Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

Ames (0-2) at City High (1-1)

Where: Bates Field, 7:15 p.m.

Last Season: Ames 56, City High 33

Last Week: City High lost at No. 4 Cedar Falls 47-0. Ames lost at No. 10 Fort Dodge 52-24

Player to Watch: Ames junior quarterback Cooper Downs (6-0, 165) has passed for 512 yards and two touchdowns in two games and has the Little Cyclones lone rushing touchdown.

Key Stat: Ames allowed 604 yards of total offense, including 481 passing yards, in a 52-24 loss to Fort Dodge on Friday.

About the Little Cyclones: Ames opened the season with back-to-back losses for the first time since 2015 with consecutive loss to ranked teams in Cedar Falls and Fort Dodge.

Always among the most prolific passing teams in the state, Ames is breaking in a new quarterback this season in Downs who is coming off a 337-yard, two-touchdown performance against Fort Dodge.

The Little Cyclones have a solid group of receivers for Downs to work with led by Jonah Strawhacker (6 receptions, 111 yards), Will Krapfl (9 receptions, 90 yards) and freshman Tamin Lipsey (3 receptions, 88 yards).

About the Little Hawks: After rushing for 403 yards in a season-opening win over Liberty High the Little Hawks were limited to 62 yards on the ground on 34 carries while being shutout at Cedar Falls.

Through two games City High has completed just 8-of-24 passes for 84 yards with five interceptions but will get a chance to get the passing game going against an Ames defense allowing 331 yards per game through the air.

Junior Tonka Hickman (5-11, 186) has been the top offensive threat for City High rushing for 233 yards and two touchdowns on 37 carries.

Ames has won three of four meetings and two straight in the Little Cy Hawk series and has won both meetings in Iowa City. The Little Cyclones have averaged 43 points in three wins over City High and scored 10 points in their only loss to the Little Hawks in 2015.

1A No. 10 Pella Christian (1-1) at 1A No. 6 Regina (1-1)

Where: Regal Field, 7 p.m.

Last Season: Regina 37, Pella Christian 35 (1A semifinal)

Last Week: Regina defeated Anamosa 34-15. Pella Christian lost to Van Meter 27-7

Player to Watch: Pella Christian senior Noah Treimer (5-11, 187) has rushed for a team-high 154 yards, leads the Eagles in receptions (6) and receiving yards (74), has returned a kick off 97 yards for a touchdown and has 14.5 tackles and an interception.

Key Stat: The previous two meetings between Regina and Pella Christian have featured a combined 160 points but have both been decided by just two points.

About the Eagles: Like Regina the Eagles have been tested by their own challenging early-season schedule.

Pella Christian defeated Class 3A Oskaloosa 51-33 in its season opener before falling to defending 1A champion and fourth-ranked Van Meter last week.

Van Meter rushed for 347 yards, had a pair of 100-yard rushers and averaged 6.3 yards per carry in its 27-7 win over Pella Christian last week.

Pella Christian has relied heavily on Treimer in the first two games this season as its first-year quarterback junior Dan Jungling settles in under center.

Jungling (5-9, 160) has thrown for 239 yards and three touchdowns while completing 55 percent of his passes.

About the Regals: Regina rebounded from a week-one loss to 3A top-ranked Cedar Rapids Xavier by rolling up 370 yards of total offense in a 34-15 win over Class 2A Anamosa.

After managing just 18 rushing yards against Xavier the Regals got 106 yards and two touchdowns on the ground from senior Scott Blondin on their way to 145 rushing yards as a team.

Sophomore quarterback Ashton Cook has completed 64 percent of his passes for 392 yards and two touchdowns in his first two career starts with sophomore receiver Alec Wick hauling in 13 passes for 172 yards.

Southeast Polk (0-2) at 4A No. 8 West High (1-1)

Where: Trojan Field, 7:15 p.m.

Last Season: West High 37, Southeast Polk 27

Last Week: West High lost to No. 2 Bettendorf 10-7. Southeast Polk lost to No. X Waukee 21-14

Player to Watch: Among the most sought after running back recruits in the Midwest, Southeast Polk junior Gavin Williams (6-0, 195) has rushed for 170 yards while averaging 4.6 yards per carry this season.

Key Stat: West High senior receiver Jalen Gaudet is averaging 40.4 yards per reception this season and has three touchdowns of 75 yards or longer.

About the Rams: There likely isn’t a better winless team in the state that Southeast Polk which has lost games to top-ranked West Des Moines Valley and Waukee by a combined three touchdowns.

Senior quarterback Josiah Cole (6-2, 180) is the key for the Rams as defense attempt to lock down on Williams. Cole has thrown for 233 yards and rushed for 85 and a score but is completing 47 percent of his passes and has three interceptions with one touchdown.

Two games into the season Southeast Polk is -5 in turnover margin and has yet to force a turnover.  

About the Trojans: West High had a 14-game regular season winning streak end with a 10-7 loss to second-ranked Bettendorf. The Trojans have been impressive on defense so far, holding opponents to 277 yards and 8.5 points per game.

West High has been especially stingy against the run allowing 106 yards per game while limiting two opponents to less than three yards per carry.

The Trojans managed just 217 yards last week against Bettendorf and were held to 52 yards on the ground.

Joey Kuehn has passed for 295 yards and two touchdowns with senior receiver Jalen Gaudet the top target with seven receptions for 283 yards.

Marion (1-1) at 3A No. 3 Solon (2-0)

Where: Spartan Stadium, 7:30 p.m.

Last Season: Did Not Play

Last Week: Solon defeated West Liberty 7-0. Marion lost to West Delaware 25-21

Player to Watch: Marion senior quarterback Trevor Paulsen (6-2, 205) has passed for 581 yards and six touchdowns and leads the Indians with 74 yards rushing.

Key Stat: Solon has forced eight turnovers and is allowing seven points per game through its first two games.

About the Indians: Marion has been on a steady climb the past two seasons following a winless season in 2015 going 5-4 in 2016 and 6-3 a year ago.

The Indians narrowly missed a big win last week falling to sixth-ranked West Delaware 25-21.

Paulsen has provided the offensive spark for Marion accounting for 86 percent of the Indians’ offense through rushing or passing yards.

Mitch McAllister (5-9, 150) and Mason Rahe (6-1, 190) have been the top two targets for Paulsen and have combined for 24 receptions for 309 yards.

About the Spartans: Following an impressive 34-14 win over Mount Vernon in its season opener the Spartans had to sweat out a 7-0 overtime win at West Liberty last week.

Solon ground out 238 rushing yards in the win over West Liberty after running for 76 yards on 29 carries in the season-opener against Mount Vernon.

Junior quarterback Cam Miller leads the Spartan offense, throwing for 252 yards and four touchdowns and rushing for 117 yards and another score.

Solon has picked up where it left off last season defensively, holding opponents to seven points and 212 yards per game.

Williamsburg (0-2) at 1A No. 2 West Branch (2-0)

Where: The Little Rose Bowl, 7:30 p.m.

Last Season: Did Not Play

Last Week: West Branch defeated Wapello 49-14. Williamsburg lost to Western Dubuque 53-13

Player to Watch: Williamsburg running back Gage Hazen-Fabor (5-8, 170) ranked third in the state with 2,388 yards last season and has picked up where he left off, averaging 196 yards rushing in the Raiders first two games.

Key Stat: With 44 receiving yards to go with his 392 rushing yards Hazen-Fabor has accounted for 65 percent of the total offense for Williamsburg.

About the Bears: West Branch is off to an impressive start outscoring opponents 81-20 while averaging better than 320 yards of offense per game.

The Bears have been balanced on offense averaging 156 rushing yards and 164 passing yards per game.

Senior quarterback Beau Cornwell has been the key, completing 80 percent of his passes while throwing for 326 yards and five touchdowns without an interception.

Junior running back Tanner Lukavsky is averaging 9.3 yards per carry and 111 yards per game and senior Brett Schiele has a team-high eight receptions for 146 yards and three touchdowns.

About the Raiders: Coming off a 10-3 record and Class 2A runner-up finish last season Williamsburg has gotten off to a rough start with back-to-back lopsided losses.

West Marshall downed Williamsburg 27-14 in week one before a 53-13 loss to Class 3A Western Dubuque last week.

A Raider defense that annual ranks among the best around has allowed 40 points and 475 yards per game during the 0-2 start.

Western Dubuque rolled up 593 yards while averaging 8.9 yards per snap last week.

Hazen-Fabor is among the fastest and most effective running backs in the state and is averaging 6.8 yards per carry this season.

Fort Madison (2-0) at Clear Creek Amana (2-0)

Where: Clipper Field, 7:15 p.m.

Last Season: Did Not Play

Last Week: Clear Creek Amana defeated Fairfield 29-0. Fort Madison defeated West Burlington 46-0

Player to Watch: Senior quarterback Lennon Barker (5-10, 180) is off to a strong start completing 60 percent of his passes while throwing for 621 yards and two touchdowns without an interception and has four rushing touchdowns.

Key Stat: Fort Madison has opened the season with back-to-back shutouts after posting two total shutouts in its previous 90 games.

About the Clippers: Clear Creek Amana is 2-0 for the second time in three seasons and first time since 2016 after shutting out Fairfield 29-0 in its home opener last week.

Since losing three consecutive games last fall to open Gabe Bakker’s debut season Clear Creek Amana has gone 5-3 outscoring opponents 170 to 35.

Senior Andrew Rohret (5-10, 170) has gotten off to a strong start in his first season leading the Clipper offense, throwing for 206 yards and two touchdowns and rushing for a team-high 180 yards and three scores.

Junior Sam Stevens (5-5, 135) has developed into a big-play threat with seven receptions for 150 yards and a touchdown.

About the Bloodhounds: A long awaited breakthrough appears to be underway for a Fort Madison program seeking its first winning season since 2010.

Fort Madison won nine total games in six seasons from 2011 to 2016 and never had more than two wins in a season but is 6-5 in its last 11 games dating back to last season after starting 2-0 for the second consecutive season.

A Bloodhound defense that allowed better than 37 points per game a year ago has posted back-to-back shutouts to open the season as Fort Madison has outscored opponents 67-0.

Shaymour Redd-Donald (6-2, 175) and Dominic Frantz (6-1, 185) provide a dangerous receiver combination for Barker. Redd-Donald and Frantz have combined for 23 receptions for 402 yards.

Liberty High (1-1) at Washington (0-2) 

Where: Case Field in Washington, 7:15 p.m.  

Last Season: Did Not Play

Last Week: Liberty High defeated Waterloo East 18-6. Washington lost to Oskaloosa 30-20

Player to Watch: Washington junior quarterback Luke Turner (5-10, 170) has passed for 261 yards and two touchdowns and leads the Demons with 178 yards rushing and two touchdowns.

Key Stat: After allowing 403 rushing yards on 8.6 yards per carry in a season-opening loss to City High the Lightning held Waterloo East to 40 yards rushing and 1.9 yards per attempt.  

About the Lightning: Liberty High bounced back from a season-opening loss to City High to earn the first win in program history against Waterloo East.

The Lightning recovered two onside kicks while building an 18-0 lead in the first quarter and held on for an 18-6 win.

Jack Ankenbauer rushed for 120 yards and two touchdowns as Liberty High rushed for better than 200 yards for the second consecutive game, finishing with 209 yards on a whopping 60 carries.

About the Demons: Washington has won at least six games in six consecutive seasons but has been outscored by a combined 36 points in back-to-back losses to open the season.

After allowing more than 15 points just three times during an 8-2 season last fall the Demons are allowing an average of 35 points per game this season.

Turner and senior running back Garrett Ikerd (5-6, 145) give the Demons a solid combination in the backfield, combining for 147.5 rushing yards per game.