Spartans stay the course

The Spartans won their 30th-consecutive game in a 42-6 victory over East Marshall for homecoming at Spartan Stadium.

Grundy Center is now 4-0 overall with a win to kick off district play in Class 1A District 4. The Mustangs fell to 3-1.

“That’s an incredible number,” said Grundy Center senior Tiernan Vokes of the win streak. “But at the end of the day, it’s still one win at a time and we’ve got to focus on the next one.”

Receiving the opening kickoff, Grundy Center needed just three plays to get on the board with a 19-yard pass from Judd Jirovsky to Vokes with 10:53 left in the first quarter.

Jirovsky went on to complete 13-of-16 passes for 232 yards and three touchdowns on Friday, including two to Vokes, who made five catches for 107 yards.

“They didn’t do anything that we weren’t expecting, but they were definitely faster than they looked on film and quicker than we were,” East Marshall head coach Greg Lee said. “[Vokes] is a special player. He’s big and fast, and I know it didn’t look like it but we tried to rep that all week long in practice.”

East Marshall had to punt on its opening drive but got the ball right back when Cody Weaver jumped on a Grundy Center fumble forced by Blake Neuroth.

However, the Mustangs were unable to make the Spartans pay with another three-and-out and after a short punt, Grundy Center drove 33 yards in three plays for a 14-0 lead on a Judd Jirovsky 3-yard run.

East Marshall got a first down on a Grundy penalty before having to punt again and the Spartans scored once more on a 33-yard pass from Jirovsky to Devin Hinders.

It went from bad to worse for the Mustangs when, on the ensuing kickoff, Grundy Center’s Eli Wegmann had a takeaway on the return, going 17 yards for a score to make it 28-0 Spartans.

“We knew East Marshall was going to be excited to come here with their start and we wanted to let them know early on that it was going to be a long night for them,” Grundy Center head coach Travis Zajac said. “Our kids played really, really balanced, well-coached, fundamental football.”

Hayden Geerdes scored a 1-yard touchdown in the second quarter to make it 35-0 Grundy Center, but the Mustangs didn’t back down with the continuous clock running.

Starting at their own 10-yard line, East Marshall got a six-yard scoring drive, aided by a massive 50-yard catch by Blake Neuroth from Jake Farrington and capped by a Farrington throw to Eli Burns for an 18-yard touchdown with 3:29 left in the half, making it 35-6 after the point-after kick was blocked.

The Mustang defense stood tall before halftime as well, as Grundy Center came away empty-handed on a nine-play drive including a couple of missed shots to the end zone.

“I think that really built our confidence within a game that didn’t go so well,” Lee said. “It really helped us going into halftime and the second half to know that we could score on them.”

And even with a lost fumble on their first drive of the half that resulted in Vokes’ second touchdown of the night, Lee said East Marshall continued to scrap throughout the second half.

Farrington finished with 10-of-18 passing for 126 yards and a score.

“It was a tough game,” Lee said. “We definitely got the best out of them, and we just couldn’t recover. We’ve just got to keep our head on straight and get back to it on Monday for South Hardin. … I know with our leadership that we’ll show up.”

Jirovsky has completed over 80 percent of his 61 passes so far this season, with 11 touchdowns now to zero interceptions for the junior quarterback.

“Each week, we’re learning new things about different routes and the connections between me and [the receivers],” Jirovsky said. “I’ve just been wanting to keep getting better each week.”

Vokes added: “Every week, he puts on a good show. He’s taking the coaching in, learning, and it’s just really been awesome.”

Zajac said he tries his best to keep the players immersed in the week-to-week grind instead of paying too much attention to the flashy numbers splashed over social media.

“I know we haven’t uttered a word about any sort of streak, but I know our kids know it,” Zajac said. “We’ve just had class after class of unbelievable kids that know what it takes and parents that support that. And here we are, in the midst of a run that’s nothing short of incredible.

“It all starts at home for me with my wife, Shannon, the love of my life. She’s my best friend, allows me to still be a kid and hang out with these guys all the time. My children, Lauren and Ty, my coaching staff, the kids and their families. It’s just remarkable.”

Now it’s back to the grind to prepare for Waterloo Columbus back at home next week, the first meeting between the two teams since Grundy Center’s state semifinal win over the Sailors in the UNI-Dome last year.

“We had the fortune of playing them twice last year,” Zajac said, “and my goodness gracious they were a tough prep. … I know they’ve lost quite a few playmakers from last year but Coach [Brad] Schmidt will have them excited to come down here and play. It’s definitely one we want to get here at Spartan Stadium.”