The Exira-EHK Spartans were able to avenge one regular season loss in the first round of the 8-Man Football Playoffs and they are aiming to do it again in the Quarterfinals.  Exira-EHK ran past Bedford in the first round last week 56-12, avenging a 40-6 loss in week 2 of the season.  Now the Spartans have the tall task of trying to repeat that feat with a meeting against the undefeated Fremont-Mills Knights, a team they lost two on October 7th 50-21.  Exira-EHK Head Coach Tom Petersen knows it will be a tough task to turn the tables on the Knights from the first meeting but his team is excited for the opportunity.

Big plays were the major difference in the first meeting between the two teams. Knights Quarterback Mason Vanatta had a big game throwing for 241 yards and 4 touchdowns while also carrying the ball 4 times for 89 yards and a score.  Coach Petersen knows the Spartans will have to prevent the big play in order to have success this time.

The Spartans have gotten great play down the stretch from a number of players and a couple that stand out are Quarterback Connor Westergaard and Fullback Cole Madsen.  Westergaard has settled in nicely to the Spartans offense rushing for 694 yards and 16 touchdowns while throwing for 585 yards and 9 scores.  Westergaard is averaging a whopping 10.8 yards per carry and a big reason for that is Cole Madsen.  Coach Petersen has repeatedly said Madsen is their most improved player and is doing a great job blocking.  He also made some great plays on defense in the round 1 win over Bedford including two tackles for loss.  Fremont-Mills Head Coach Jeremy Christiansen knows slowing down the Spartans backfield is a strong challenge.

The Knights seem to rise to the occasion every time they are challenged and Coach Christensen knows this will be another tough challenge. He said winning the line of scrimmage is where success starts against a physical team like the Spartans.

We’ll have coverage of the Spartans and Knights for you on KJAN. Chris Parks and Mike Smith will have the call from Tabor with Pre-Game at 6:00pm and Kickoff at 7:00pm. Tune in on AM1220, FM101.1, online at kjan.com, and on the KJAN mobile app.