Fresh off of the school’s first ever UNI Dome appearance, the Pella Christian football team will arguably face the toughest schedule of anybody in Class 1A–and perhaps the entire state, to start the 2018 campaign.
Athletic Director Dan Branderhorst tells KNIA/KRLS Sports the Eagles will begin with a bit of history for the 14-year-old program.
Week one will mark the second time ever Pella Christian has played a 3A team, with Oskaloosa scheduled in a week one home opener, a long-time Little Hawkeye Conference rival for Pella Christian, but as Branderhorst said, the first ever Class 3A football opponent for Coach Kacmarynski (since 2008). Pella Christian previously played Knoxville at Central College. The Indians have qualified for the playoffs the last two years.
The two Dome teams the Eagles face in week two and week three–both on road trips, include the two programs who squared off in the 2017 Class 1A title game, Van Meter and Regina. The Bulldogs won the 1A championship last fall and is a program the Eagles are 2-2 against all time, while Regina has appeared in six consecutive 1A finals and is a team Pella Christian hasn’t defeated in four attempts dating back to 2014.
Pella Christian ends the non-district season against the program’s best and longest rivals, Class 2A PCM, with the Eagles owning the all-time series at 7-3 that dates back to 2008, including five straight wins for the boys from Eagle Lane. The Mustangs finished 7-2 in 2017.
Listen to every Eagles football game this season live on 92.1 KRLS or the KRLS2 stream at KNIAKRLS.com and the free KRLS mobile app.