Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

Things are starting to heat up for high school football.

The regular season is in the books with postseason play set to begin on Friday in all six classes.

Before the focus entirely turns towards the playoffs and the quest for a spot in the UNI-Dome let’s take a moment to look back at the best regular season performances from area teams and players.

Best Individual Offensive performance: Zach Jones against Ames. There were plenty of great performances by area athletes this season but the City High senior receiver gets the nod for his 16-catch, 232-yard, two-touchdown performance against Ames.

The 16 receptions were a City High school record and the 232 yards were the second most ever for a City High receiver and third most for a 4A player in a game this season.

Best Individual Defensive performance: Solon junior Adam Bock vs. Mount Vernon. In his first varsity start Bock had a team-high nine tackles, including six solo stops and returned a fumble for a score in a 19-0 Solon win.

Best team offensive performance: Regina vs. Wilton. Regina rolled up 500 yards of offense while averaging 10.2 yards per play in a 49-7 win over a Wilton squad that finished the season 8-1 and reached the playoffs. The Regals rushed for 258 yards and led 42-0 in the third quarter.

Best team defensive performance: Solon vs. Regina. The Spartans had games this season where they held teams to less yardage and forced more turnovers but shutting out a Regina offense that annually ranks among the best in the state and finished the regular season averaging 38.1 points per game is the most impressive.

Comeback player of the year: West Branch junior quarterback Beau Cornwell. A broken collar bone ended the varsity debut season for Cornwell in week 2 last fall. Cornwell has responded with the one of the best seasons ever for a West Branch quarterback this fall. Cornwell has passed for a school record 1,970 yards and 20 touchdowns and rushed for 232 yards and seven scores.

Coach of the year: West High coach Garrett Hartwig. West High graduated the Gatorade player of the year, one of the state’s best tailbacks, a division I offensive lineman and another all-state lineman and has been better this season.

Hartwig directed West High to the ninth unbeaten regular season in program history and the No. 1 ranking in Class 4A entering the postseason.

Best game: West Branch 45, Bellevue 41. Six touchdowns of over 25 yards, a kickoff return for a score, 1,100 yards of total offense and four fourth-quarter lead changes this one had it all. The teams combined for 28 points in the final eight minutes before West Branch secured the win on a Ben Thompson interception in the end zone with seven seconds left.

Newcomer of the year: Clear Creek Amana senior receiver Darius Moore. The Sioux City West transfer was one of the top receivers in Class 3A this season leading Clear Creek Amana with 47 receptions for 697 yards and four touchdowns.

Top Kick Returner: City High senior Zach Jones. The dynamic Jones averaged 25.7 yards per kickoff return, returning one 94 yards for a touchdown. He was equally as dangerous on punt returns, averaging 15 yards per return including a 65-yarder for a touchdown.  

Top multitasker: Regina senior Jake Phillips. Plenty of prep players both sides of the ball. Few have as many responsibilities on any given Friday night as Phillips. The 6-foot-0, 200-pound Phillips leads Regina with 23 catches for 349 yards and three touchdowns and has also rushed for 235 yards and five touchdowns. Phillips has also thrown a touchdown pass and returned a kickoff for a score. He averages 13.3 yards per punt return and ranks sixth on the team with 24 tackles.

Best Individual play: The two-point conversion pass from Evan Flitz to Traevis Buchanan in West High’s win over Cedar Falls was a good enough play to be considered for this honor. Flitz rolled right to keep the play alive and made a good throw to Buchanan who made the catch in traffic just inbounds. The fact the play came on the final play of overtime makes it an easy selection.

Unsung hero: Regina senior lineman Steve Sehl. Lineman are often overlooked but what the 6-foot-3, 275-pound Sehl does on both sides of the ball can’t be ignored. Sehl is among the best offensive lineman in Class 1A and ranks seventh on the team with 22 tackles on defense.

Special teams MVP: West High senior Lucas Karwal. Karwal is a consistent weapon in the kicking game for the top-ranked Trojans going 45-of-47 on PATs and making 6-of-9 field goals including a 42 yarder. Karwal has 19 touchbacks in 59 kickoffs and has averaged 30.6 yards per punt since taking over punting duties late in the season.

Offensive MVP: West High senior quarterback Evan Flitz. You will be hard pressed to make an argument for a quarterback with a better resume than Flitz. His 2,157 passing yards rank fifth in the state and his 72 percent completion percentage is second. Flitz has 24 touchdown passes with three interceptions, has rushed for 436 yards and nine touchdowns and directed West High to the only 9-0 season in Class 4A.

Defensive MVP: Solon senior defensive tackle Tyler Linderbaum. A defensive MVP with 23.5 tackles? You bet. The 6-foot-3, 250-pound Linderbaum is one of the biggest reasons that Solon has been among the best defenses in the state this season and allowed just 21 points in nine games. Linderbaum ranks third on the team with 23.5 tackles despite facing constant double teams.