Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

Clear Creek Amana

Head coach: Gabe Bakker (3rd season, 11-8)

Assistant coaches: Trevor Bollers, Bob Broghammer, Mikkel Brown, Ashton Carpenter, Mike Dewaard, Mitch King, Jackson Litterer, Trey MacTaggart, Todd Mosier, Jake Sedlacek, Evan Schulte, Kyle Stoner, Tate Thomsen, Matt Trosky, Mike Upton, Rodney Walls

Last season: 8-2 (Class 3A first round)

Returning starters: Alex Figueroa, Jr., TB; Sam Stevens, Sr., WR; Gabe Jenn, Sr., TE; TJ Bollers, Jr., TE/DE; Arron Feinberg, Jr., OL/DL; Kyle Pitlick, Sr., OL; Xavi Hernandez, Sr., OL; Eric Zierke, Sr., OL; Sam Noska, Sr., DL; Zane Cunningham, Sr., LB; JJ Denny, Sr., LB; Grant Jensen, Sr., LB; Kaden Gisleson, Sr., CB

Other returning letterwinners: Nate Beckmann, Jr., LB; Tom Johnson, Jr., WR/DB; Joey Lepire, Jr., OL/DL; Nick Gerard, Sr., DB; Jacob Curtin, Jr., DB; Ryan Navara, Jr., QB/DB Grant Haman, Sr., DL; Andrew King, Sr., LB

Newcomers to watch: Gage Freeman, Soph., LB/TB; Harrison Cory, Jr., LB/TB; Brock Reade, Jr., WR/DB; Riley Wolfe, Jr., WR/DB

Playoff history: 6 appearances (2008-2010, 2014, 2015, 2018)

District: Class 3A, District 5

District favorite: North Scott didn’t have a district contest decided by less than four touchdowns last season on its way to the District 5 title and is a favorite to repeat with Clear Creek Amana, Liberty High and Davenport Assumption all pushing for the top spot in Class 3A’s deepest district.

Circle the date: September 27 at Liberty High. Two budding rivals and district title contenders face off in the district opener for both teams in North Liberty. Clear Creek Amana won the first meeting between the two teams 37-7 last season.

Headliner: Junior TJ Bollers is among the best players in the state and top recruits in the country, ranked as the 202nd best junior in the nation by ESPN. The 6-foot-3, 240-pound Bollers ranked fifth on the team with 45.5 tackles from his defensive end spot last season and led the Clippers with 13 tackles for loss and four sacks.

Unsung hero: Senior Eric Zierke is a two-year starter and the anchor on an offensive line that has become the strength of the Clear Creek Amana offense. The 6-foot-3, 245-pound senior was a second-team all-district pick a year ago after helping the Clippers average 200 rushing yards per game.

Keep an eye on: At 5-foot-6, 150 pounds JJ Denny doesn’t have prototypical linebacker size but that didn’t stop Denny from being one of the most productive linebackers in 3A last season. Denny had a team-high 59.5 tackles a year ago including a team-best 40 stops to go with four tackles for loss and two sacks.

Biggest question: Who takes over at quarterback? The Clippers had three players vying for the opening under center left by the graduation of do-everything senior Andrew Rohret throughout fall camp in senior Andrew Swails, junior Ryan Navara and sophomore Ben Swails. Bakker indicated there may be packages for multiple quarterbacks to see action.

Quotable: “You could tell all offseason and all summer even as we started practice it is just a different mentality,” Bakker said. “In the grand scheme of things losing that first round game, I hope is one of the better things for us. Who knows what is going to happen the next nine weeks but I think starting the year that has helped us be focused and ready to go and locked into the season.”

2019 Schedule

Aug. 30: Mount Pleasant

Sept. 6: @Fairfield

Sept. 13: @Fort Madison

Sept. 20: Marion

Sept. 27: @Liberty High*

Oct. 4: Clinton*

Oct. 10: @Davenport Assumption*

Oct. 18: @North Scott*

Oct. 25: Central DeWitt*

*-District Game

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