By Dominic Balestrieri-Fox

The pressure is on for the City High Football team. As the first game of the season rapidly approaches, they will face the occasion with the confidence of a home field advantage. The Little Hawks’ last season began with a disheartening 28-14 loss in the Unidome. Now they once again face the 11th-ranked 4A team in the state, Cedar Falls, but this time on home turf.

“Obviously we need to play well, but hopefully we’ll get some revenge for last year as well,” Jake Keil ‘14, offensive-tackle said. “That was not City High football.”

Keil and his teammates know they are going to play a very good team.

“It will be a tough game,” said Keil, “their offensive line is especially strong.”

Ross Pierschbacher, Cedar Falls offensive-tackle recently signed on with Alabama, the premier college football team in the nation. He will provide a difficult job for City’s defensive ends, Matt Kroeze ‘14 and Jake Leohr ‘14.
City High experienced many fumbles and turnovers during last year’s game, a factor head coach Dan Sabers believes will be crucial to fix for this year’s games as well.

“We’ve got to take care of the football. There were too many turnovers last year,” Sabers said.

Returning varsity players that will play key roles for the team are Xavier Washpun ‘14, Mitch Wieland ‘14, Lehor, Joel Reynolds ‘14, and Luke Posivio ‘14. Other players to watch are Ivan Diaz ‘14, Drew Cornwell ‘14, and Joe Pugh ‘14.

The team is also adding new aspects to the offense and are preparing for a battle.

“Last year the kids hung in there and battled tough,” Sabers comments, “but I believe in this team’s abilities [to win].”

The weather for tonight may also affect the game. According to the National Weather Service there is a high temperature of 97 degrees, and a heat-index of 105 degrees.

Effort has not been a concern for Coach Sabers.

“This is a dedicated group, I’m not worried as far as playing hard goes,” he said.