Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

City High (2-3) at Davenport North (3-2)

Where: Brady Street Stadium, 7:15 p.m.

Last season: Davenport North 24, City High 21

Player to watch: Davenport North senior quarterback Jack West (5-10, 175) has passed for 1,019 yards and seven touchdowns and has also rushed for 197 yards and four scores.

Key stat: City High is allowing 118 rushing yards in its two wins and has given up an average of 285 yards on the ground in three losses.

About the Wildcats: Davenport North scored 79 points in back-to-back shutouts over Davenport Central and Davenport West before opening district play with a 30-7 loss at Linn-Mar.

The Wildcats have been stingy against the run this season allowing more than 120 rushing yards just once while holding opponents to 98.4 yards per game on the ground.

Pass defense has been the key for Davenport North which has held opponents to 45 yards through the air in three wins and allowing 289 passing yards per game in two losses.

West leads the Wildcat offense and has a pair of top targets in senior Priest Sheedy (6-0, 180) and Quincy Wiseman (6-2, 160).

Sheedy has caught a team high 29 passes for 317 yards and two touchdowns while Wiseman has 20 receptions for 299 yards and three scores.

About the Little Hawks: The Little Hawks opened district play with a 10-7 win over Muscatine.

City High rushed for 228 yards in its district-opening win over the Muskies and is averaging 228 yards per game on the ground led by senior tailback Tonka Hickman.

Hickman ranks 10th in Class 4A with 560 rushing yards and has scored seven touchdowns while averaging 4.8 yards per carry.

Junior quarterback Raph Hamilton has added 241 rushing yards and Darren Richardson has rushed for 218 yards.

After allowing 37.3 points and 344 total yards during a 1-3 start to the season City High had its best defensive performance of the season in its district opener holding Muscatine to seven points on 213 total yards.

Linn-Mar (3-2) at West High (1-4)

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

Last season: West High 41, Linn-Mar 7

Player to watch: Linn-Mar junior running back Bricen White (5-10, 180) has rushed for 421 yards and three touchdowns.

Key stat: Over the last three games West High junior quarterback Marcus Morgan is completed 66 percent of his passes and passed for 714 yards and four touchdowns without an interception and also rushed for 131 yards and two scores.

About the Lions: Linn-Mar matched its win total from a year ago after a 30-7 win over Davenport North in its district opener.

The two losses for the Lions are a week-two setback to seventh-ranked Cedar Rapids Kennedy and a 17-16 loss at Urbandale in a non-district finale.

Linn-Mar got a big boost last week with the return of senior quarterback Marcus Orr.

Orr passed for 318 yards and four touchdowns in the first two games of the season before missing the next two games.

In his return last week Orr completed 17-of-28 passes for 319 yards and three touchdowns in the win over Davenport North.

Will Zahradnik (6-6, 200) is the top target for Orr catching 14 passes for 241 yards and five touchdowns.

About the Trojans: After opening the season with four consecutive losses West High got back on track with a dominating 24-7 win over Pleasant Valley in its district opener.

West High held the Spartans to 183 total yards in the win and didn’t allow a point after the opening possession of the game.

West High has relied on Morgan on offense and the junior quarterback has delivered throwing for 1,085 yards and seven touchdowns while running for 107 yards and two more scores.

Morgan has a strong duo of receivers in senior Tate Crane and junior Grahm Goering.

Goering has caught a team-high 27 passes for 401 yards and four touchdowns while Crane has caught 18 passes for 310 yards and two touchdowns. 

Clinton (0-5) at Clear Creek Amana (3-2)

Where: Clipper Field, 7:30 p.m.

Last season: Clear Creek Amana 28, Clinton 0

Player to watch: Clinton senior running back Ulysses Patterson (6-1, 180) has rushed for a team-high 246 yards and two touchdowns.

Key stat: Clear Creek Amana is averaging 241 rushing yards in its three wins this season and has averaged just 98 yards per game on the ground in two losses.

About the Clippers: Clear Creek Amana had a three-game win streak snapped with a 28-21 loss to Liberty High in its district opener.

After allowing an average of 69 rushing yards per game during its three-game win streak the Clippers gave up 283 yards on the ground in its 28-21 loss last week.

The Clippers will attempt to get back on track against a Clinton squad that is allowing 229 rushing yards per game.

Junior Alec Figueroa leads a three-headed running back attack with 444 rushing yards while Cole Pfister has rushed for 184 yards and Gage Freeman has run for 178 yards.

About the River Kings: Clinton has lost 10 consecutive games dating back to last season following a 55-7 loss at Davenport Assumption last Thursday.

The River Kings went 0-5 in district play last season dropping games by an averaging of 26.4 points.

Clinton has been held to seven or fewer points in four of five games this season and has been shutout twice.

Sophomore quarterback Jai Jensen (6-2, 170) leads the River King offense passing for 379 yards and two touchdowns.

The top receiver for Jensen has been junior Treveon Bailey (6-4, 155) with 13 receptions for 195 yards and two touchdowns.

Class 3A No. 3 Solon (5-0) at Class 3A No. 6 Washington (4-1)

Where: Case Field, 7:30 p.m.

Last season: Solon 37, Washington 14

Player to watch: Washington senior quarterback Luke Turner (5-10, 185) has passed for 867 yards and nine touchdowns and rushed for a team-high 617 yards and 12 touchdowns.

Key stat: The Solon defense is limiting opponents to 174 total yards per game and 3.7 yards per play.

About the Spartans: Solon remained unbeaten and stretched its regular season winning streak to 30 games with a 45-7 win over Fort Madison in its district opener.

Junior quarterback Cam Miller passed for a career-high 323 yards and five touchdowns in the win and has thrown for 1,080 yards and 12 touchdowns with two interceptions on the season.

AJ Coons has caught a team-high 24 passes for 472 yards and four touchdowns and Jace Andregg has 17 receptions for 256 yards and four scores.

Senior running back Seamus Poynton leads Solon with 275 rushing yards and six touchdowns and Miller has rushed for 207 yards and three scores.

Defense has been the calling card for the Spartans thus far with Solon holding opponents to 6.8 points and 174 total yards per game.

About the Demons: Washington has won all five games this season but its week four contest against West Liberty goes down as a 2-0 loss after the Demons were forced to forfeit the win due to the use of an ineligible player.

The loss doesn’t effect the district title hopes for the Demons which will hinge largely on its meeting with defending district champ Solon.

Washington has been impressive in its first five games, averaging 44 points per game in wins over Marion, Oskaloosa, Liberty High and Keokuk.

Turner is the major threat in the Washington offense but has playmakers around him in junior running back Wyatt Stout (5-10, 175) and receivers Ethan Hunt (6-0, 170) and Zac Stout (6-3, 165).

Wyatt Stout has rushed for 409 yards and eight touchdowns while Zac Stout has caught a team-high 16 passes for 304 yards and four touchdowns. Hunt has 14 receptions for 346 yards and three touchdowns.

Class 1A No. 5 West Branch (5-0) at North Cedar (4-1)

Where: Clarence, 7 p.m.

Last season: West Branch 52, North Cedar 14

Player to watch: North Cedar senior running back Brody Hawtrey (5-11, 165) has rushed for 431 yard and two touchdowns and has also caught 11 passes for 166 yards and a score.

Key stat: West Branch averaged a season-best 9.2 yards per play last week against Bellevue while racking up 498 yards of total offense, it’s highest total since week nine last season.  

About the Knights: North Cedar ranks among the best stories in the state to date surpassing its win total from the previous three seasons combined during a 4-1 start.

The Knights won five games total from 2015 to 2018, posting one-win seasons each of the past three years. 

Following a 34-0 loss to Tipton in the season opener the Knights have rattled off four consecutive wins including an 8-7 victory over Cascade in their district opener last week.

Senior quarterback Ethan Sahr (6-1, 170) has passed for 887 yards and eight touchdowns with Kael Unruh (5-11, 150) hauling in 18 catches for 431 yards and six scores.

Perhaps the biggest improvements for North Cedar have come on defense where they Knights are holding opponents to 256 total yards and 15.6 points per game.

About the Bears: After averaging 300 total yards and 28.8 points per game in four non-district contests West Branch had an offensive breakthrough in its district opener.

The Bears piled up 498 total yards in a 52-28 win over Bellevue avenging a regular season loss to the Comets from last season.

Through five games it has been a balanced attack for West Branch on offense as the Bears average 158 rushing yards and 182 passing yards per game.

Junior quarterback Gavin Hierseman has passed for 868 yards and 11 touchdowns with senior Trey Eagle catching 20 passes for 473 yards and eight scores.

Tanner Lukavsky headlines the rushing attack with 472 yards and three touchdowns. 

Liberty High (4-1) at Class 3A No. 5 North Scott (4-1)

Where: Eldridge, 7:15 p.m.

Last season: North Scott 44, Liberty High 15

Player to watch: North Scott senior running back Quentin Allison (5-8, 175) has rushed for 271 yards and two touchdowns while averaging more than five yards per carry.

Key stat: Liberty High is 6-1 over the past two seasons when it rushes for more than 235 yards.

About the Lancers: A state quarterfinalist a year ago, North Scott has picked up where it left off last season during a 4-1 start.

The Lancers opened the season by outscoring 4A opponents, West High, Davenport Central and Pleasant Valley by a combined score of 69-21 in three consecutive wins before a 21-3 loss to 3A top-ranked Western Dubuque in its non-district finale.

North Scott got back on track with a 42-21 win over Central DeWitt in its district opener last week.

The offensive numbers for North Scott aren’t staggering but the Lancers are once again among the top defensive teams in 3A holding opponents to 207 total yards and 12.6 points per game.

North Scott is allowing just 101 rushing yards per game which will be key against a potent Liberty High run game.

About the Lightning: Liberty High put itself in the thick of the district race with a come-from-behind 28-21 win over Clear Creek Amana in its district opener last week.

Now the Lightning face their toughest test of the season to date with a trip to defending district champion North Scott.

Liberty High was outgained 448-190 in a 44-14 loss to the Lancers last season in North Liberty and managed just 67 rushing yards in the loss.

A key for Liberty High in the rematch will be getting its powerful running game going. The Lightning are averaging 264 yards per game on the ground behind the trio of Max Tafolla, Kaleb Williams and Jack Ankenbauer.

Tafolla leads Liberty High with 624 rushing yards and five touchdowns while Williams has added 451 yards and Ankenbauer has run for 154 yards and two scores.

Regina (4-1) at South Hardin (4-1)

Where: Eldora, 7 p.m.

Last season: Regina 22, South Hardin 19

Player to watch: South Hardin junior receiver Beau Butler (6-2, 185) has a team-high 23 receptions for 407 yards and six touchdowns and is averaging 17.7 yards per catch.

Key stat: Regina junior quarterback Ashton Cook has completed 61 percent of his passes while throwing for 1,083 yards and 14 touchdowns without an interception during the Regals current four-game winning streak.

About the Regals: Regina stretched its winning streak to four with another impressive victory in its district opener.

The Regals put up 465 yards in a 42-13 win at East Marshall in its district opener and has now outscored opponents 185-86 during its four-game winning streak.

Regina is averaging 439 total yards per game during the winning streak and has put up at least 379 yards in all four wins.

Cook has been impressive during the winning streak with junior Alec Wick his top target.

Wick leads Class 1A with 44 receptions for 656 yards and nine touchdowns and has turned in 100-yard receiving performances in four consecutive games.

The Regals’ top two rushers have each gone over 100 yards in the past two games. Levi Quinlan had a career-high 186 yards in a week-four win over Williamsburg and has rushed for a team-high 302 yards while Theo Kolie has run for 262 yards and is coming off a 102-yard effort last week.

About the Tigers: South Hardin enters riding its own winning streak after a 39-14 win over Jesup in its district opener.

Following a 35-6 to Class 2A Iowa Falls in week two the Tigers have won three consecutive games by a combined score of 141-14.

Senior quarterback Dalton Lake (5-10, 150) has passed for 725 yards and nine touchdowns and has been at his best during the Tigers’ three-game winning streak.

Lake has eight touchdowns without an interception over the past three games and is completing 62 percent of his passes during that stretch.

Sophomore Waylen Butler (5-7, 155) leads the South Hardin rushing attack running for 209 yards and seven touchdowns.

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