Location: Little Rose Bowl

Date: September 1, 2023

Time: 7:30pm CDT

Game Notes

DIKE-NEW HARTFORD returns to West Branch for the first time since 2014 (see video highlights above). Fresh off a heartbreaking 7-6 defeat at the hands of arch rival and top-rated 1A Grundy Center, the Wolverines will be on the hunt. QB Colin Meester and RB Noah Borcherding, both juniors, are the bell cows of the DNH offense. Zachry Adelmund is a determined defender - with help from Devon Lotts and Jack Severson, among others. You know you are going a physical team that gets off the ball quickly and physically. Those are trademarks of a Don Betts coached team. Graduation may have hit the Wolverines hard, but they have a plug-and-play program. Success is not just a goal, it's an expectation…so you'd better be ready to rumble. 

WEST BRANCH ran into a Class 3A buzzsaw in Williamsburg last Friday. Teams usually improve the most from week on to week two of a season. That's what the Bears, and their home crowd, are hoping for. They want to play a physical, smashmouth football game. They want to have the big offensive line lead the way. Experienced linemen Mike Montgomery, Quinton Rocha, Tate Frantz, Max Lodge, and Logan Wright are up to the task. Against a team like the Wolverines, they will need to be. 

KEEP AN EYE ON: Micah Walston. The senior utility player is all over the field. 

STRENGTH. LOVE. FOOTBALL: Members of the Butch Pedersen family will serve as honorary captains. The coin that will be tossed is from the 2016 Rose Bowl (Iowa v Stanford). Coach Pedersen LOVED the Hawkeyes, so it will help commemorate a few birds with one flip. This is the first game on Butch Pedersen Field at the Little Rose Bowl (on Oliphant Street in Historic Downtown West Branch) since the Bears' dramatic come from behind 27-24 victory over MFL in the 2022 Class 1A quarterfinals. That was the final home game of Coach Pedersen's illustrious career.

Team Records & Rankings

Dike-New Hartford is 0-1 on the season and is unranked. West Branch is 0-1 and is ranked #9 by the DSM Register.

Last Meeting

In 2014, the Wolverines defeated the Bears 35-18 at Little Rose Bowl. View more from that game.

Media & Broadcast Coverage

The BearCast will be live with the play-by-play call of the game, on both video and audio. Head to the BearCast page here on the website to learn how you can watch and listen to the game live.

Tune in to the BearCast at 7:15 for the pregame where Mike Quinlan and Jarod Tylee will be calling the game live, offering in-game analysis and halftime/postgame interviews.

For print media, the Cedar Rapids Gazette, the West Branch Times, YourPrepSports.com, and WestBranch.Football will be at the the game.