Vikings seek title game berth in return to Dome

 CEDAR FALLS (Nov. 9) -- For the AHSTW football team, the fourth time could be the charm Friday afternoon as the Vikings seek the program’s first-ever win inside the UNI-Dome against Edgewood-Colesburg.
 The Class A semifinal playoff matchup will kick off at 1:00 p.m. and figures to be a good one. AHSTW (11-0) is ranked second by the Associated Press and is also the number-two semifinal seed based on its regular-season RPI score, which ranked fourth. Ed-Co (10-1) has won 10 straight games since a season-opening 41-20 loss to Belleuve (No. 2 in 1A). Also known as the Vikings, they are ranked fifth by the AP and ninth according to RPI.
 Friday’s winner will face either defending state runner-up Hudson (11-0) or West Hancock (9-2) in the Class A state title game Thursday, November 15.
 Playing under different names, AHSTW has made three previous appearances at the UNI-Dome. AvoHa, which won a 1974 state title game at Jefferson over L-D-F (LeGrand), made its dome debut in the 1991 state finals and lost to Madrid 14-3. A-H-S-T lost a pair of semifinal games in Cedar Falls, falling to West Bend-Mallard in 2005 (37-34) and West Lyon in 2013 (63-21).
 This is the Vikings’ 19th postseason appearance all-time and their playoff record currently stands at 22-17 (AvoHa 5-3, A-H-S-T 14-10, AHSTW 3-4).
 Edgewood-Colesburg, meanwhile, is making its first-ever trip to the UNI-Dome (and the semifinals) in its fifth postseason appearance (2001, ‘05, ‘06, ‘14, ‘18). Ed-Co’s only previous playoff win came in 2006 and its playoff record now stands at 3-4 following this year’s wins over No. 10 BGM (58-21) and No. 3 Bishop Garrigan (6-0).
 Both Viking squads have posted impressive numbers through their first 11 games. AHSTW ranks first in Class A with 4,393 yards (399.4 per game), 8.3 yards per play, 59 offensive touchdowns and 450 total points. Ed-Co ranks fourth in total yardage with 4,039, third in yards per play (7.3), tied for fourth in offensive TDs (54) and sixth in points (379).
 Defensively, the numbers are even more similar. AHSTW has allowed 128 points, posted two shutouts and forced 23 takeaways. Its 13 interceptions are tied for the fourth most in Class A. Ed-Co has allowed 118 points with three shutouts - including last week’s blanking of Garrigan - and has 26 takeaways. Its 18 fumble recoveries are tied for the most in Class A.