Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

Cedar Rapids Kennedy (2-2) at Class 4A No. 8 Iowa City West (3-0)

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

Last Season: Did not play.

Player to Watch: Cedar Rapids Kennedy senior quarterback Max White (5-11, 190) has thrown for 288 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for a team-high 742 yards and 11 touchdowns while averaging 7.4 yards per carry.

Key Stat: West High has won six straight games dating back to last season and is averaging better than 34 points per game during that stretch.

About the Cougars: Cedar Rapids Kennedy snapped a two-game losing skid with a 48-21 in over Waterloo West last Friday.

The Cougars were forced to miss two games over COVID-19 concerns but have still faced a challenging schedule that includes a win over Cedar Rapids Prairie and losses to Cedar Rapids Washington and Class 4A No. 7 Dubuque Hempstead.

White directs a Kennedy offense that is averaging 297 rushing yards and 31 points per game.

Senior running back Demarcus Ray has rushed for 343 yards and four touchdowns and is coming off his best game of the season after rushing for 149 yards and two touchdowns against Waterloo West.

About the Trojans: West High didn’t need long to knock off the rust from its three-week layoff earning a 35-23 road win over then ninth-ranked Dubuque Senior last week.

The Trojans picked up where they left off offensively against the Rams. West High averaged 379 total yards and 41.5 points per game in back-to-back wins over Liberty High and City High to open the season.

West High had 346 total yards and averaged 6.5 yards per play in its win over Dubuque Senior.

Senior quarterback Marcus Morgan has been outstanding passing for 659 yard and nine touchdowns and rushing for 186 yards three more scores.

Senior Grahm Goering has caught 13 passes for 285 yards and six touchdowns and Damarion Williams has nine receptions for 160 yards and two touchdowns.

Liberty High (1-2) at City High (1-2)

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

Last Season: Liberty High 23, City High 20

Player to Watch: City High senior quarterback Raph Hamilton (6-4, 232) has passed for 460 yards and four touchdowns and rushed for a team-leading 198 yards and three scores.

Key Stat: The 17 offensive plays on which Gable Mitchell has touched the football this season have gained an average of 17.2 yards. Mitchell has rushed for 14 yards, caught 10 passes for 224 yards and thrown a 71-yard TD pass.

About the Lightning: Liberty High returned to action with a 48-14 loss to Cedar Rapids Prairie last week after earning its first win as a 4A program with a 7-3 win over Cedar Rapids Jefferson in its final action before a three-week break.

The Lightning had season bests in points (14), total yards (255), total offensive plays (51) and yards per play (5) in its return to action against the Hawks and will look to continue to build on that progress in the regular season finale.

Liberty High will try to rev up its running game against a City High defense allowing 199 yards per game on the ground but will also need to get something out of its passing attack.

Junior quarterback James McKinney passed for 74 yards last week and has rushed for a team-high 130 yards and a score this season.

About the Little Hawks: City High dropped its second straight game following a win over Davenport Central in the season opener when it fell to Linn-Mar 50-36 in its return to action last week.

The Little Hawks posted season highs in points (36), passing yards (298) and total offense (434) in its loss at Linn-Mar last week and has been solid on offense all season averaging 376 total yards and 30.3 points per game.

Where City High must improve is on the defensive side. After allowing 14 points in its opener the Little Hawks have given up 56 and 50 points in its last two games while West High and Linn-Mar combined to average better than 8.6 yards per offensive snap in wins over City High.

Grinnell (4-2) at Clear Creek Amana (4-2)

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

Last Season: Did not play.

Player to Watch: Grinnell senior running back Wyatt Hunter (6-0, 210) leads the state with 1,521 rushing yards and 23 rushing touchdowns and is averaging 10.7 yards per carry.

Key Stat: Grinnell is averaging 493 total yards and 44.5 points per game this season and has eclipsed 500-yard mark in total offense three times in six games.

About the Tigers: Grinnell had a four-game winning streak snapped with a 44-20 loss at top-ranked Cedar Rapids Xavier last week. It was the second loss of the season to an unbeaten team ranked in the top five for the Tigers who opened the season with a 40-28 loss to No. 4 Harlan.

Led by Hunter the Tigers boast an offense as explosive as any in Class 3A. The Tigers are averaging 320 yards per game on the ground but have shown the ability to throw the ball with sophomore quarterback Dallas Sauser (6-1, 140) who has passed for 835 yards and 10 touchdowns.

The offense evolves around Hunter who has rushed for at least 165 yards and two touchdowns in each game this season.

About the Clippers: Clear Creek Amana enters the regular season finale red-hot, riding a three-game winning streak in which it has outscored opponents 127-24.

This game has all the makings of a shootout with Clear Creek Amana averaging 382 total yards and 33.7 points per game this season.

The Clippers have been rolling on offense of late, racking up more than 470 total yards in back-to-back games and have scored 35 points or more four times this season.

Senior quarterback Ryan Navara has passed for 842 yards and seven touchdowns with senior Tom Johnson (24 receptions for 304 yards) and junior Harrison Rosenberg (16 receptions for 309 yards) his top targets.

Senior tailback Alex Figueroa has rushed for a career-high 751 yards and nine touchdowns while averaging 7.2 yards per carry.

Class 2A No. 9 Solon (4-2) at Center Point-Urbana (3-3)

Where: Center Point, 7:30 p.m.

Last Season: Did not play.

Player to Watch: Center Point-Urbana senior quarterback Keegan Koppedryer (6-5, 185) has thrown for 953 yards and seven touchdowns and has run for 71 yards and two more scores.

Key Stat: Solon is allowing just 60 rushing yards per game and has given up just one rushing score in four consecutive wins over district opponents.

About the Spartans: A 42-14 win over rival Mount Vernon last week vaulted Solon back into the Associated Press top-10 this week and moved the Spartans one win away from locking up the Class 2A, District 6 title.

Solon has been dominant in district play outscoring opponents 154-27 and averaging 343 rushing yards per game during its four-game district winning streak.

Sophomore quarterback Blake Timmons directs a Solon offense that seems to be hitting stride. Timmons has passed for 559 yards and nine touchdowns without an interception and also rushed for 481 yards. Senior Jackson Ryan has rushed for 698 yards and six touchdowns and junior Hayden Taylor has added 394 yards and four touchdowns.

About the Stormin’ Pointers: Center Point-Urbana has rebounded from an 0-3 start that featured losses to Independence, Marion and Mount Vernon to rattle off three consecutive district wins.

The Stormin’ Pointers defeated Union and South Tama 40-14 and are coming off a 32-17 win over Vinton-Shellsburg last week.

The key for Center Point-Urbana has been an uptick in production in the running game. Center Point-Urbana averaged 126 yards per game on the ground during its 0-3 start but has seen that number grow to 204 yards per game over its last three wins.

Sophomore Cole Werner (6-0, 180) has rushed for a team-leading 526 yards and four touchdowns and Collin Hoskins (5-8, 180) has run for 211 yards and three scores.

West Branch (4-2) at Dyersville Beckman (4-1)

Where: Dyersville, 7 p.m.

Last Season: Did not play.

Player to Watch: Dyersville Beckman senior quarterback Nick Offerman (6-1, 178) has thrown for 896 yards and 11 touchdowns and also rushed for 303 yards and seven touchdowns.

Key Stat: West Branch has held opponents to an average of 221 total yards, 70 rushing yards and 14.3 points per game during its current three-game winning streak.

About the Blazers: Dyersville Beckman had the start of its season delayed a week by COVID-19 concerns and dropped its eventual opener to Anamosa 42-28 but has been perfect since, rattling off four consecutive district wins.

The Blazers knocked off Northeast 37-7 in its district opener and followed with a nine-point win at Cascade, a 24-17 win over Durant and a 42-30 victory over Wilton.

Offerman is the key for the Dyersville Beckman offense, accounting for 18 of the Blazers’ 20 offensive touchdowns this season. However, the senior quarterback has weapons around him starting with senior receiver Trent Koelker (5-11, 140) who has caught 28 passes for a team-high 497 yards and six touchdowns.

Three other Blazers have more than 100 yards receiving led by junior Conner Grover (5-10, 161) who has caught eight passes for 168 yards and a touchdown while junior tight end Elliot Naughton (6-0, 189) has seven receptions for 115 yards and three touchdowns.

About the Bears: Since a 1-2 start to the season that included back-to-back losses to West Liberty and Cascade the Bears have been impressive while rattling off three consecutive wins.

West Branch averaged 12.7 points and 257 total yards per game during its 1-2 start to the season but is averaging 40.3 points and 387 yards per game during its current three-game winning streak.

Senior quarterback Gavin Hierseman is completing 63 percent of his passes while passing for 1,031 yards and eight touchdowns and has also rushed for 78 yards and four touchdowns.

Sophomore running back Andy Henson has rushed for 647 yards and five touchdowns and is coming off a career-high 170-yard performance on 30 carries in a win at Durant.

Highland (1-4) at Class A No. 3 Regina (5-1)

Where: Regal Field, 7 p.m.

Last Season: Did not play.

Player to Watch: Highland senior Owen Donovan (5-10, 190) has rushed for a team-high 662 yards and six touchdowns while averaging 7.9 yards per carry and ranks second on the team with 26.5 tackles to go with two interceptions.

Key Stat: Regina has allowed just 15 first-half points in four district games and has outscored district foes by a combined score of 139-15 in the opening half.

About the Regals: Regina has already locked up the Class A, District 6 title and will look to enter the postseason riding a six-game winning streak.

The Regals have rolled through district play, winning four games against Class A competition by an average of 36 points per game.

Regina has hit its stride offensive and enters the regular season finale averaging 40.3 points and 419 total yards per game.

Senior quarterback Ashton Cook has thrown for 1,275 yards and 14 touchdowns while completing 62 percent of his passes and has also rushed for 123 yards and two scores.

His top target has been senior Alec Wick who has 37 receptions for 670 yards and 10 touchdowns while Theo Kolie has rushed for 820 yards and 16 touchdowns.

About the Huskies: Highland snapped a three-game losing skid to open the season with a 55-14 win over North Cedar on September 25 but fell to Lisbon 52-6 last week.

Donovan is the focus on the run-oriented Huskie offense that is directed by junior quarterback Connor Grinstead (6-0, 160).

Grinstead has passed for 134 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for 347 yards and five scores while averaging better than six yards per carry.

As a team Highland is averaging 247 rushing yards per game while averaging 7.3 yards per carry.

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