The 3-5 Exira-EHK Spartans are gearing up for a tough battle against one of the top ranked 8-player football teams in southwest Iowa, the undefeated Lenox Tigers. In order to make it into the playoffs, the Spartans had to grab a victory against the Griswold Tigers on senior night. Exira-EHK did just that winning in impressive fashion with a score of 60-30.

Looking back on last Friday’s win, Spartans head coach Drew Buckholdt was pleased with the intensity his team played with throughout all four quarters.

In that victory, both junior Bryce Brabham and senior Alex Hansen combined to rush for over 400 yards and 5 touchdowns. That ground game earned Exira-EHK an opportunity to extend their season and it’s something they’re not taking for granted.

While preparing for tonight’s game, coach Buckholdt commented that the Tigers do a very nice job of being mobile and aggressive as a unit. Starting Lenox quarterback Gabe Funk being a prime example with 15 rushing touchdowns and 26.5 tackles.

Part of coach Buckholdt’s strategy is to minimize turnovers and find different ways to control the line of scrimmage. If they can do that, they will give multiple scoring opportunities to quarterback Bryce Brabham to add on to his thousand-yard rushing season.

Coach Buckholdt would also like to see an increased intensity from his defense and will look to athletes like Alex Hansen to add on to his 68 tackle and two sack season. Coach Buckholdt is enthusiastic about the chance to take on Lenox.

Tonight’s game will be broadcasted on KJAN with kickoff set for 7:00 p.m.