Expectations are sky-high in Roland and Story City this fall.
The Roland-Story football program has been on the rise over the past three seasons under head coach Matt Finn. After going just 1-15 over the 2020 and 2021 seasons, including a 0-7 mark during Finn’s first season in 2021, the Norsemen have gone 27-20, including a 20-9 combined mark over the 2023, 2024 and 2025 seasons.
Roland-Story has made the Class 2A playoffs in each of the past five seasons. The Norsemen picked up a playoff victory in both 2023 and 2025.
Now they are ready to take it to the next level.
“I think anytime you have a talented group like our seniors, the expectations on the outside are high,” Finn said. “Our expectations have tried to be to take the next step every year with the group that we’ve had. Hopefully, this group is ready to stick in for the long haul. We want to be playing football when it’s cold out — climate controlled (the UNI-Dome in Cedar Falls) would be even better.”
Roland-Story brings back one of the top passers and receivers in Class 2A —junior quarterback Colin Willis and 6-foot-3 receiver Luke Thoreson. They are both all-state candidates this season.
The Norsemen have two talented running backs returning to action after suffering health issues in 2025, seniors Fiston Carlson and Ben Mazyck, and a veteran offensive line.
Willis threw for 2,217 yards and 25 touchdowns last season. Thoreson, the “X” receiver, made 75 catches for 1,206 yards, which ranked second among 2A receivers, and a 2A-best 16 touchdowns.
Aiden Frey is back as the “Z” receiver opposite Thoreson and was a big weapon as the No. 2 receiver last year with 26 catches for 453 yards and four scores.
Senior Cooper Triggs will take the “Y” spot as the hybrid receiver/tight end, and Thoreson’s younger brother Landry, just a sophomore, the “A” receiver in the slot.
Carlson and Mazyck hope to stay healthy at running back this season. Carlson ran for 310 yards on just 28 carries as a freshman, but injuries limited him to 260 yards as a sophomore before health issues cost him his junior season.
Mazyck stepped in for Carlson two years ago and led Roland-Story with 692 yards rushing. He is hoping to come back healthy to give the team a dynamic one-two punch in the backfield.
“Our offense definitely has a lot of weapons everywhere,” Willis said. “Lucas, Aiden, Cooper…everybody is just very elite at what they do. We have a lot of threats, so defenses will be lost trying to guard everybody.”
The Norse defense is equally stout.
Their 3-3-5 alignment under the direction of assistant coach DJ Hawkins resulted in a defense that yielded 14 points or less six times last season and four times in 2025, including a pair of shutouts.
“He came here with a great scheme,” Frey said. “Our defense has changed, especially mentality-wise. Everybody knows their job and they do it to the best of their abilities.”
Roland-Story features an all-state talent at defensive end with senior Chance Georgius, veteran linebackers Wyatt Ramus and Tucker Hawkins on the inside and Carter Barber at outside linebacker, and a deep secondary led by Thoreson, Triggs and Frey, who combined for four interceptions last season.
Georgius had 10 tackles for loss and seven sacks a year ago. Ramus, Hawkins and Barber combined for 121 tackles in 2025.
“I like that we all know our role in it and that we always have an extra hitter coming free,” Georgius said. “It’s hard to stop, especially when you always have one guy unblocked.”
The game plan going into 2026 is simple. Even though the Norsemen are the defending district champions, they had three district games decided by seven points or fewer last year, so they will not be able to take anyone for granted.
“It’s one game at a time; it’s one opponent at a time,” Finn said. “Everybody gets our respect. Then you’ve got to get some luck, you’ve got to stay healthy — but I’ll tell you through camp and summer workouts, how fun it is to work with a group that wants to be here and is excited to play football.”
There is one game that the Norsemen do have circled going into the season.
“Week 2,” said Luke Thoreson. “Des Moines Christian.”
Des Moines Christian, a 3A school, defeated Roland-Story 28-7 last year. That game will provide an early measuring stick for the Norsemen.
If the Norsemen put on a good showing against DMC, win or lose, and continue to build on that performance in district play, they should set themselves up for a high seed in the playoffs.
From there, they hope to have built up strong enough chemistry as a team to make a deep postseason run.
“Just doing our parts the best we can,” Carlson said. “Following what the coaches have for us and the defense is doing its best to stop the (opposing) offense from scoring.”
Roland-Story has not won a state championship since claiming back-to-back 2A crowns in 1980 and 1981 under Hall of Fame coach Kerry Van Winkle. A long and challenging journey lies ahead for the Norsemen, but it is never too early to start dreaming big.
“It’s what we’ve been working for all offseason,” Georgius said. “That’s why we train so hard and that’s why we practice hard.”
Joe Randleman covers high school sports for the Ames Tribune. Contact him at jrandleman@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @JoeRandleman
This article originally appeared on Ames Tribune: Roland-Story ready for deep Iowa high school football run in 2026
Reporting by Joe Randleman, Ames Tribune / Ames Tribune
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By Joe Randleman, Ames Tribune | USA TODAY Network
