An Early Look At District 3

Just a quick take on Class 3A District 3 after three games, and the first week of district competition.

The teams I expected to contend are Xavier and Decorah, with Waverly-Shell Rock, South Tama and perhaps Independence in the mix. I figured Benton might be somewhere in the middle, and didn't think Charles City or Vinton-Shellsburg would have much to say about the district standings when it was all finished.

I never said I was Nostradamus. And this is why you play the games, right? It's only three weeks in, but there have been a few surprising instances here.

Xavier, obviously, stands at 3-0 (1-0 in the district) and at this point appear to be the team to beat. The Saints have shown some weaknesses defensively, which is surprising, but the running game, special teams, and turnover margin (12-2!) have been terrific.

Decorah (2-1, 1-0) have put themselves into a good challenging position, but the way they've done it! The Vikings suffered a 3-TD loss to North Fayette Valley (a top-notch 2A team), then had to score late to pull out one-point wins against both 2A Crestwood and Vinton-Shellsburg, neither of which is exactly the New England Patriots, if you get my drift. Still, wins are wins, one-point or no.

Waverly-Shell Rock (2-1, 1-0) is right where I expected. They easily defeated Crestwood, lost to North Fayette Valley by 11, then trounced Independence. While score-comparing is a fraudulent art, you can directly compare WSR and Decorah with common opponents:

                         WSR vs Crestwood:       won 31-14          vs NFV:        lost 14-3
                         Decorah vs Crestwood:  won 13-12          vs NFV:        lost 28-7

Hmmm.

Charles City (1-2, 1-0) already got a district win, which is something of a surprise. After losing to a couple of 2A teams (New Hampton and Osage), the Comets welcomed South Tama and took the Trojans to overtime. Charles City won by a point, 28-27. I don't know if South Tama missed the extra point, or if they went for two and the win and failed, but either way, it's a victory for Charles City.

Speaking of South Tama (1-2, 0-1), they've already had two nailbiting one-point losses. After opening with a big win over Grinnell, the Trojans scored late against Williamsburg and decided to go for the win with a two-point try. That failed, and Williamsburg won 14-13. Then the one-point overtime loss to Charles City came last week. The Trojans were one of the state's top 2A teams the last couple of years, so they should be a tough team this season in the district.

Vinton-Shellsburg (1-2, 0-1) just didn't look like they had the personnel to do much this season. They do have one player who has been recruited by a Big 12 program (Kansas State), but I don't know if there's much else there. The Vikings did handily defeat Center Point-Urbana in their opener, then got shut out by Union-La Porte City before giving up the last-minute score in the heartbreaking one-point loss to Decorah. Playing Decorah close makes me think maybe V-S could get something going; on the other hand, we're not sure how good Decorah actually is.

Benton (1-2, 0-1) rolled over 2A Oelwein in the opener, then suffered a tough defeat at Marion (for Marion's first victory in two years; the Indians did win again last week in the mud pit formerly known as Thomas Park, so perhaps Marion is better than advertised). The Bobcats had the toughest assignment of all in their district opener with Xavier, and made enough mistakes to drop the 27-point decision. They do have some players, though, and ought to be somewhere in the middle of the district when all is said and done.

Finally, Independence (0-3, 0-1). This is the big surprise of the year so far, I think. Indee made a lot of noise the past two years, with I think 2 regular season losses in 2014 and just one loss last year. Their roster did indicate they graduated a lot of playmakers from those teams, however, with very little experience coming back. Perhaps the success the past two years were from a class or two of solid players who have now moved on. It appears that way, at this point, because after three weeks of football, Independence has yet to score. Yep, they've been shutout three times, and all solid thumpings (48-0 by West Delaware, 26-0 by Clear Creek-Amana, 54-0 by Waverly-Shell Rock). Independence goes to South Tama this week, which shouldn't be any easier. Could be a long season.