Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

Win or lose Matt Haddy probably always going to remember his head coaching debut.

It was the way that Clear Creek Amana earned win number one for Haddy that turned game number one into a memory that won’t fade anytime soon for the Clipper first-year head coach.

Clear Creek Amana rallied from a 12-point fourth-quarter deficit to down Marion 36-35 on Friday at Thomas Park Field in the season-opener for both teams.

“It was definitely one that will be a memorable one,” Haddy said. “It was nice to exhale when it was finally over.”

Clear Creek Amana exacted a bit of revenge for an 18-14 postseason loss to Marion last season while winning its opener for the first time since 2018.

The Clippers trailed 21-9 at the half and 35-23 with under nine minutes to play before scoring 13 unanswered points to close the game.

Clear Creek Amana didn’t lead until senior quarterback Ben Swails found freshman tight end Brody Clubb for a 6-yard touchdown pass with under three minutes to play.

“When you sit back at look at it over the weekend it was impressive from our kids stand point to stay in the fight and keep going,” Haddy said. “Down 12 at halftime, down 12 for a good portion of the second half, down 12 with eight minutes left to go and there were four or five really kind of big-time plays that had to get made to give us a chance to win the game and every time that we had to make one of those plays we had a kid step up and make a play and to me that was the most exciting thing.”

One of those game changing plays came on special teams – an area that Haddy has hammered home to his team since taking over the program last spring.

Clear Creek Amana cut the lead to six on a scoring strike from Swails to senior Harrison Rosenberg and forced a Marion punt on the next possession.

The Clippers got a good push on line and blocked the punt which was recovered by senior Bryce Mougin at the Marion 3 yard line.

“It’s great that the kids can look at what we’ve been preaching as coaches is actually paying off and we have something to hang our hat on,” Haddy said of the special teams play. I think we can be good offensively, I think we can be good defensively but I think it proves to our kids that we can be special on special teams and really be one of the best special teams groups in the state.”

In addition to the blocked punt senior first-year player Grant Kruse hit a 27-yard field goal and was 3-for-4 on extra point attempts.

Kruse also was solid in kickoffs as Clear Creek Amana controlled field position and Rosenberg averaged 31 yards per kick off return.

“Jackson Litterer who coaches our special teams is in my mind the best special teams coach in the state,” Haddy said. “The amount of organization and passion and preparation that he puts into our special teams is one of the reasons we did what we did on Friday night.”

News and Notes

Regals Have Their Running Back: Regina used a pair of quarterbacks on Friday with junior Jack Tierney and sophomore Gentry Dumont both seeing time under center but the Regals seem to have settled on a running back.

Junior Levi Daniel (6-2, 185) rushed for 192 yards and a touchdown on 40 carries in his Regina debut as the Regals rallied past Williamsburg 16-14.

Daniel also caught two passes for 19 yards and a made a pair of solo tackles.

Clubb Jumps Right In: Head coach Matt Haddy wasn’t the only Clipper to make a strong debut on Friday.

Freshman tight end and defensive end Brody Clubb impressed on both sides of the ball in his varsity debut making five tackles, including three solo stops and a key sack on defense as well as hauling in the go-ahead touchdown pass in the fourth quarter.

Solon’s Offensive Explosion: The Solon offense hit the ground running in a 63-0 season-opening win over West Liberty rolling up 556 yards of total offense.

The 63 points were the most for Solon since at 64-3 win over Anamosa on October 4 of 2013.

Solon showed some big play potential with seven of its nine touchdowns coming on plays of 30 yards or longer.

The Spartans had touchdown runs of 34, 61 and 69 yards and scored on passing plays of 30, 38, 39 and 77 yards.

Junior quarterback Blake Timmons finished 5-of-7 for 137 yards and three scores and also rushed for 147 yards and a touchdown on four carries all in the first half.

Players of the Week

Offensive Player of the Week: Clear Creek Amana senior receiver Harrison Rosenberg came up big time and time again in Friday’s come-from-behind win over Marion finishing with nine receptions for 173 yards and two touchdowns.

Defensive Player of the Week: West Branch senior Cash Woody came up with the play of the game in a defensive struggle against Lisbon returning an interception 33 yards for the go-ahead touchdown in a 12-6 Bear win.

Woody also had two tackles and recovered a fumble that set up the first West Branch touchdown.
Special Teams Player of the Week: City High senior Gable Mitchell averaged 40.7 yards on three punts in a win over Liberty High and made one of the game’s biggest plays when he turned a potential blocked punt into a first down with a 3-yard scramble on a fourth and short play in the first quarter.

Helmet Stickers

Offense: Clear Creek Amana senior quarterback Ben Swails completed 16-of-23 passes for 241 yards and three touchdowns and ran for 24 yards in his first career start at quarterback.

Offense: City High junior Ben Kueter caught three passes for 90 yards and two touchdowns.

Defense: Regina senior defensive lineman Aidan Udell picked up where he left off last season making 9.5 tackles including 2.5 for loss and a sack in a 16-14 win over Williamsburg.

Defense: West High senior linebacker Boaz Abramoff had a team-high 8.5 tackles including six solos and a sack in a 27-20 loss to Cedar Rapids Kennedy.

Special teams: Give one to everyone from Clear Creek Amana including senior kicker Grant Kruse and senior Bryce Mougin who recovered the blocked punt in the fourth quarter.

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