ABOVE: North Union High School football quarterback Greyson Colegrove slings the ball during Wednesday afternoon’s practice held right outside North Union High School in Armstrong, Iowa. The Warriors are preparing for a Friday night rematch against Bishop Garrigan in the Class 8-Player Second Round playoffs. Kickoff for this game begins at 7 p.m.

ARMSTRONG – The first time the Bishop Garrigan and North Union football teams met up this fall season was Oct. 3, where the Golden Bears played a fast and physical style of football that seemed to be too much for head coach Matt Ernster and his Warriors.

Ending in a score of 54-7, Bishop Garrigan gave North Union everything they could handle during this Friday-night clash in Armstrong. However, despite the final score displayed, Ernster was more optimistic than most when dealing with such a defeat, recognizing that the final results of the contest may not have accurately reflected the effort on the field.

North Union trailed the Golden Bears just 7-0 following one quarter of play. But after a 28-point surge from Bishop Garrigan led to a 35-7 halftime deficit, Ernster and his offense were never really able to play their style of smashmouth football.

“I think when you really dive deep into it, the score was a little misleading,” Ernster said. “We played well at times and obviously not well at times. … We had seams and things like that, but really just couldn’t get anything going. Once you get down by that much, you get out of your rhythm.”

Fast forward nearly a month later, and the two schools face off once again on the gridiron, this time with playoff implications on the line.

Since this initial matchup, both teams have gone off and had strong finishes to their respective regular seasons. The Golden Bears picked up wins against West Bend-Mallard and Northwood-Kensett before dominating Kingsley-Pierson in the Class 8-Player First Round playoffs.

Similarly, North Union walks into Friday’s matchup stringing together a winning streak of its own, dominating recent opponents in all aspects of the game while playing what Ernster calls their best football thus far.

And he’s not wrong.

While near-shutout wins against Northwood-Kensett and West Bend-Mallard were strong ways to finish the regular season, it was the 56-48 Class 8-Player First Round win over Graettinger-Terril/Ruthven-Ayrshire that showed what this team is made of.

What jumps out immediately is the scoring.

Ernster’s offense has been clicking on all cylinders. The backfield of quarterback Greyson Colegrove and running back Draven Keeler has propelled this unit to a scorching 54 points per game during this stretch, emphasizing a physical run-heavy attack that puts fear into any opponent across the line of scrimmage.

With outside weapons such as Cooper Hoye and Khael Jones threatening the middle of the field with their speed and route-running, the Warriors’ offensive makeup has different ways and opportunities for scoring the ball.

“I think the [offensive] line has gelled really together, we have really started to identify fronts and identify where guys are at,” Ernster said. “Being able to block and stay on blocks, our running backs are finishing runs. Draven has done a great job, and Greyson is getting healthier, which helps a lot. He’s finishing runs better than he has been and seeing things better on the passing aspect.”

On the opposite side of scrimmage, the North Union defensive scheme has been “peaking at the right time,” according to Ernster. Whether it’s tackling in open field or staying sound in the secondary, the Warriors have shown their capabilities when it comes to stopping opposing teams.

“I want to give a lot of credit to the coaches for putting together a good plan,” Ernster said. “And the kids just executing those plans, they’ve done a really good job of knowing their job and playing fast.”

The matchup this Friday, however, will take the best effort from both sides of the ball to defeat a still undefeated Bishop Garrigan team. Led by dual-threat quarterback Tate Foertsch and his 22 total touchdowns, the Golden Bears have scored more than 50 points per game this season while holding opponents to zero on three different occasions.

In Ernster’s eyes, beating a team with this talent boils down to a handful of agendas: establishing a line of scrimmage, keeping the offense on the field, and limiting the big plays.

“We like to think we are a pretty physical team, and they [Bishop Garrigan] are as well,” Ernster said. “It felt like, at times in that first game, we didn’t, but like I said, I feel like we are in a better place now.”

Friday night’s game will be held at Bishop Garrigan High School in Algona. Kickoff is set to start at 7 p.m.