One of Iowa’s premiere football programs for many years has been in an unusual space for the past two seasons — outside of the postseason and the hunt for the UNI Dome. The 2023 Pella team aims to flip the script and get back to playing among the state’s best this fall.

A challenging schedule, tough losses, and other factors kept the Dutch out of the new Class 4A playoffs for the past two seasons, and Pella Head Coach Jay McKinstrey says that has given their team motto a motivating message — “Something to Prove” in the next three months.

McKinstrey believes a mix of returning veterans and up-and-coming juniors and sophomores — as well as a new slate of opponents on the docket, has the green and white dreaming of what’s possible, especially after the 2022 team finished on a dominant winning streak.

Pella will open with a scrimmage against PCM on Friday, August 18th. Dutch football can be heard every Friday on 92.1 KRLS or the KRLS2 stream, with every home game on Pella Dutch Live on YouTube.

Key returners:
Luke Hardman, senior – 504 passing yards, 299 rushing yards, 26 of 28 PATs made
Reed Beard, senior – 48 tackles, four tackles for loss, fumble recovery
Noah Parsons, senior – 9.5 tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks, fumble recovery for TD
Carson Leathers, senior – 35 tackles, two fumble recoveries

2023-24 schedule (all home games on Pella Dutch Live):
8/25 – vs. Ballard – KRLS2
9/1 – at Keokuk – KRLS
9/8 – at Indianola – KRLS2
9/15 – vs. Xavier – KRLS
9/22 – Carlisle – KRLS
9/29 – at Newton – KRLS2
10/6 – vs. Hoover – KRLS
10/13 – vs. Bondurant – KRLS2
10/20 – at Gilbert – KRLS2