When the first rankings come out, New Hampton/Turkey Valley wrestling coach Matt Paulus doesn’t expect to find his Chickasaws in them.
And he’s just fine with that.
After posting a record of 4-22 - including a 2-6 mark in Upper Iowa Conference play - in 2018, the Turkey Valley volleyball team made a miraculous turnaround this season, finishing with an overall record of 20-13 and 5-3 against conference oppone
In district action, Turkey Valley went an undefeated 7-0 and outscored their opponents by a combined score of 462-117. The individual talent the Trojans possessed did not go unnoticed by the coaches in Eight-Player, District 3.
After a regular season that saw the Turkey Valley offense average a whopping 62.9 points per game, the Trojans’ offensive coordinator, Dan Stepan, was honored.
On each of Turkey Valley’s first three possessions of the eight-player state semifinals on Thursday morning against Don Bosco, they marched the football inside the Dons’ 15-yard line.
Turkey Valley took the drama out of Friday night’s eight-man state playoff quarterfinal game as the Trojans raced out to a 40-0 lead on their way to a 64-14 victory.
Even though the Turkey Valley volleyball season came to an end last Monday night at the hands of Tripoli, the season was a vast improvement from past years. The Trojan girls finished with a record of 20-13 after going 4-22 the year prior.
Crestwood’s Sharon Goodman has been a nightmare for opposing teams to face all season when in the front row. Coming into the regional semifinal match at New Hampton on Tuesday, she had racked up 349 kills.
Sweet revenge.
That’s what No. 2 Turkey Valley got on Friday, as they defeated No. 16 Rockford in the opening round of the eight-player playoffs after falling to the Warriors in the first round in 2018 by a score of 64-58.
Although it was a frigid and windy day at the state cross country meet on Saturday in Fort Dodge, it didn’t seem to affect Jalyssa Blazek and Jaycie Byrne, as they both ran their best times of the year for Turkey Valley.
It was obvious from the opening serve that every point was going to matter in the Class 3A regional final match between No. 6 New Hampton and No. 7 Mount Vernon.
After falling to Rockford in the first round of the eight-player playoffs in 2018, Turkey Valley was able to get their revenge on Friday night, as they defeated Rockford 52-8 in the opening round of the postseason.
After securing the district championship two weeks ago against Easton Valley, it would have been easy for the Turkey Valley football team to overlook their final opponent of the regular season - winless Central Elkader.
Country music singer Scott McCreery’s song “Five More Minutes” — or at least one verse of it may sum up the feelings New Hampton’s six seniors felt as they left the football field for one final time Friday night.
Heading into the district meet on Thursday, the Turkey Valley cross country team had high hopes for Jalyssa Blazek’s chance to qualify for the state competition.
