DES MOINES, Iowa — Spring football is not a new concept, but having to play your postseason in April, that certainly is.
The NAIA playoffs start Saturday and the 2-seed Grand View Vikings are hunting for their second ever National Championship.
“Definitely been very different but we’ve tried to keep it as normal as possible. We had a scrimmage a couple of weeks ago to get us back in the groove and we feel pretty good,” junior quarterback Johnny Sullivan said.
The last time Grand View played a true football game was five months ago—but the Vikings say they’ll be ready.
“I expect there to be no rust. We practice just like we play every day. So I think we’ll do just fine,” Sullivan said.
The first test in the NAIA postseason, Dordt University, is a team Head Coach Joe Woodley isn’t taking lightly.
“Everybody is good. You know anybody can beat anybody,” Woodley said.
The Defenders present a somewhat familiar offense.
“We’ve seen triple option before, nothing we haven’t done before overall. We’re not worried," sophomore defensive lineman Kiaeem Mosley said. "We just ... everybody gotta do their job we don’t need any heroes out there. Just everybody do their assignment and we’re going to be good."
The unique challenge of Dordt is their quarterback and former Pella star, Noah Clayberg.
“He’s very dynamic. There’s a reason he was a scholarship player at the University of Iowa. State champ in high school," Woodley said. "You watch him on film and he is a game changer—all those clichés that you could use for a really good football player and that’s what he is. He’s just an outstanding football player."
But this is a Vikings team that is motivated by a semifinal defeat in 2019.
“Kind of have a bad feeling from last year’s playoff game so we’re ready to roll,” Sullivan said.
More specifically, this defensive line is playing for their coach, Tom Barnabo, who died last November.
“He hasn’t been far from any of our minds since the fall. He’ll be with us always ... it’s certainly an honor to honor him in the way we play and especially for our defensively line group who has a big challenge this Saturday," Woodley said. "You know I think they’ll have a little bit of barn inside of them this Saturday there’s no doubt."
That’s why winning a national title this year, would mean so much more.
“Winning it for him and just winning it for our coaches it’d be awesome. We’ve worked too hard they work their butts off every day,” Mosley said.
Sullivan added, “It means everything we worked so hard. It’s been a crazy year and we just want to put everything together and win it."
Grand View’s only title came in 2013. The Vikings take on the Dordt Defenders at noon on Saturday at Williams Stadium.