Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

No. 3 Cedar Falls (1-0) at City High (0-1)

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

Last season: Cedar Falls 47, City High 0

Player to watch: Cedar Falls senior quarterback Cael Loecher (6-5, 195) threw for 176 yards and a touchdown in the season opener and has now 30 touchdown passes with just three interceptions as a starter.

Key stat: Cedar Falls has won six in a row over City High dating back to 2011 with the last Little Hawk win over the Tigers a 49-28 playoff victory in 2010.

About the Tigers: The defending 4A runner-up, Cedar Falls opened the season with a 39-3 win over Ames to extend it regular season winning streak to 16.

During its current 16-game regular season winning streak the Tigers have posted eight shutouts and held opponents to seven or fewer points 12 times. 

Cedar Falls had to replace its leading rusher, receiver and tackler from last year’s team that lost to West Des Moines Dowling 22-16 in the state title game but has plenty to build around led by Loecher who is 13-1 as the Tigers’ starting quarterback.

Senior Bo Grosse (5-9, 180) rushed for 131 yards and two scores in the season-opening win and Ben Sernett caught five passes for 73 yards and a touchdown.

About the Little Hawks: City High dropped a 23-20 heartbreaker to Liberty High in its season opener on a field goal in the final seconds. There were positives for the Little Hawks in the loss, mainly in the running game as City High rolled up 274 yards on the ground.

Senior tailback Tonka Hickman rushed for 137 yards and two touchdowns, junior quarterback Raph Hamilton added 69 yards and sophomore Darren Richardson had 69 yards on four carries.

City High scored on three of its six possessions against Liberty High while averaging better than 5.6 yards per play.

No. 5 Bettendorf (1-0) at West High (0-1)

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

Last season: Bettendorf 10, West High 7

Player to watch: Senior Harrison Bey-Buie (5-10, 205) appears to be the next in a long time of strong Bettendorf running backs. The Moline transfer rushed for 122 yards and three touchdowns in a week one win over Pleasant Valley.

Key stat: West High and Bettendorf have played eight times over the past six seasons with Bettendorf holding a 6-2 advantage in those games after downing the Trojans twice last season.

About the Trojans: West High dropped a season opener for the first time since 2015, falling to North Scott 14-7 in Eldridge.

The Trojans struggled offensive in week one finishing with 169 total yards and just 12 total rushing yards while averaging 4.3 yards per play.

West High limited North Scott to 287 yards and 14 points but couldn’t take advantage on offense dropping just its fourth regular season game in the past four seasons.

Junior quarterback Marcus Morgan threw for 157 yards and a touchdown while completing passes six different players.

About the Bulldogs: Bettendorf is once again a serious candidate to reach the UNI-Dome and showed that with a 20-6 win over rival Pleasant Valley last week.

The Bulldogs held Pleasant Valley to 226 yards of offense and just 107 rushing yards on 28 carries in the week one victory.

A state semifinalist a year ago Bettendorf has new starters across its skill positions but still managed to put up more than 300 yards of offense in week one.

Senior Joe Bryne took over at quarterback and completed 9-of-13 passes for 77 yards and also rushed for 74 in his first start.

Clear Creek Amana (0-1) at Fairfield (0-1)

Where: Fairfield, 7:30 p.m.

Last season: Clear Creek Amana 29, Fairfield 0

Player to watch: Fairfield senior quarterback Carter Ferrel (6-0, 160) keeps plenty busy on Friday nights. Ferrel passed for 203 yards, rushed for a team-high 31 yards, returned five punts, punted four times, made three tackles and had an interception in a week one loss to Knoxville.

Key stat: Fairfield was 3-1 at home last season and outscored opponents 125-91 in those games.

About the Clippers: Clear Creek Amana opened the season with a 42-20 home loss to eighth-ranked Mount Pleasant.

A Clear Creek Amana offense that rushed for more than 200 yards seven times last season and averaged 200 yards per game on the ground was held to 67 yards on 2.9 yards per carry in the season-opening loss.

Ryan Navara and Andrew Swails split time at quarterback in the opener combining to pass for 161 yards and each threw a touchdown.

Seven different Clippers caught a pass in week one led by junior Tom Johnson who had five receptions for 57 yards.  

About the Trojans: Fairfield outgained Knoxville 242-186 in week one but was hurt by three turnovers in a 16-9 loss.

The Trojans lost back-to-back games to end last season on their way to a 4-5 record.

Fairfield rushed for 113 yards in a 29-0 loss to Clear Creek Amana last season and was limited to 39 yards rushing on 18 carries in its opener against Knoxville.

West Liberty (0-1) at No. 3 Solon (1-0)

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

Last season: Solon 7, West Liberty 0

Player to watch: Jace Andregg had an impressive performance in his Solon debut racking up 99 yards of total offense. The senior rushed for 68 yards and two scores and caught two passes for 31 yards in week one.

Key stat: Cam Miller had a season-low 73 yards passing in a 7-0 win over West Liberty last season completing 11-of-21 passes with two interceptions.

About the Spartans: Leading up to the season Solon coach Kevin Miller was excited about his team’s offensive potential. The Spartans gave a glimpse of how explosive they could be in a 35-7 win over Mount Vernon last week.

Solon averaged better than 8.6 yards per play while racking up 440 total yards in the win over the Mustangs and showed balance, passing for 215 yards and rushing for 225.

Senior quarterback Cam Miller threw for 215 yards and rushed for another 63 yards as three different players had more than 60 yards rushing.

The favorite target for Miller is 6-foot-4 senior AJ Coons who picked up where he left off following a huge junior season with six receptions for 127 yards and a touchdown in week one.

About the Comets: West Liberty was one of the top stories in the state last season when it shook off a 1-3 start to reach the Class 2A semifinals.

The Comets opened 0-2 last season with a 32-6 loss to West Branch and put a scare into Solon before falling 7-0.

West Liberty opened the season with a 28-6 loss to West Branch, scoring its only touchdown on a kick off return.

The Comets finished with 177 total yards in the loss to West Branch and were hurt by a pair of interceptions, one of which was returned for a touchdown.

Anamosa (0-1) at Regina (0-1)

Where: Regal Field, 7 p.m.

Last season: Regina 34, Anamosa 15

Player to watch: Regina junior quarterback Ashton Cook (6-4, 181) completed 14-of-28 passes for 168 yards in the season opener against Cedar Rapids Xavier.

Key stat: Regina junior receiver Alec Wick has made eight or more receptions in four of his last six games after hauling in eight passes for 68 yards against Cedar Rapids Xavier last week.

About the Regals: Regina dropped its season opener for the second consecutive season falling 35-0 to two-time defending 3A state champion Cedar Rapids Xavier.

The Regals moved the ball against one of the top defenses in Class 3A, putting up 255 yards offense but was hurt by three turnovers.

Junior quarterback Ashton Cook has a pair of strong receiving options in Wick and senior Josh Dutchik who caught four passes for 77 yards.

About the Blue Raiders: Anamosa saw its losing streak stretched to nine with a 42-21 loss to Maquoketa in week one.

Following a 5-4 season in 2017 Anamosa lost its final eight games last season following a 17-6 win over Maquoketa in the 2018 opener.

Anamosa allowed 341 rushing yards and 429 total yards to Maquoketa in the opener and has allowed more than 40 points in four consecutive games dating back to last season.

Wapello (1-0) at No. 3 West Branch (1-0)

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

Last season: West Branch 49, Wapello 14

Player to watch: Wapello senior running back Ricky Pforts (5-11, 190) ranked fourth in Class 1A in rushing yards per game last season with 153 and has run for more than 100 yards in eight of his last 10 games.

Key stat: Wapello has won four straight games dating back to last season and Pforts has averaged 202 rushing yards and scored 11 touchdowns during that stretch.

About the Bears: West Branch limited West Liberty to 177 total yards and forced two turnovers in a 28-6 season opening road win.

The Bears were efficient on offense putting up 356 total yards in the week-one win behind 153 rushing yards from senior running back Tanner Lukavsky.

In his first career start junior quarterback Gavin Hierseman completed 14-of-17 passes for 92 yards and also rushed for 77 yards and a touchdown.

About the Indians: Wapello closed last season with three consecutive wins and picked up where it left off this season with a 26-12 win over Louisa-Muscatine in the season opener.  

After averaging 90 yards passing per game last season Wapello showed some balance on offense in its week one win over Louisa-Muscatine behind the play of sophomore quarterback Tade Parsons.

Parsons completed 8-of-11 passes for 139 yards and a touchdown with senior Tyler Cooley making three receptions for 110 yards including a 97-yard touchdown grab.

Liberty High (1-0) at Waterloo East (0-1)

Where: Memorial Stadium in Waterloo, 7:15 p.m.

Last season: Liberty High 18, Waterloo East 6

Player to watch: Senior quarterback Dylan Reyes (6-3, 195) returns with experience after throwing for 1,716 yards and 10 touchdowns and rushing for nine more scores last season and threw for 216 yards and a score in week one.  

Key stat: Waterloo East attempted 31 passes in week one against Waterloo West (eighth most in 3A) and Liberty High threw five passes in its opener against City High (second fewest in 3A).

About the Lightning: Liberty High won its season opener for the first time in program history using a late field goal to edge City High 23-20.

The Lightning rushed for 253 yards in the season-opening win while averaging better than 8.1 yards per carry.

Junior Max Tafolla did the heavy lifting, running for a team-high 171 yards and two touchdowns while Kaleb Williams added 73 yards on 12 carries.

The development of senior quarterback Drake Woody will continue to be a key for Liberty. Woody was an efficient 3-of-5 passing for 64 yards and a touchdown and had a key 36-yard completion on the game-winning drive.

About the Trojans: Waterloo East has lost 16 straight games dating back to 2017 after a 26-19 loss to cross-town rival Waterloo East in the opener.

After averaging 25.8 points per game in its first five games last season the Trojans put up just 11.3 points per game over its final four.

Waterloo East showed some offensive punch in week one putting up 405 total yards against Waterloo West.

Five different players had three or more receptions from Reyes in the loss to Waterloo East and three players had more than 30 yards rushing.

Sophomore Kjuan Owens rushed for 80 yards and a touchdown and senior Alex Glover added 78 yards.

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