For the third year in a row and fourth in the last five years, the ACGC Chargers will compete in a quarter final. This year, the Chargers will face the 9-1 West Sioux Falcons as they look to advance past the quarterfinal for the first time in school history. The Chargers are coming tow dominate defensive performances. In round one, the swept aside Logan-Magnolia 33-7 while round two saw them knock off a familiar foe in Mount Ayr 21-7. Head coach Cody Matthewson praised the effort of his team and likes where their game is at.

However, this Friday they will be looking to get over the proverbial hump. Last year they fell at this point to the eventual state champions in Tri-Center, while in 2023 the lost by a sing touchdown to Madrid. Matthewson believes his group is extremely motivated but also has the experience in these types of situations.

The staple of this ACGC team is the run game. Running the flexbone offense, the Charger have had near unparalleled success. This season the group has amassed 3,364 rushing yards which leads class A. They have two 1,000-yard rushers in Joe Crawford (1,180) and Brexton Schnieder (1,010), while also having 5 others with 100 or more yards on the season.  Their 50 rushing touchdowns rank second only behind St. Ansgar while their 54 total touchdowns ranks fourth. Matthewson says everything starts up front and gives a lot of credit to his offensive line.

Under center for the Chargers is senior Tommy Skram. Although different from quarterbacks in previous years, Matthewson said his ability to read and distribute has been a key to their success.

To get to the dome the Chargers will face a touch test in West Sioux. They bring a balanced offense to the table that currently tied for first in passing touchdowns, ranks fourth in passing yards. Although absent from the quarterfinals in the last two years, they mad the previous eight.  Matthewson knows that both teams will be highly motivated and expects the best out of the Falcons.

Discipline and execution are the words being thrown around as the biggest keys in this game.

You can catch all the action on KJAN with pregame coverage beginning at 6 pm with kickoff from Guthrie Center scheduled for 7 pm.