South Tama gets tough draw in top-ranked Albia

TAMA - It's a shame it had to come now and on the opposing team's field. There are a lot of people out there saying that.

But Jay Hoskey was a wrestling coach for a long time and understands the situation better than most. When it comes to the state wrestling tournament, there are no seedings.

The two best kids at a particular weight might randomly get matched up early.

'I know that a lot of times in the second round, you saw two great guys go at it,” Hoskey said. 'That's just the way it is.”

That's the attitude he is taking with his South Tama football team despite what seems to be a horrible draw. The Trojans are 11-0 and third ranked by The Gazette (No. 2 in other polls) going into Friday night's Class 3A quarterfinals.

Of all the opponents, South Tama gets top-ranked and 11-0 Albia. And on the road, too.

'In life, there are a lot of things that aren't fair,” Hoskey said. 'We're just going to make the best of this situation and go with it. The kids want to be state champions, so you've got to beat them at some point.”

This is the second year the Iowa High School Athletic Association has done away with bracketing the playoff field in each class, though you'd have to think it'll return next season with the halving of qualifiers. Other than knowing a fourth-place finisher in a district plays a district champion (and a second-place finisher plays a third-place finisher) in the first round, everything else is a guess.

Geography trumps in most cases, and that seems to have been the case here.

Central Lyon/GLR and Spirit Lake are the only two remaining 2A teams from Western Iowa. Waukon and North Fayette Valley got paired in another quarterfinal, as did Mount Vernon and Anamosa.

The only other logical option - if you discount the idea of having far-away opponents play on neutral fields somewhere between - would have been to send Mount Vernon to Albia and have South Tama and Anamosa play.

Still that's the third and fourth-ranked teams. It's kind of pick your poison for South Tama.

'I think most people wish something a little more reasonable could have been done, but who knows?” Hoskey said. ' I know the state got some guff about it. But, you know what, it is what it is.”

This game is striking in that it pits 2A's highest-scoring offense against its stingiest defense. Albia averages 50 points, with its closest game a 30-point win.

South Tama has allowed 27 points all season and has posted eight shutouts. Albia is a run-dominant team led by back Carter Isley, who has nearly 2,000 rushing yards. South Tama also has a dominant back in Jerry Lowe (1,500 rushing yards).

'Albia is a very, very sound football team. No weaknesses,” Hoskey said. 'Most times, there are at least a couple of players that maybe aren't as good that you might be able to attack, but there is not a lot of that here on either team.

'I know they will want to pound the rock a lot. We will see how we react.”

l Comments: (319) 398-8259; jeff.johnson@thegazette.com