Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

City High (0-0) at Liberty High (0-0)

Where: Liberty High School, 7:30 p.m.

Last season: Liberty High 28, City High 24

Player to watch: City High senior Gable Mitchell (5-9, 185) is a key for City High on offense, defense and special teams. A three-year starter, Mitchell has led the Little Hawks in receiving yards and tackles each of the past two seasons, was the Little Hawks top kick and punt returner last season and averaged 37.7 yards per punt.

Key stat: Liberty High has averaged 197 rushing yards per game and 6.4 yards per carry in back-to-back single digit wins over City High.

About the Lightning: James Harris became just the second coach in Liberty High history in March when he took over for Jeff Gordon who had led the program since its inception.

Harris inherits a Liberty High team that went 2-3 in an abbreviate 2020 season but returns 12 starters including its top four tacklers from a season ago.

Led by returning linebackers Griffin Kraft (50.5 tackles), Darius Willis-Newell (33 tackles) and Jacob Adam (41.5 tackles) along with senior defensive back Luke Meyers (27 tackles) the defense should be stout.

The key for improvement this season lies on the offensive side of the ball where junior quarterback Tye Hughes leads the way.

Hughes passed for 188 yards and a touchdown after taking over late last season and will have a solid receiving corps led by senior captain James McKinney.

Willis-Newell rushed for a team-high 234 yards last season and seniors Max Beckman (6-3, 231) and Peyton Kurtz (6-5, 262) return to lead the Lightning offensive line.

About the Little Hawks: Another team with a head coach making a debut, City High will open the Mitch Moore era with a cross-town road trip seeking to snap a two-game losing skid to the Lightning.

City High won the inaugural meeting between the two teams 38-21 in 2018 but Liberty High has won the last two including a 28-24 come-from-behind win last season at Bates Field.

The Little Hawks will be breaking in a new quarterback but have 14 returning starters including four on the offensive line and three of its top four rushers and leading receiver from last season.

Mitchell and junior linebacker Ben Kueter return after trying for the team lead with 41.5 tackles last season. Toss in senior defensive end Gabe Orris and City High returns its top three tacklers from last season.

Seniors Jamari Newson, Joey Bouska and Darren Richardson return in the offensive backfield after combining to rush for 600 yards and six touchdowns.

Cedar Rapids Kennedy (0-0) at West High (0-0)

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

Last season: West High 48, Cedar Rapids Kennedy 21

Player to watch: West High senior Mason Applegate (5-11, 200) is a two-year starter on the Trojan defensive line but is expected to make his first career start at tailback in the season opener. A two-way player, Applegate will still be a disruptive force along the defensive line after making 12.5 tackles for loss last season.

Key stat: West High posted a season-high 543 total yards while averaging 11.6 yards per play in its 48-21 win over the Cougars last season.

About the Trojans: West High rolled past Cedar Rapids Kennedy 48-21 during a 6-0 start to last season that ended with a loss to Pleasant Valley in the Class 4A quarterfinals.

Two of the most consistent 4A programs in Eastern Iowa over the past decade, this will be the 10^th meeting between the two Mississippi Valley Conference rivals in the last 10 years with West High holding an 8-1 advantage during that span.

West High has won four straight over the Cougars, all coming by 14 points or more after Kennedy won the 2015 season opener 34-31 in Iowa City.

West High returns seven starters from last season but will be breaking in new starters at nearly every offensive skill position on Friday.

Expect the Trojan to rely heavily on an offensive line that returns three starters led by senior tackle and North Dakota commit Liam Becher.

About the Cougars: Cedar Rapids Kennedy is coming off a 4-4 season in which the Cougars went 2-3 during the regular season but clicked late, posting back-to-back postseason wins.

The Cougars knocked of Dubuque Senior and Cedar Rapids Prairie in the 4A playoffs before falling to eventual runner-up Southeast Polk 48-0 in the quarterfinals.

There are plenty of holes to fill from last year’s team as Kennedy lost a strong group of seniors to graduation led by all-state lineman Connor Colby and starting quarterback and leading rusher Max White.

Kennedy tends to reload as well as anyone and does have some talent returning especially on defense led by senior linebackers Alex Koch (5-11, 200) and Dylan Davis (6-5, 210)

Koch had 35 tackles including 10.5 for loss last season and Davis made 23 tackles a year ago.

West Liberty (0-0) at Solon (0-0)

Where: Spartan Stadium, 7:30 p.m.

Last season: Did not play

Player to watch: West Liberty senior Jahsiah Galvan (6-2, 185) ranked second in Class 2A with 1,673 rushing yards last season and scored 14 touchdowns. Galvan has earned scholarship offers from Nebraska, Air Force and Army as a defensive back and had 54 tackles and had a team-high four interceptions a year ago.

Key stat: Stopping the run will be key for both teams on Friday and Solon was strong against the run last season allowing just 109 yards per game on the ground and giving up more than 145 rushing yards twice in 10 games.

About the Spartans: Solon returns eight starters from a team that went 7-3 and advanced to the Class 2A quarterfinals a season ago before falling to eventual champion Waukon.

The Spartans opened the season with back-to-back losses to Williamsburg and Washington before winning seven straight to reach the quarterfinals.

Solon will be seeking a better start to the season on Friday and unlike last year won’t be breaking in a new offensive leader.

Junior quarterback Blake Timmons returns after accounting for 1,717 yards of total offense a year ago when he passed for 1,078 yards and 14 touchdowns and rushed for 639 yards and eight scores.

Senior Carson Miller is back as one of the top weapons for Timmons after rushing for 97 yards and catching 17 passes for 194 yards and two scores last year while seniors Jake Quillin, Logan Sieverding, Parker Pentico and Brent Lumpkin could all factor into the receiving corps.

About the Comets: West Liberty is coming off a 6-3 season that featured an upset of Class 2A top-ranked Williamsburg in the playoffs.

The Comets edged Williamsburg 20-14 in the round of 16 before falling to Camanche for the second time on the season in the 2A quarterfinals.

Galvan is the leader for the Comets on both sides of the ball but there is returning talent around the all-state running back and defensive back.

Senior quarterback Caleb Wulf (5-9, 170) returns after throwing for 584 yards and three touchdowns last season and junior Drake Collins (5-9, 170) is back after catching nine passes for 104 yards and rushing for 75 yards a year ago.

Collins also tied with Galvan for the team lead with 54 tackles as the Comets return three of their top four tacklers from last season.

Clear Creek Amana (0-0) at Marion (0-0)

Where: Thomas Park Field, 7:15 p.m.

Last season: Marion 18, Clear Creek Amana 14

Player to watch: Marion junior quarterback Alex Mota (6-1, 175) is among the most explosive athletes in Class 4A and one of the most sought-after recruits in the state with offers from Iowa, Iowa State, Kansas State, Nebraska and Wisconsin. Mota threw for 319 yards and rushed for 540 yards and eight scores last season.

Key stat: While Mota didn’t put up huge statistical numbers as a sophomore he did prove explosive averaging 5.7 yards per carry and catching a 61-yard touchdown pass.

About the Clippers: The Matt Haddy era official opens at Clear Creek Amana on Friday as the Clippers travel to Marion to take on the same team that ended their season a year ago.

Along with a first-year head coach the Clippers have plenty of new faces in key positions this season including at quarterback and running back where seniors Ben Swails and Gage Freeman will step into starting roles.

The back-up quarterback the past two seasons, Swails was an all-district defensive back a year ago when he picked off two passes and brings an athletic dimension to the quarterback spot.

Freeman averaged 7 yards per carry last season while rushing for 253 yards and two touchdowns and figures to be a central piece of the Clipper offense this season.

About the Wolves: Coming off a winless season in 2019 Marion made considerable progress a year ago winning three games including an 18-14 upset of Clear Creek Amana in the opening round of the Class 3A playoffs.

Marion is chasing just its third winning season in the past nine years and its first since going 7-2 in 2017.

The Wolves have a legitimate star in Mota, who must be accounted for at all times on both sides of the ball, and will look to fill in around him as they seek to take another step forward this fall.

Marion must replace its top rusher and receiver from last season but brings back a pair of stout linebackers in seniors Abe Duval (5-9, 210) and Max Lovell (5-8, 190).

Duval led Marion with 41 tackles including six for loss last season while Lovell made 31.5 stops.

Williamsburg (0-0) at Regina (0-0)

Where: Regal Field, 7 p.m.

Last season: Did not play.

Player to watch: Williamsburg junior Carson Huedepohl (5-11, 165) rushed for 423 yards and seven touchdowns last season and also caught three passes for 96 yards and two scores and returned an interception for a score.

Key stat: Regina held opponents to 233 total yards and 109 rushing yards per game during five postseason wins last season.

About the Regals: The defending Class A champions, Regina returns nine starters from a team that won its final 11 games of the season while claiming the Regals seventh state title in 11 years.

Regina must replace the all-state trio of Ashton Cook, Alec Wick and Theo Kolie on offense but brings back four of five starters on an offensive line that paved the way for Regina to average better than 436 total yards per game and 7.9 yards per play last season.

Defense is where the Regals should shine early with its top three tacklers returning from last season in all-stater Aiden Udell, Sam Aitchison and Blake Chambliss.

Josh Gaffey and Andy Wiese also return up front while Ronan Poynton is back at linebacker to give Regina six players in its front seven with varsity experience.

About the Raiders: Williamsburg won eight straight games to open the 2020 season before being bounced in the second round of the Class 2A playoffs with a 20-14 loss to West Liberty.

The Raiders are always stingy on defense and that should be no different this season as Williamsburg returns three of its top six tacklers from a defense that gave up 10.2 points per game and allowed more than 14 points just twice last season.

Juniors Carson Huedepohl, Madox Doehrmann and Owen Douglas all ranked in the top six on the team in tackles last season combining for 100 tackles.

On offense Williamsburg must replace its starting quarterback, top rusher and receiver from a year ago but returns a solid candidate at each spot in senior quarterback Cade Ritchie, Huedepohl at running back and senior receiver Jake Weber who caught 16 passes for 275 yards and five scores last season.

West Branch (0-0) at Lisbon (0-0)

Where: Lisbon, 7 p.m.

Last season: Did not play.

Player to watch: Lisbon senior tailback Jamien Moore (6-0, 200) led the Lions in rushing with 814 yards and 10 touchdowns last season while averaging 6.9 yards per carry and also ranked second on the team with 36.5 tackles.

Key stat: Lisbon running backs Jamie Moore and Kaden Caspers combined to rush for 1,424 yards and 16 touchdowns while averaging more than seven yards per carry last season.

About the Bears: West Branch responded after back-to-back losses in week two and three last season to rattle off four consecutive wins before falling to Mediapolis 20-13 in the opening round of the Class 1A playoffs.

There are holes to fill, namely along the lines where West Branch lost current Iowa lineman Jeff Bowie and quarterback where two-year starter Gavin Hierseman is gone but the Bears bring back eight starters led by junior running back and linebacker Andy Henson.

Henson rushed for a team-leading 893 yards and eight touchdowns and caught 32 passes for 253 yards last season and will be leaned on heavily especially early.

Junior Carver Boelk makes the move from receiver to quarterback after leading the team with 330 receiving yards on 22 receptions last season.

About the Lions: Lisbon bounced back from a pair of uncharacteristic down years in 2018 and 2019 with its highest win total since 2016 last season going 7-3 and advancing to the Round of 16 in the Class A playoffs.

The three losses for the Lions were a two-point loss to 2A West Liberty, a loss at Class A champion Lisbon and a 15-8 playoff loss to Maquoketa Valley.

The Lions bring back a big chunk of the production responsible for last year’s success led by a pair of quarterbacks with experience, its top two rushers and three of its top four receivers from a year ago.

Senior quarterback Gavin Wollum and junior Cohen Kamaus combined to throw for 540 yards and nine touchdowns with one interception a year ago and the duo rushed for a combined 288 yards and three scores.

Moore and Caspers return in the back field while senior Will Bennett is back after catching six passes for 114 yards and three scores and senior Kole Becker caught five passes for 150 yards and two touchdowns.

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