Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

There are plenty of positives to point out during the unbeaten 7-0 start for Class 4A second-ranked West High.

The Trojans have one of the best quarterbacks in the state in Evan Flitz throwing to a talented group of receivers led by Traevis Buchanan and a stout defense spearheaded by Iowa linebacker recruit Dillon Doyle.

That is a lot to like about a football team.

After West High hammered out 286 rushing yards on a season-high 50 carries in a 34-20 win over Cedar Rapids Kennedy on Friday it’s time to give some love to the big guys up front.

“It’s a senior dominated line, there are guys up there that have a lot of starts and have played a lot varsity football and put in the time in the offseason and they are starting to really gel like we need them to this time of year,” West High coach Garrett Hartwig said. “They are good, hardworking, tough, very humble group of guys.”

The West High offensive line feature four senior starters in left tackle Jonathan Gannon (6-4, 245), left guard Joe Briddle (6-2, 235), center Guy Snow (6-1, 250) and right guard Nate Daniels (6-0, 280).

Right tackle Ian Gluesing (6-3, 200) is the only junior in the group that has paved the way for the Trojans to rush for 213 yards per game this season while averaging 5.6 yards per carry.

“They are getting better and better by the week and we are going rely on that group for their leadership and experience,” Hartwig said. “They’ve seen just about everything as a group now from every type of front and stunt and blitz and everything from a smaller defensive line to a huge defensive line so there is nothing that should surprise them it’s just a matter of getting the job done.”

Flitz and the West High receivers are putting up impressive stats and garnering attention but seven games into the season the Trojans are running the ball more efficiently than any time in four seasons under Hartwig.

West High averaged 3.5 yards per carry in 2014, 3.7 in 2015 and 4.7 yards per rushing attempt during its runner-up season last fall.

The 156 rushing yards per game the Trojans averaged last season were the best for a Hartwig coach team before this fall when West High has increased that total by more than 50 yards.

“We have a very good group there with a lot of seniors and juniors that are also developing that could play or start for a lot of teams,” Hartwig said. “They work hard in practice they are coached well by coach (Travis) Meade, coach (Josh) Flammang, Coach (John) Gluesing as a group they are getting to where we need them to be but everyone needs to get better including those guys.”

The West High offensive line and ground game have ramped up as the season has gone on.  

West High averaged 4.3 yards per carry and 125 yards per game in its first three games.

West High has rushed for 275 yards in three of the last four games, averaging 9.1 yards per carry and 240 yards per game during that stretch.

“If you are hitting on all cylinders to start the season you are going to have problems later,” Hartwig said. “We didn’t run the ball like we wanted to early but it something that we knew we could and had to do.”

Kennedy hadn’t allowed more than 200 rushing yards prior to Friday and was allowing just 122 yards per game on the ground.

Running behind its veteran offensive line West High finished with 286 yards on the ground against the Cougars, just 14 yards off its season high.

Smooth Transition

Jacob Graves hadn’t lined up and running back since he was in junior.

The West Branch senior didn’t look anything like a newcomer to the position on Friday rushing for 179 yards and a pair of touchdowns against North Cedar.

Graves replaced sophomore Tanner Lukavsky who ran for 703 yards and 10 touchdowns this season but left last week’s win over Durant with an injury.

In his first career start Graves posted the highest single game rushing total for a Bear this season.

“I’ve always said any good team has to have some adversity along the way,” West Branch offensive coordinator John Hierseman said. “I think that’s good for us to have some adversity and step up and to it.”

West Branch hopes to have Lukavsky back in the lineup for its home finale on Friday against Tipton.

Another Record

Two weeks ago Evan Flitz broke Charles Rogers’ school record for career touchdown passes and has 38 and counting.

On Friday, Flitz took down another one of Rogers’ career marks.

Flitz set a new West High record with 283 career completions, surpassing the previous mark of 279 held by Rogers.

Through seven games this season Flitz has completed 109-of-158 passes for 1,669 yards and 16 touchdowns and needs 335 yards to pass Rogers for most career passing yards in West High history.

Offensive Player of the Week

Evan Flitz is well known as one of the best passers in the state.

In a 34-20 win over Cedar Rapids Kennedy on Friday the West High senior quarterback did more than just throw the football.

Flitz completed 18-of-28 passes for 186 yards and a score and also ran for 62 yards and a touchdown and caught a 5-yard touchdown pass.

Best of the Rest

<!–[if !supportLists]–>·         <!–[endif]–>Solon senior wide receiver Tanner Bandy caught five passes for 142 yards and two touchdowns in a 33-0 win over Mount Pleasant.

<!–[if !supportLists]–>·         <!–[endif]–>West Branch senior receiver turned running back Jacob Graves rushed for 179 yards and two touchdowns on 23 carries and also caught four passes for 36 yards in a 49-7 win over North Cedar.

<!–[if !supportLists]–>·         <!–[endif]–>Solon senior running back Kendrick Harris rushed for 131 yards and a touchdown on 20 carries against Mount Pleasant.

Defensive Player of the Week

Solon continued its defensive dominance on Friday and junior linebacker Coal Flansburg was again right in the middle of the action.

Flansburg had two sacks among his four solo tackles and returned an interception 60 yards for a touchdown as Solon posted its fifth shutout of the season with a 33-0 win over Mount Pleasant.

The touchdown by Flansburg was the sixth defensive score of the season for Solon.

Best of the Rest

<!–[if !supportLists]–>·         <!–[endif]–>West High senior linebacker Dillon Doyle had a team-high seven tackles including two for loss in a 34-20 win over Cedar Rapids Kennedy.

<!–[if !supportLists]–>·         <!–[endif]–>Solon junior linebacker Adam Bock made a team-high 10.5 tackles with seven solos and one for loss in a 33-0 win over Mount Pleasant.

<!–[if !supportLists]–>·         <!–[endif]–>Clear Creek Amana senior linebacker Matt Brimeyer had six solo stops among his team-high eight tackles in a 35-0 loss to Marion.