Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

No. 7 Sergeant Bluff-Luton (10-1) vs. No. 2 Solon (11-0)

Where: UNI-Dome, Thursday 8:30 p.m.

Last season: Did not play

Player to Watch: Sergeant Bluff-Luton senior quarterback Daniel Wright (6-8, 225) has completed 70 percent of his passes while throwing for 2,681 yards and 30 touchdowns.

Key stat: Wright averages 244 passing yards and nearly three touchdown passes per game this season while Solon is allowing 79 passing yards per game and has allowed four passing touchdowns all season.

About the Warriors: Sergeant Bluff-Luton is making its second consecutive semifinal appearance after falling to Western Dubuque 35-18 at the UNI-Dome a year ago.

The Warriors are 30-4 over the past three seasons with two of those losses coming in season openers to Council Bluffs Lewis Central in each of the past two seasons.

Wright has been the one constant for the Warriors during their three-year run, passing for 6,712 yards and 76 touchdowns in three seasons leading the Sergeant Bluff-Luton offense.

A career 66 percent passer, Wright has been among the most accurate quarterbacks in the state this season, ranking second in the state in completion percentage at 69.6 percent.

Wright also ranks fifth in the state in passing yards and 11th in touchdown passes helping the Warriors average 37.7 points per game.

In two playoff wins Wright has thrown for 452 yard and six touchdowns without an interception.

The Warriors have been among the best teams in the state at holding on to the ball, committing eight turnovers on the season and just three in their last nine games.

Jorma Schwedler (5-9, 155) and Kaden Helt (6-0, 185) lead the Sergeant Bluff-Luton running attack combining for 1,022 yards and 17 touchdowns.

Schwedler has rushed for a team-high 564 yards and 11 scores.

Wright has several dangerous weapons in the passing game with four receivers catching at least 20 passes and four touchdowns including a trio of players with better than 450 receiving yards and seven touchdowns.

Deric Fitzgerald (5-9, 165) leads the Warriors with 69 receptions for 846 yards and nine touchdowns while Carter Schumacher (6-2, 180) has 46 grabs for 750 yards and eight scores and Jacob Imming (6-2, 190) has 39 receptions for 447 yards and seven touchdowns.

About the Spartans: After a rare first-round playoff exit Solon last season returns to the UNI-Dome for the second time in three seasons seeking its first state title game appearance since 2010.

The Spartans used an impressive defense and resurgent running game to win back-to-back playoff games over Liberty High and Pella and return to the 3A semifinals.

Solon allowed just seven points and 374 yards of total offense in two postseason wins combined and hasn’t given up more than seven points in a game since week seven of the regular season.

On the season the Spartans are holding teams to 7.4 points, 169 total yards per game and 3.6 yards per play.

The Solon defense will get its toughest test of the season on Thursday from a dynamic Sergeant Bluff-Luton pass offense that averages 244 yards per game through the air.

Solon hasn’t allowed more than 160 yards passing in a game this season and has given up 281 passing yards in its past five games combined.

Solon has posted its top two rushing performances of the season in the playoffs rushing for a season-high 243 yards against Liberty High and running for 234 yards against Pella.

Senior running back Seamus Poynton (6-0, 195) has rushed for 620 yards and a team-high 12 touchdowns while senior quarterback Cam Miller (6-1, 205) has run for 711 yards and 10 touchdowns and has back-to-back 100-yard performances in the playoffs.

Miller has thrown for 1,960 yards and 23 touchdowns this season while completing 68 percent of his passes.

Senior AJ Coons (6-4, 210) has been the top target for Miller with 50 receptions for 797 yards and nine touchdowns while senior Jace Andregg (6-2, 205) has caught 38 passes for 467 yards and seven scores

Regina (9-2) vs. No. 2 Van Meter (11-0)

Where: UNI-Dome, Saturday 10 a.m. 

Last season: Did not play

Player to Watch: Van Meter senior quarterback Anthony Potthoff (6-3, 200) has completed 70 percent of his passes while throwing for 1,385 yards and 14 touchdowns without an interception and rushed for 753 yards and 12 touchdowns.

Key stat: Van Meter is holding opponents 5.2 points per game this season and hasn’t allowed more than 12 points in a game.

About the Bulldogs: One of the top 1A programs in the state in recent years Van Meter is making its fifth consecutive trip to the UNI-Dome in its 12th straight postseason appearance.

The Bulldogs have posted a 57-4 record during a five-year span of semifinal appearances that includes a state title in 2017.

Van Meter has won 35 of 36 games over the past three seasons with the lone loss a 38-35 setback to West Sioux in the semifinals last season.

This season the Bulldogs have relied on a stingy defense that is allowing 5.2 points and 173 total yards per game to return to the state semifinals.

Van Meter has held opponents to seven points or fewer in eight games this season, posting four shutouts and holding six opponents to 154 total yards or less.

The Van Meter offense runs through Potthoff who is 22-1 in his career as a starter and has 38 touchdown passes and one interception the past two seasons.

Potthoff has spread the ball around this season with nine different players catching a touchdown pass. Eight Bulldogs have at least 100 yards receiving led by Blade Koons (6-0, 170) with 12 grabs for 274 yards and three touchdowns.

Van Meter has been without their leading rusher Ian Abrahamson since the final week of the regular season and sophomore Dalten Van Pelt (5-10, 165) has rushed for 238 yards in three games as the lead back.

About the Regals: After a one-year absence Regina returned to the UNI-Dome for the ninth time in the past 10 seasons with a 30-20 quarterfinal win over fourth-ranked West Branch.

The last trip to the UNI-Dome for Regina ended with a 28-7 loss to Van Meter in the 2017 Class 1A title game.

Regina will get another shot at the Bulldogs on Saturday after winning back-to-back road playoff games over Mediapolis and West Branch.

Seven of the 11 games for Regina this season came against postseason qualifiers including two from larger classes in 3A Cedar Rapids Xavier 2A semifinalist Williamsburg.

Regina has gotten a boost in the running game from junior Theo Kolie (6-1, 165) who has rushed for 300 yards in a pair of playoff wins including a career-high 202 against West Branch.

Kolie has run for a team-high 890 yards and eight touchdowns this season while junior Levi Quinlan has added 484 yards and four scores.

Junior Ashton Cook (6-4, 181) is completing 56 percent of his passes while throwing for 2,234 yards and 23 touchdowns and has also run for 276 yards and eight touchdowns.

Cook will be without his top target in senior Alec Wick on Saturday but still has a pair of players with more than 20 receptions.

Quinlan has caught 24 passes for 208 yards and a touchdown while Josh Dutchik has 41 receptions for 566 yards and three scores.

Nick Hein has caught 15 passes for 142 yards and three scores.

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