Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

Leading a young and inexperienced team full of underclassmen is enough to give some coaches grey hairs.

The freshman and sophomores that line the roster at West Branch have the Bears’ long-time coach Butch Pedersen feeling young.

With underclassmen dotting the lineup on both sides of the ball Pedersen described his 35th team at West Branch the youngest he had ever had.

So far, those kids have been more than just alright.

West Branch improved to 2-0 with a 30-6 win at Class 3A West Burlington/Notre Dame on Friday.

“It’s fun to go to practice with these guys,” Pedersen said. “We know they are going to listen and they are going to get better and that’s all you can ask for from kids.”

West Branch has seven seniors on its roster this fall, the same number of freshman and sophomores that are regulars for the Bears.

Not only has the youth not been a problem for the Bears, it’s actually been the opposite with the youngsters have provided a boost in depth and productivity.

“We are young,” Pedersen said. “There are seven freshman and sophomores playing and they listen to us and they believe in what we are telling them and they really play well together.”

West Branch has strong senior leaders in the likes of Ben Thompson, Jacob Graves and Jacob Barnhart.

Underclassmen like Tanner Lukavsky, Jeff Bowie and Dalyn Pedersen have stepped into expanded roles this season to help the Bears open 2-0 in non-district play.

In two non-district wins West Branch averaged 323 total yards and 32.5 points per game.

A 6-foot-2, 205-pound sophomore, Lukavsky has rushed for 100 yards in each of his first two starts at running back and leads the Bears with 235 yards and two touchdowns.

“I’m extremely happy with what we are seeing happy so far,” Pedersen said. “I think we are making great improvement.”

Bowie, a 6-foot-4, 225-pound freshman defensive end had nine tackles and pair of sacks in Friday’s win while Pedersen, a sophomore tackle had three solo stops.

“We had a real breakthrough game from our freshman Jeff Bowie,” Pedersen said. “He had 13 tackles and two sacks, that’s pretty good for a freshman.”

DOUBLE ZERO: Two games into the season the Solon defense has yet to allow a point. The Spartans posted their second straight shutout on Friday, blanking Regina 33-0.

A week after blanking one of the most explosive offenses in Class 2A with a 19-0 win over Mount Vernon the Spartans handed Regina its first shutout since 2008, a span of 113 games.

Regina hadn’t gone scoreless since Solon shut out the Regals 27-0 on Oct. 17 of 2008.  

The Solon defense was dominant for the second week in a row, holding Regina to 111 yards and scored a touchdown for the second straight week as Adam Bock returned an interception 32 yards for a score.

DARIUS DEBUTS: Darius Moore had to wait a week to make his Clear Creek Amana debut but made the most of his first appearance in a Clipper uniform on Friday.

The Sioux City West transfer sat out last week’s season opener but made up for lost time against Independence, hauling in eight passes for 108 yards.

A 6-foot-1, 175-pound senior Moore, played quarterback at Sioux City West last season but is expected to be the top target for Clear Creek Amana quarterback Ethan Postler this season.

OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Solon junior Hunter Kula stepped into the starting running back role for the Spartans this week and stepped up big time in a 33-0 win over Regina.

Kula rushed for 206 yards on 24 carries, scoring on touchdown runs of 18 and 79 yards.

BEST OF THE REST: West High senior receiver Traevis Buchanan caught five passes for 108 yards and two touchdowns in a 51-3 win over Muscatine.

Solon sophomore quarterback Cam Miller completed 8-of-15 passes for 126 yards and two touchdowns and ran for 54 yards in a 33-0 win over Regina.

West Branch junior quarterback Beau Cornwell threw for 194 yards and a touchdown, ran for a score and kicked three field goals in a 30-6 win over West Burlington/Notre Dame.

DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK: For the second week in a row the entire Solon defense is deserving of recognition but junior linebacker Adam Bock takes the honor.

Bock made 4.5 tackles including three solo stops and returned an interception 32 yards for a touchdown in a 33-0 win over Regina.

BEST OF THE REST: West Branch freshman defensive end Jeff Bowie had nine tackles, seven of which were solo stops and two sacks in a 30-6 win over West Burlington/Notre Dame.

West High junior safety Cole Mabry had a sack and helped the Trojans hold Muscatine to 106 total yards in a 51-3 win.

Regina senior linebacker Ryan Schott had 10 solo stops among his 13 total tackles in a 33-0 loss to Solon.