Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

Cedar Rapids Kennedy (5-1) at 4A No. 2 West High (6-0)

Where: Trojan Field, 7:15 p.m.  

Last Season: West High 24, Cedar Rapids Kennedy 10

Player to Watch: Cedar Rapids Kennedy sophomore linebacker Cade Parker (5-10, 200) has been all over the field for the Cougars this season making a team-high 62.5 tackles including 8.5 for loss and two sacks.

Key Stat: West High has averaged 400 yards of offense in Evan Flitz’s 17 career starts at quarterback.

About the Trojans: West High continued to roll through the regular season with a 49-0 win at Burlington last week. The Trojans are averaging 466 yards and 44.8 points per game and have tallied at least 449 yards of offense in five of six games this season.

Senior quarterback Evan Flitz is completing 70 percent of his passes while passing for 1,483 yards and 15 touchdowns with Traevis Buchanan catching 40 passes for 699 yards and eight touchdowns.

It hasn’t been all offense for West High this season. The Trojans are holding opponents to 259 yards and 15.8 points per game.

About the Cougars: Cedar Rapids Kennedy has won four straight games following a 24-14 loss to Cedar Rapids Washington in week two. The Cougars are outscoring opponents by an average of 19 points per game but haven’t faced a team that currently sits above .500.

Senior quarterback BJ White leads an offense that is averaging 32.6 points per game. White has thrown for 812 yards with nine touchdowns and three interceptions.

Five Kennedy backs have rushed for more than 147 yards this season but senior Justin Johnson appears to have taken the lead in the Cougar backfield after rushing for 133 yards and two scores in a 38-28 win over Linn-Mar last week.

City High (2-4) at Muscatine (1-5)

Where: Muscatine Community Stadium, 7:15 p.m.

Last Season: City High 36, Muscatine 28

Player to Watch: Muscatine senior receiver Gavyn Ashley (6-0, 170) has gone over 100 yards receiving in four straight games and has 38 receptions for 532 yards during that stretch.

Key Stat: City High has averaged 181 rushing yards and run for five touchdowns in its two wins and managed just 80 yards on the ground and two touchdowns in four losses.

About the Little Hawks: City High dropped to 1-1 in District 7 play last week falling into an early hole it couldn’t dig out of in a 63-28 loss to Davenport Central.

The Little Hawks face an uphill climb to reach the postseason that starts on the road against a Muscatine squad coming off its first win.

City High will try to rev up its running game against a Muskie defense that has allowed 276 rushing yards per game.

Senior receiver Zach Jones continues his impressive season and leads 4A with 59 receptoins and 846 receiving yards.

About the Muskies: Muscatine snapped a five-game losing skid to open the season with a 36-33 win at Davenport North last week.

Perhaps no team on the eastern side of the state has had a more difficult schedule over the opening five weeks than the Muskies.

The five teams to defeat Muscatine during its 0-5 start own a combined record of 26-4 and three are currently ranked.

Marion (4-2) at Clear Creek Amana (2-4)

Where: Clipper Field, 7:15 p.m.  

Last Season: Marion 15, Clear Creek Amana 14 OT

Player to Watch: Marion senior running back Chris Mohwinkle (5-11, 185) has rushed for 698 yards and 11 touchdowns.

Key Stat: Marion running backs Mohwinkle and junior JuCorey Higgins are averaging 12.9 yards per carry this season, combining for 1,060 yards on 82 attempts.

About the Clippers: Clear Creek Amana had a two-game winning streak halted with a 35-6 loss at tenth-ranked West Delaware last week.

After playing four of its last five games away from home the Clippers get a chance to get back on track with back-to-back home games.

Clear Creek Amana had one of its best defensive efforts of the seasons last week holding West Delaware to 262 total yards including just 135 on the ground.

The Clippers will try to build on that performance this week against a Marion offense that is averaging 8.2 yards per play.

About the Indians: Marion has won back to back games following a 2-2 start to the season and enters a challenging three-game stretch to close the season in the thick of the District 4 race.

The Indians outscored Maquoketa and Center Point-Urbana 96-29 in back-to-back wins the past two weeks.

Marion averaged 13.6 yards per carry and 362 rushing yards a game in its consecutive wins and is averaging 9.8 yards per attempt on the season.

Van Buren (1-5) at Class 1A No. 4 Regina (4-2)

Where: Regal Field, 7 p.m.  

Last Season: Regina 56, Van Buren 8

Player to Watch: Van Buren senior quarterback Greg Wenke (6-0, 200) has passed for 445 yards and four scores and rushed for a team-high 304 yards and two touchdowns.

Key Stat: Regina is averaging 10.5 yards per offensive play during its current four-game winning streak.

About the Regals: Regina put itself in the District 4 drivers seat with a 49-7 win over previously unbeaten Wilton last week. The win was the 50th consecutive district victory for Regina and put the Regals alone in first place at 4-0 in Distrct 4.

Regina has outscored district opponents 192-41 this season after opening the season with back-to-back losses.

Isaac Vollstedt leads Regina with 645 rushing yards and nine touchdowns and is averaging 9.9 yards per carry.

About the Warriors: Following an 0-9 season in 2016 Van Buren opened the season with a 24-12 win over Cardinal but has lost five straight since after a 13-12 loss to Highland last week.

The Warriors are led by Wenke and senior running back Donny Roberts (5-10, 175) who has rushed for 295 yards and two scores.

Roberts is coming off his best game of the season last week when he ran for 139 yards and two touchdowns against Highland.

Class 3A No. 1 Solon (6-0) at Mount Pleasant (4-2)

Where: Mapleleaf Athletic Complex in Mount Pleasant, 7:30 p.m.

Last Season: Solon 26, Mount Pleasant 0

Player to Watch: Mount Pleasant junior quarterback Zach Beason (6-3, 210) has passed for 1,182 yards and nine touchdowns and rushed for another 138 yards and five scores.

Key Stat: The Solon defense has scored five touchdowns on fumble and interception returns and allowed a total of two touchdowns in six games. 

About the Spartans: Solon continued to look like a top-ranked team last week scoring 48 first-half points in a 62-0 win over Fort Madison. The Spartans haven’t allowed more than seven points in a game this season and are holding opponents to 124 total yards per game.

The Solon defense hasn’t just kept opposing offenses off the scoreboard they’ve set up their own team with scoring chances. Solon has forced 18 turnovers in six games this season while allowing only 14 points.

Cam Miller has thrown for 14 touchdowns and one interception while Kendrick Harris and Hunter Kula have combined for 835 rushing yards and 11 touchdowns.

About the Panthers: It has already been a season of great improvement for Mount Pleasant. The four wins are the most for the Panthers since winning four in 2011 and with one win in its final three games Mount Pleasant can secure its first winning season since 2009.

The biggest growth has come on defense. A year after allowing 26.4 points per game and giving up more than 30 points four times the Panthers are holding opponents to 14 points per game, have held three opponents to single digits and given up more than 30 points one time.

Beason has already surpassed his passing total for last season by more than 300 yards and has nine touchdowns against six interceptions.

1A No. 8 West Branch (6-0) at North Cedar (1-5)

Where: Doug Jackson Field in Stanwood, 7:30 p.m.

Last Season: West Branch 35, North Cedar 14 

Player to Watch: North Cedar senior running back Shane Weber (5-10, 150) has rushed for a team-high 331 yards and two touchdowns and has returned three kickoffs for scores and averages 42.6 yards on eight returns.

Key Stat: West Branch had played 38 games since its last contest decided by less than six points. In the last two weeks, the Bears have won back-to-back games decided by a total of 5 points.

About the Bears: West Branch followed up a wild 45-41 win over Bellevue with a 24-23 road win over Durant last week. Beau Cornwell hit a 42-yard field goal in the final minute to help West Branch avoid an upset against to the Wildcats.

Cornwell has passed for 1,348 yards and 15 touchdowns as West Branch has already surpassed its total passing yardage from a year ago.

Senior receivers Ben Thompson and Jacob Graves have combined for 915 yards and 11 touchdowns.

About the Knights: North Cedar snapped a nine-game losing skid that dated back to last season with a 7-0 win over Jesup on Friday. After allowing 43.6 points per game during an 0-5 start to the season North Cedar posted its first shutout since the 2013 season-opener last week.

The Knights rushed for a season-high 193 yards in its win last week behind 104 yards from Weber.

Sophomore quarterback Ethan Sahr has passed for 471 yards and three touchdowns this season with Tyler Alexander his top target with 13 receptions for 219 yards and a score.