Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

It’s not how you start its how you finish.

Garrett Hartwig knows that expression is about as a cliché as it gets.

Hartwig also is well aware that for his West High football team that old cliché is the truth.

After an 0-4 start to the season West High opened district play with a 24-7 win over Pleasant Valley last week.

The defending Class 4A, District 4 champions, West High (1-4) is now in a position to take control of the district race when it hosts Linn-Mar (3-2, 1-0) on Friday.

“It is cliched but we talk about it in our program goal number one every year is to win the district and play our best football in October,” Hartwig said. “Friday night we had a really young team grow up and take the next step and now it’s on to the next game with a lot more on the line.”

Coming off a 9-2 season that ended in the 4A quarterfinals an 0-4 start to the season was a shock for an early West High team.

West High opened the season with three consecutive losses to teams currently 4-1 and ranked in the top six in their respective classes.

After a 23-21 home loss to Dubuque Senior (3-2) in the non-district finale Hartwig went back to the drawing board, reexamining everything from practice planning to schematic adjustments.

West High ramped up its physicality in practice in preparation for Pleasant Valley and turned in its best performance at perhaps the most important time with a convincing 24-7 win.

“We were doing the same things as a program we just weren’t executing,” Hartwig said. “We challenged the boys last week and we increased the physicality at practice and practiced a lot harder and then we played that way on Friday night and that was the biggest difference.”

West High got another stellar effort from junior quarterback Marcus Morgan who was 16-of-19 passing for 195 yards and two touchdowns and returned a blocked field goal 70 yards for a touchdown to clinch the win.

However, it was the Trojan defense that took the biggest strides in the district opener.

West High allowed season-lows in points (7), total yards (183) and points per play (4.26) while holding the Spartans scoreless after the opening drive of the game.

“The best thing I can say about putting the schedule together like we did preseason is that we have played teams that have exposed our mistakes,” Hartwig said. “Pleasant Valley was very capable of doing that as well but we didn’t make the big mistakes.”

After an unfamiliar start to the season the Trojans find themselves in a familiar spot – poised to take control of a wide open district 4 race.

Linn-Mar and City High (2-3) both won district openers while Davenport North (3-2) and Muscatine (1-4) are fighting with Pleasant Valley (1-4) to stay in the district race.

“The one thing we have learned is we have to focus on ourselves,” Hartwig said. “I think moving forward any game in this district the team that makes the least amount of mistakes is going to win.”

Record Breaking Bears: West Branch enjoyed an offensive breakthrough on Thursday putting up season highs in points (52), total yards (498) and yards per play (9.2) in a 52-28 win over Bellevue and set several school records along the way.

Senior receiver Trey Eagle became the first player in program history with 200 receiving yards in a game finishing with seven receptions for a school-record 213 yards and three touchdowns.

The 213 receiving yards broke the previous school record of 176 set by Ben Thompson in 2017 and the three touchdowns tied the school record held by seven others.

Junior quarterback Gavin Hierseman set a school record with 381 yards of total offense in the win breaking the previous mark of 358 held by Beau Cornwell.

Hierseman passed for 313 yards and rushed for 68 yards in the win.

Lukavsky Shows His Versatility: West Branch running back Tanner Lukavsky didn’t record any yardage records in the in over Bellevue but the senior did pull off one of the more impressive feats you’ll ever see in a football game.

Lukavsky scored four touchdowns in four different ways in the 52-28 win over Bellevue throwing a touchdown pass, running for a score, catching a touchdown pass and returning an interception for a touchdown.

Lukavsky had a 20-yard touchdown run, threw a 13-yard scoring strike to Eagle and caught a 43-yard touchdown pass from Hierseman. He also picked off a Bellevue pass and returned it 42 yards for a score.

Miller Spreads the Wealth in Solon Win: Earlier this season Cam Miller became the all-time leading passer in Solon history. On Friday the senior quarterback posted the best individual statistical performance of his career.

Miller completed 15-of-20 passes for career-highs of 323 yards and five touchdowns in a 45-7 win over Fort Madison.

All five touchdown passes went to different receivers as Miller connected with Jace Andregg (25 yards), Cole Arduser (40 yards), AJ Coons (36 yards), Seamus Poynton (67 yards) and Trey Stebral (6 yards) on scoring strikes.

Offensive performer of the week: Regina junior quarterback Ashton Cook threw for 288 yards and three touchdowns in a 42-13 win at East Marshall.

Cook completed 22-of-41 passes and threw touchdown strikes to Sam Aitchison, Alec Wick and Josh Dutchik while throwing for more than 250 yards without an interception for the fourth consecutive game.

During the Regals’ current four-game winning streak Cook has 14 touchdown passes with an interception.

Best of the rest: City High senior running back Tonka Hickman rushed for 103 yards and a touchdown in a 10-7 win over Muscatine.

West High senior receiver Tate Crane caught three passes for 83 yards and a touchdown in a 24-7 win over Pleasant Valley.

Regina junior running back Theo Kolie rushed for 102 yards and two touchdowns in a 42-13 win over East Marshall.

Defensive performer of the week: West High junior Tyuss Bell had a team-high 6.5 tackles including a tackle for loss as West High opened district play with a 24-7 win over Pleasant Valley.

The seven points allowed were a season-low for the Trojans which held Pleasant Valley scoreless over the final three quarters.

Best of the rest: Solon senior linebacker Jax Flynn had seven tackles including three solo stops and a sack in a 45-7 win over Fort Madison.

Liberty High sophomore Darius Willis-Newell had six tackles and an interception in a 28-21 win over Clear Creek Amana.  

Regina junior Jack Keller had a team-high 7.5 tackles including a sack in a 42-13 win at East Marshall.

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