DES MOINES, IOWA – The Vikings hosted their Homecoming game this weekend against St. Ambrose University. The morning was full of laughter and fun as the parking lot filled early into the day. The noon kickoff proved to bring a full crowd with alumni scattered across Duke Williams Stadium. Grand View honored their new Hall of Fame inductees at halftime which included the honorary captain, Brady Roland (All HOF inductees will be listed at the bottom). The Vikings took care of the Fighting Bees 63-3 on the last September Saturday of the year.
Grand View was effective through the air and on the ground all game. The game started with a 5-play drive that ended in a Jackson Waring to Curtis Horras, 55-yard touchdown. The Grand View defense held the Fighting bees to a punt despite some penalties, the next possession.
GV put another touchdown on the board on a well-balanced 13-play drive next. The well diverse backfield shined during the drive with receptions from Ethan Schultz, Bryant Williams, and elusive running from Isaac Kracl. Waring ended with his own 15-yard rush that pushed things to 14-0.
The next touchdown was credited to the Vikings special team's unit. Grand View forced a quick possession on defense, and the return team blocked a St. Ambrose punt. With the punter backed up, the Vikings recovered the ball in the end zone for a touchdown and 21-0 lead after the PAT. The recovery was awarded to No. 2, Kenyi James.
After the Vikings gave up their first and only points of the game on a field goal, the Vikings started on a short field due to a 55-yard kick return by Jordan Kumm. Aisea Toki found a chunk play of 28 yards before Waring connected with Lance Clayburg for a 10-yard touchdown reception.
A fifth touchdown was found before the half, coming from a familiar connection. Horras was on the other end of a Waring pass, scoring his second touchdown of the half. The 33-yard completion came with a minute left in the half, and the Vikings were up 35-3.
The second half was much of the same for the Vikings. Grand View's defense continued to dominate, only giving up 138 yards of offense the entire game. Waring kept getting the ball down field in this one as well. The first possession of the second half was a quick, 3-play drive that ended on a 58 yard touchdown pass to Triston Williams.
The Vikings found their first takeaway fo the game on the very next Fighting Bees drive. The 3rd and 9 play had the rush coming, and Kellen Moore intercepted the hurried throw right at the midfield stripe.
Bryant Williams took the next play to the house with a 51-yard touchdown reception. The score now 49-3.
Kracl and Schultz started seeing more work on the ground and Schultz finished off a 2 yard run to start the 4th quarter, after a huge completion from Peyton Rottinghaus to Jordan Kumm.
The final score of the night came with 7 minutes left in the 4th, and Kracl broke free for a 39 yard touchdown on the first play of the drive. Bounced off defenders near the line of scrimmage, and worked his way back down the GVU sideline.
Kenson Fuller got a heavy feed in final possession to run out the clock, securing the Vikings Homecoming victory, 63-3, and 4-0 on the season.
GAME NOTES
UP NEXT
Grand View will face off for the Rock & Ladder trophy against #24 William Penn University next week. This is the Heart Clash of the Week and will be played at 2:00 PM on Saturday, October 4th.
HALL OF FAME INDUCTEES
Grand View Athletics is proud to present the 2025 Grand View Athletic Award honorees who will be inducted tonight during the Athletic Awards Dinner. We ask that you please hold all applause until the end.
Our first award to recognize is the Robert L. Mahaffey Community Service Award someone has continued to live by and epitomizes the NAIA Champions of Character five Core Values. The honoree selected should serve as a role model for compassion and should have a passion for helping others in their community.
This year's honoree is Jim Carlson, class of 1975, a longtime fan of Grand View Athletics. Jim was a member of the Men's Basketball and Baseball teams during his time as a student-athlete. He has planned and organized Camp Carlson, a youth basketball camp that benefits St. Jude Children's Research Hospital for more than three decades. Each summer, the camp raises over $10,000—totaling more than $330,000 to date. Thank you, Jim, your dedication to St. Jude, education and athletics will continue to inspire for years to come.
Now let's meet our 2025 Hall of Fame class. Our first inductee is Brad Lower, class of 2013 from the men's wrestling team. Brad finished his career at Grand View with an overall record of 74-13.
· Competing in the 165-pound weight class, he was the 2010 NAIA National Championship Runner-Up
· 2x NAIA Central Region Champion
· He was a 2x Junior College All-American and National Champion at Iowa Central Community College
Our next inductee, also on the men's wrestling team, is Chad Lowman, class of 2014.
Chad finished his career with an overall record of 92-17.
· He was a two-time NAIA National Champion
· Placed in the 2013 Division 1 Midlands Tournament
· Two-time All-American Daktronics Scholar-Athlete
Our next inductee is Val Veiock, a member of the Women's Track & Field team, earning her bachelor's degree in 2015 and then her master's in 2017.
· 2x Midwest Classic Conference Athlete of the Year – 2013, 2014
· 2x All-American Daktronics Scholar-Athlete
· Holds GV Indoor and Outdoor Shot Put record – 2015
· 2x NAIA All-American (Indoor)
· 3x NAIA National Championship Medalist (Indoor)
· 4x NAIA National Championship All-American (Outdoor)
Our next inductee is Brady Roland, a Wide Receiver on the 2013 NAIA National Championship football team.
Brady holds several Grand View records: including most career receptions, career yards, and single season receiving yards. Brady was a member of the Iowa Barnstormers for 4 seasons and earned 1st Team All-Indoor Football League honors 3 times.
Our next inductee is Devon Wells, class of 2014 and women's volleyball and track and field student-athlete.
On the volleyball court she was named:
· 3x Conference Player of the Year
· 4x All-Conference First Team
· 4x NAIA All-American
Devon also coached Grand View Women's Volleyball for 12 seasons after her time as a student-athlete.
As a track & field thrower:
· 2x Midwest Classic Conference Champion in Disc Throw
· 6x NAIA National Qualifier
· 2010 NAIA All-American in the javelin Throw
Our final Hall of Fame honoree is the 1984 & 1985 NAIA World Series Baseball Team.
In '84 & '85, the teams earned the District 15 Playoff Championship Title and the Area 4 Playoff Championship Title. In their back-to-back NAIA World Series appearances in Lewiston, Idaho, the teams finished 8th in the nation. Congratulations to the players and coaches!
Please join me in a round of applause to congratulate and welcome back to campus all of our 2025 Hall of Fame Inductees!
THANK YOU & CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR 2025 HOF CLASS
