CONFERENCE QUITE LIKE STANFORD AND CAL RIGHT. HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL IS HERE. PRACTICE IS UNDERWAY ACROSS THE STATE. WE BEGIN OUR PREVIEWS WITH A STOP AT JOHNSTON. THE DRAGONS TURNED HEADS LAST YEAR WHEN THEY UPSET ANKENY IN THE PLAYOFFS TO REACH THE STATE SEMIFINALS WHERE THEY LOST TO EVENTUAL CHAMPION SOUTHEAST POLK. COACH BRIAN WOODLEY RETURNS FIVE STARTERS ON OFFENSE, INCLUDING WILL NUSS AND JACOB SIMPSON. SEVEN STARTERS ARE BACK ON DEFENSE, SOME NEW FACES AND SOME BIG ROLES. BUT EXPECTATIONS REMAIN HIGH FOR THE DRAGONS IN 2023. WE’RE MISSING SOME PRETTY GOOD SENIORS, BUT WE GOT SOME GOOD YOUNG KIDS THAT ALL PLAYED UP IN THE SEMIFINALS LAST YEAR IN THAT LAST GAME AGAINST SOUTHEAST POLK. AND YOU KNOW, WE’RE JUST TRYING TO BUILD OFF THAT MOMENTUM OF WHAT WE DID LAST FALL. AND YOU KNOW, THE EXPECTATIONS ARE THAT WE TAKE IT A STEP FURTHER. AND YOU KNOW, A LOT AROUND HERE IN JOHNSTON, WE GOT TO KEEP UP WITH THE JONESES AND ALL THE OTHER PROGRAMS THAT ARE WINNING STATE TITLES.