-Messenger photo by Britt Kudla Riley Peters of Manson NW Webster gains a first down as Pocahontas Area Luke Crosgrove makes the tackle on Friday

As teams prepare for district play, they’ll have one more week of cross league action.

There will be two area matchups this week with four teams that have gotten off to a hot start.

Fourth-ranked and unbeaten South Central Calhoun (3-0 overall) will host Southeast Valley (2-1). No. 6 Algona (3-0) will entertain Webster City (2-1).

The four area teams have combined for a 10-2 record.

The Titans have won two straight contests over ranked opponents by a combined score of 74-6.

The Jaguars took fourth-ranked Belmond-Klemme (Class A) into double-overtime, before suffering a 43-36 setback.

Eight-man teams begin district play this week with fourth-ranked Newell-Fonda (3-0, 0-0) facing Kingsley-Pierson (2-1, 0-0).

Area teams Clarion-Goldfield/Dows, Emmetsburg, Eagle Grove, Manson Northwest Webster, East Sac County, North Union and West Bend-Mallard have home games.

Southeast Valley (2-1) at

No. 4 South Central Calhoun (3-0)

The Titans enter the contest with 939 yards and 11 touchdowns on offense, but the Titan defense has been the table setter.

South Central Calhoun has given up only 543 yards of offense in the first three contests, an average of 181 per game.

They have scored four defensive touchdowns, returning two fumbles and two interceptions for touchdowns and have 11 take aways.

Sophomore Brennan Holder (15), senior Jared Birks (14.5) and senior Chase McAlister (10) lead the Titans in tackles.

Chase McAlister has rushed, received, returned a fumble and an interception for touchdowns.

On offense, junior quarterback Josh Henkenius is 25-for-45 with 371 yards passing and three touchdowns.

Junior Keagen Meyer has rushed for 270 yards on 36 attempts with four touchdowns. Junior Landon Schleisman has 126 yards and two scores.

Jared Birks (112) and McAllister (109) are the leading receivers with two and one touchdowns respectively.

In the first three contests, the Jaguars have put up some strong offensive numbers and have a defense to match.

Southeast Valley has 1,096 yards of total offense (365 per game), rushing for 550 and 10 scores and throwing for 546 and seven touchdowns.

The explosive Jaguar offense is led by senior Kyler Fisher and junior Hunter Kruse.

Fisher is fourth in Class 2A in rushing (447 yards), first in rushing touchdowns (nine) and first in scoring (66 points; 10 touchdowns, six two-point conversions). He has scored the sixth most points in the state.

Kruse is 11th in 2A in passing (546 yards) and third in touchdowns (seven).

Senior Nyles Johnson has caught 16 balls for 273 yards and three scores, while junior Chase Swieter has nine catches for 139 yards four touchdowns.

The Southeast Valley defense has been strong as well, giving up 655 yards of offense, 218 yards per game, and allowing only six scores and six take aways.

Senior Ivan Hudson leads the defense with 14.5 tackles. Freshman Aaron Graves has 14 tackles and three sacks. Fisher (13), senior Carter Fluckiger and senior JJ Graves (12) are the other leading tacklers.

Webster City (2-1)

at No. 6 Algona (3-0)

Sixth-ranked Algona has turned the corner and has started the season strong.

The Bulldogs have scored 109 points in the first three contests and only given up 42.

With a win against the Lynx, Algona will equal its win total from a year ago. Heading into this season, the Bulldogs have only won 10 games the past four seasons, but things are looking up.

Algona has found a balanced attack, paced by a solid running game. The Bulldogs have rushed for 747 yards and thrown for 546.

Senior running mates Jacob Durant and Skyler Groen, along with junior Wyatt Wegener have carried the load, running for 251 yards, 201 and 199. They have six combined touchdowns.

Senior quarterback Matt Grein is 29-for-46 passing for 546 and nine touchdowns. Grein has not thrown an interception.

Wegener (267 yards) and Groen (123) have been his main targets, catching four and three touchdowns respectively.

After losing in the second week of the season, the Lynx jumped back in the win column, knocking off Waterloo East last Friday.

Webster City, known for its running attack, has rushed for 725 yards, led by Trace Kepler. The Lynx senior has 325 yards on 73 carries and four scores.

Classmate Drake Doolittle has 203 yards and two touchdowns, while Dylan Steen has 132 yards.

Steen, the signal-caller, has 213 yards passing on 17 of 32 and two touchdowns.

Kingsley-Pierson (2-1, 0-0)

at No. 4 Newell-Fonda (3-0, 0-0)

Fourth-ranked Newell-Fonda dropped from No. 2 to No. 4 in the polls this week, even after recording a 59-13 victory last week.

The Mustangs have scored 149 points this season and have only given up 53.

Do-all junior quarterback Bryce Coppock has scored on all aspects of play for the Mustangs.

Coppock has 407 yards rushing with eight touchdowns (third best in 8-man), he has an interception for a score, three two-point conversions and has returned a punt for a touchdown.

Coppock has also thrown for 404 yards and five scores. His 811 yards (rushing and combined passing) is seventh-best in eight-man. His 66 points scored is fifth best.

Kingsley-Pierson likes to run the ball and they’re are the fourth best in eight-man at it. They’ve run for 1,069 yards and 18 touchdowns.

Junior Preston Pfaffle leads eight-man with 557 yards and nine scores. He averages 10.3 yards per carry.

Senior Jessen Reinking has 285 yards rushing and five touchdowns.

Quarterback Nathan Keck has thrown three touchdown passes.

Other area games: Spencer (2-1) at Humboldt (1-2); Hampton-Dumont (1-2) at Clarion-Goldfield/Dows (2-1); No. 7 Greene County (3-0) at Gilbert (1-2); Cherokee (1-2) at Emmetsburg (0-3); South Hardin (0-3) at Eagle Grove (0-3); Pocahontas Area (1-2) at Alta/Aurelia (2-1); South Hamilton (2-1) at Manson Northwest Webster (0-3); IKM-Manning (2-1) at East Sac County (1-2); Lake Mills (0-3) at North Union (1-2); Clay Central-Everly (0-3, 0-0) at West Bend-Mallard (1-2, 0-0).