. We know who we are, what we need to do and how to play, so we’re going to continue business as usual. First quarter tonight, I want to see our boys coming out to compete. Last week against Mediapolis, I felt like there was a lot of waiting for things to happen. I told the boys this week, we’re the ones that make things happen. Wapello is a close rival in Louisa County, they have a new coach, so I’m sure there’s some excitement brewing down there. A lot of the boys know each other. We were able to get them last year, I’m sure there’s revenge on their minds. It’s been a while since we’ve won down there. We need to go down there with a good idea of what we want to do and then go out and execute.”
This series has favored the Indians recently, they have won 12 of 15 over the Wildcats since 2009. Columbus scored the win in this matchup last year 39-19, to give them back to back victories over their rivals.
You can hear all of the action live tonight on the New KCII3 stream available only at KCIIradio.com, beginning with the KCII Game of the Week Pregame Show at 6:30 and kickoff between the ‘Cats and Indians at 7p.m. from the Wapello Athletic Complex.