Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

Evan Flitz had already secured his status as one of the top quarterbacks in West High history before last Friday’s Class 4A state title game.

The all-time leading passer in program history Flitz provided a memorable parting performance in his final game in a West High uniform setting 4A title game records for completions and yards in a 35-21 loss to West Des Moines Dowling.

Four days following one of the best performances of his career in his finale Flitz collected one of the biggest honors of his career.

Flitz was named the Captain of the Iowa Newspaper Associations’ Class 4A all-state team on Tuesday capping an impressive two-year run in which he led West High to a 22-4 record and back-to-back 4A runner-up finishes.

“I’ve been really fortunate to have excellent receivers both years with Oliver (Martin) and Devontae (Lane) and all those guys last year and this year with Traevis (Buchanan) and (Austin) West and (Austin) Geasland and Jalen (Gaudet),” Flitz said last week. “I think I’ve had a combination of some determination on my part in that I want to be relentless and be the best and putting me in the best position by those guys.”

Flitz headlines a list of area all-state selections in Class 4A that includes teammates Traevis Buchanan, Jonathan Gannon and Dillon Doyle and City High senior wide receiver Zach Jones.

The 6-foot-1, 180-pound Flitz threw for a state-leading 2,978 yards this season while completing 70 percent of his passes.

He threw 31 touchdowns and just five interceptions and also rushed for 549 yards and 10 touchdowns.

Flitz was 30-of-40 passing for 350 yards and three touchdowns in the 4A title game.

“He’s a stud,” West High coach Garrett Hartwig said. “He works hard in the weight room and that’s a big part of playing quarterback and people don’t think about that often. He’s a multi-sport athlete which a lot of the great ones here have been and he’s competitive and he’s smart and he has the intangibles so the combination was there.”

The first two-year starter at quarterback at West High since Nate Boland in 2012 and 2013, Flitz rewrote the West High record book the past two seasons.

He finished his career with 5,240 yards passing and 53 touchdowns, both career records.

Flitz concluded his career with a completion percentage of over 70 percent and West High records for career completions and attempts and single season marks for completions, yards and touchdowns.

He also holds school single game records for touchdown passes and completions.

More importantly, Flitz helped West High to back-to-back double-digit win seasons that produced the first back-to-back state title game appearances for the Trojans since 1998 and 1999.

“He’s never chased numbers, he’s never been about numbers he’s always been about winning,” West High offensive coordinator Andrew Durham said. “It’s fun to have a kid that is that invested in what he is doing.”

Buchanan earned first team all-state honors after posting one of the best seasons for a receiver in West High history.

The 5-foot-11, 170-pound Buchanan caught 69 passes for 1,165 yards and 15 touchdowns.

Doyle, an Iowa recruit, was a second team pick at linebacker after making 49.5 tackles including 9 for loss and two sacks.

Gannon was the leader of a West High offensive line that paved the way for the Trojans to rush for more than 200 yards a game while averaging 40.2 points per game.

The 6-foot-4, 245-pound left tackle was a three-year starter on the West High offensive line.

Jones was a first team pick at wide receiver after making a school-record 77 receptions for 1,045 yards in nine games.

The 5-10, 172-pound Jones had 10 touchdown catches and set the City High single game reception record with 16 catches for 232 yards and two touchdowns against Ames.