Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

Wapello (1-1) at Class A No. 3 Regina (2-1)

Where: Regal Field, 7 p.m.

Last Season: Did not play.

Player to Watch: Wapello sophomore running back Jake Gustison (5-10, 165) has rushed for 220 yards and three touchdowns while averaging 6.5 yards per carry.

Key Stat: In the last four meetings between the teams Regina has outscored Wapello by a combined margin of 188-13.

About the Indians: Wapello bounced back from a 34-24 loss to Mediapolis in its season opener with a 42-13 win over Highland last week.
The Indians are seeking a fifth consecutive winning season after posting 5-4 marks each of the past three years.

Wapello is led offensively by junior quarterback Tade Parsons (6-2, 165) who has completed 19-of-37 passes for 306 yards and three touchdowns with one interception.

A pair of seniors have been the top targets for Parsons with Evan Ross (5-11, 150) catching nine passes for 115 yards and a touchdown and Caden Thomas (6-5, 195) making four receptions for 106 yards and two scores.

About the Regals: After opening the season with back-to-back contests against ranked opponents from larger classes Regina rolled to a 62-0 win over North Cedar in its Class A district opener last Friday.

Regina put up a season-high 448 yards of total offense last week, including 279 rushing yards, while averaging better than 10 yards per play.

The Regina defense, which allowed 477 yards in its opener against 4A Pleasant Valley and 262 yards in a week-two win at Clear Lake held North Cedar to 57 total yards and just 1.3 yards per snap.

Senior tailback Theo Kolie has posted consecutive 100-yard rushing efforts and leads Regina with 301 yards on the ground and five touchdowns while averaging 6.8 yards per carry.

Benton Community (2-1) at Clear Creek Amana (1-2)

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

Last Season: Did not play.

Player to Watch: Benton Community junior quarterback Colin Buch (6-1, 185) has thrown for 286 yards and a touchdown while completing 62 percent of his passes and rushed for a team-high 195 yards and four scores.

Key Stat: Benton Community is holding opponents to 136 rushing yards per game on 3.7 yards per carry and hasn’t allowed more than 135 rushing yards in either of its past two games.

About the Bobcats: Benton Community returns to Class 3A this season after winning 17 combined games and reaching the 2A playoffs each of the past two seasons.

The Bobcats opened the season with a 28-21 win at Vinton-Shellsburg and last week bounced back from a 44-20 loss to 2A top-ranked Williamsburg with a 14-13 overtime win over Oskaloosa.

The offense runs through Buch but the Bobcats have playmakers around their junior quarterback starting with junior running back Lawrence Wallace (5-9, 185) who has rushed for 190 yards and a touchdown.

Junior Jacob Brecht (5-11, 170) has caught 17 passes for 105 yards and two touchdowns and sophomore Sam Wallace (6-2, 165) has five receptions for 102 yards.

About the Clippers: Clear Creek Amana continued its challenging early-season schedule with a 30-6 road loss to Class 3A second-ranked Cedar Rapids Xavier last week.

The Clippers will look to get back on track when they return to Clippers Field on Friday where they have won four straight games dating back to last season.

Clear Creek Amana will look to get its running game back in high gear this week. The Clippers averaged better than 202 rushing yards in its first two games before being limited to 74 yards on the ground last week.

Senior running back Alex Figueroa (5-9, 175) leads the team with 357 yards and five touchdowns while senior quarterback Ryan Navara has rushed for 91 yards.

West Branch (1-2) at Wilton (1-2)

Where: Wilton, 7 p.m.

Last Season: Did not play.

Player to Watch: Wilton senior quarterback Caleb Sawvell (6-0, 165) has passed for 410 yards and three touchdowns and also rushed for a team-leading 297 yards and four touchdowns.

Key Stat: West Branch is +6 in turnover margin this season, forcing eight turnovers (four fumbles, 4 interceptions) while turning the ball over twice via interception, both coming in a week-three loss to Cascade.

About the Beavers: Wilton has opened the season with three consecutive one-score games, knocking off Highland 36-30 in the opener before dropping back-to-back games to Class A seventh-ranked Lisbon (26-20) and 1A No. 7 Durant (35-28).

The Beaver offense runs through its senior quarterback Sawvell who is accounting for more than 235 yards of total offense per game.

Junior running back Jackson Hull (6-0, 205) has rushed for 148 yards and two touchdowns and the Beavers have a pair of receivers to keep an eye on in senior Colby Sawvell (6-0, 165) and sophomore Caden Kirkman (6-6, 200).

Colby Sawvell leads the team in receptions (15) and receiving yards (209) while Kirkman has caught seven passes for 65 yards and three touchdowns.

About the Bears: West Branch is among the best one-win teams in 1A three weeks into the season after back-to-back losses to West Liberty and Cascade the past two weeks.

The Bears have been solid on defense, holding opponents to 16.3 points and 285 total yards per game and forcing eight turnovers. West Branch hasn’t allowed an opponent more than 351 yards of offense or 21 points in its three games.

Where West Branch has struggled to find a rhythm is on offense. The return of senior quarterback Gavin Hierseman (6-1, 185) last week helped. Hierseman has thrown for 507 yards and three touchdowns despite missing the West Liberty game with an injury.

Four different players have caught at least 11 passes for West Branch led by junior Peyton Miller (5-8, 160) with 20 receptions for 149 yards while Andy Henson (6-2, 185) has 15 grabs for 121 yards and a touchdown.

Solon (1-2) at South Tama (2-1)

Where: Tama, 7:30 p.m.

Last Season: Did not play.

Player to Watch: South Tama senior running back Payton Vest (5-11, 190) has rushed for 454 yards and five touchdowns while averaging 8.3 yards per carry, has caught four passes for 35 yards and a touchdown and has 16 tackles including four for loss and a sack.

Key Stat: In its two wins this season South Tama is allowing an average of 94 rushing yards per game and in its lone loss the Trojans gave up 319 yards on the ground.

About the Spartans: After back-to-back losses to top-five opponents to open the season Solon got on track last week with a 42-0 road win at Union.

The Spartans rolled up a season-high 418 yards of total offense, behind an impressive 405 rushing yards in their first win under new head coach Lucas Stanton.

Three Solon players have more than 100 yards rushing this season and all three eclipsed the 100-yard mark in the win over Union.

Senior running back Jackson Ryan (5-10, 180) has rushed for a team-high 347 yards and four touchdowns while junior Hayden Taylor (5-8, 185) has 133 yards and sophomore quarterback Blake Timmons (5-10, 162) has added 176 yards on the ground and two scores.

About the Trojans: South Tama ranks among the top early-season stories in Class 2A this season. The Trojans snapped a 24-game losing skid that dated back to 2017 with a 55-6 win over Saydel in its opener and moved to 2-1 with a 18-14 victory over Vinton-Shellsburg last week.

With four games remaining South Tama has a solid opportunity to follow up consecutive winless seasons with its first winning season since 2015.

The success this season for the Trojans starts with the ability to run the football. Led by Vest who averages 151 yards per game on the ground Vest South Tama is rushing for 252 yards per game.

Senior quarterback Brayden Smith (6-2, 200) has rushed for 219 yards and four touchdowns and four Trojans have scored a rushing touchdown this season.

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