Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

Cedar Rapids Jefferson (0-1) at City High (1-0)

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

Last season: Did not play

Player to watch: City High junior Ben Kueter was a force on both sides of the ball in a season-opening win over Liberty High catching three passes for 90 yards and two touchdowns.

Key stat: City High average 7.5 yards per carry in the season opener rushing for 240 yards on 32 attempts in a 41-0 win over Liberty High.

About the J-Hawks: Cedar Rapids Jefferson had just 21 players dressed for its season opener, a 79-0 loss to cross-town rival Cedar Rapids Washington.

The J-Hawks have now lost nine in a row dating back to last season and have allowed 35 points or more in eight of those losses.

Cedar Rapids Jefferson allowed 367 rushing yards on 13.1 yards per carry in the week one loss to Cedar Rapids Washington.

Senior defensive back Johnnie Robinson had a team-high 5.5 tackles in the loss to Cedar Rapids Washington while senior defensive lineman Taylor Carson (6-2, 250) had a pair of tackles for loss.

About the Little Hawks: City High got the season opening momentum builder it needed with a 41-0 win over cross-town rival Liberty High.

The Little Hawks rushed for 240 yards and passed for 111 while averaging 7.8 yards per play while snapping a two-game losing skid to the Lightning.

City High was equally impressive on defense limiting Liberty High to 84 rushing yards and 185 yards of total offense on 4.3 yards per snap while posting its first shutout since 2015.

Four City High players rushed for more than 43 yards and three different Little Hawks had rushing touchdowns.

Junior tailback Ronnie Major led the way with 92 yards and a touchdown on nine carries while senior Joey Bouska ran for 45 yards and a touchdown on 10 carries and Darren Richardson added 43 yards on seven carries.

Sophomore quarterback Quinton Tran ran for 60 yards and a touchdown on six carries.

West High (0-1) at Muscatine (0-1)

Where: Muscatine Community Stadium, 7:15 p.m.

Last season: Did not play

Player to watch: Muscatine senior wide receiver Nolan Recker (6-4, 225) caught seven passes for 47 yards and a touchdown in a week one loss to Linn-Mar.

Key stat: Muscatine allowed 360 rushing yards and 14.4 yards per carry in a season-opening loss at Linn-Mar.

About the Trojans: West High is seeking a week-two bounce back after falling to Cedar Rapids Kennedy 27-20 in an opening-week slugfest that saw the teams combine for 73 rushing attempts.

Getting the run game going will be a key for West High in week two after the Trojans managed 74 yards on the ground on 29 carries against the Cougars.

Senior Mason Applegate ran for a team-high 40 yards in the opener while Taylor Mann added 31 yards on eight carries.

Freshman quarterback Jack Wallace will attempt to build on a solid high school debut after completing 10-of-20 passes for 108 yards and a touchdown with two interceptions last week.

About the Muskies: Muscatine returned just two starters from a team that went 3-5 in 2020 and that inexperienced showed in a 63-14 season-opening loss at Linn-Mar.

Junior quarterback Landon Battey completed 8-of-15 passes for 59 yards with a touchdown and an interception in the loss to Linn-Mar with Recker serving as his top target.

The Muskies couldn’t muster much of a run game in week one as six different ball carriers combined for just 20 yards and .6 yards per carry.

Muscatine has lost four straight to West High since 2016 with the Trojans winning the last meeting between the two teams 31-16 in Muscatine in 2019.

Liberty High (0-1) at Linn-Mar (1-0)

Where: Linn-Mar Stadium, 7:15 p.m.

Last season: Did not play

Player to watch: Linn-Mar junior running back Carter Henderson (6-0, 190) ran for a team-high 155 yards and three touchdowns against Muscatine as the Lions rolled up 360 yards on the ground in week one.

Key stat: Linn-Mar averaged 13.3 yards per offensive snap and 14.4 yards per rushing attempt in a week one win over Muscatine.

About the Lions: Linn-Mar went 1-5 last season but got off to an impressive start in 2021 under first-year head coach Tim Lovell with a 63-13 season-opening win over Muscatine.

Led by Henderson the Lions had three players rush for 70 yards or more in the week-one win as junior Ben Blackford (5-8, 150) ran for 129 yards and two touchdowns on six carries and TJ Jackson (6-0, 160) added 70 yards and a touchdown on three carries.

Senior quarterback McKade Jelinek (6-0, 205) returns after starting last season and completed just 3-of-9 passes in the opening but had touchdown strikes of 37 yards to Jack Robertson and 49 yards to Cam Guenther while throwing for 106 yards.

After averaging 15.7 points and 220 total yards per game last season the Lions rolled up 466 total yards in week one.

About the Lightning: Liberty High will look to get back on track after a 41-0 loss to City High in its first game under new head coach James Harris.

The Lightning had bright spots in the week one set back as junior quarterback Tye Hughes (6-1, 175) completed 9-of-19 passes for 101 yards and also rushed for 28 yards and senior tailback Darius Willis-Newell gained 56 yards on the ground on 17 carries.

Liberty High appears to have a couple of strong receiving threats in senior Ja’Quez Hall (6-0, 160) and junior Amari Thigpen (6-0, 165).

Hall caught two passes for 48 yards against City High while Thigpen had three receptions for 46 yards in the week one loss. Combined with senior captain James McKinney the Lightning receiving corps will look for a breakthrough game in week two.

Solon (1-0) at Mount Vernon (1-0)

Where: Mount Vernon 1^st Street Field, 7:15 p.m.

Last season: Solon 42, Mount Vernon 14

Player to watch: Mount Vernon senior quarterback Owen Brase (6-2, 185) completed 9-of-15 passes for 105 yards and a touchdown and also rushed for 113 yards and two scores on 10 carries in his first career start last week against Anamosa.

Key stat: Solon averaged 15.5 yards per play in in its 63-0 season-opening win over West Liberty putting up 558 yards of total offense on 36 offensive snaps.

About the Spartans: Solon has won 18 straight in the series against Mount Vernon with the last four Spartan wins coming by an average of nearly 24 points per game.

The current winning streak for Solon includes a 35-7 win over the Mustangs in the last meeting in Mount Vernon in 2019.

Solon was impressive on both sides of the ball in week one, outgaining West Liberty 558 to 107.

Junior quarterback Blake Timmons completed 5-of-7 passes for 137 yards and three touchdowns and also rushed for 147 yards and a touchdown on four carries.

Sean Stahle added 87 rushing yards as Solon rolled up 344 yards on the ground while averaging 12.7 yards per carry.

About the Mustangs: Mount Vernon went 7-2 a year ago, falling to West Liberty in the second round of the Class 2A playoffs and opened the 2021 season with a 47-18 rout of Anamosa.

The Mustangs were impressive offensive in the opener, rolling up 409 yards of total offense including 266 rushing yards on 37 carries.

Brase and junior running back Henry Ryan (6-0, 160) did much of the damage on the ground as Ryan ran for 84 yards and a touchdown on eight carries while senior Trenton Pitlik (5-11, 190) added 53 yards and a touchdown on nine carries.

Six different Mustangs caught a pass in the week one win led by junior Tyler Panos (5-10, 175) who caught four passes for 67 yards and senior Brody Ulch (5-10, 150) who had three grabs for 37 yards and a touchdown.

Independence (1-0) at Clear Creek Amana (1-0)

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

Last season: Did not play

Player to watch: Independence senior running back Marcus Beatty (5-9, 200) was an all-stater last season after ranking fifth in 2A with 1,515 rushing yards and rolled up 249 yards and four touchdowns on 31 carries in a week one win over Maquoketa.

Key stat: Clear Creek Amana senior Harrison Rosenberg had 19 receptions for 337 yards and four touchdowns in eight games in 2020 and caught nine passes for 173 yards and two scores in last week’s season opener.

About the Clippers: Clear Creek Amana erased a 12-point fourth-quarter deficit while winning head coach Matt Haddy’s debut last week with a 36-35 win at Marion.

The Clippers were electric on offense, rolling up 395 total yards while averaging 7.8 yards per play.

Senior Ben Swails (6-2, 175) completed 16-of-23 passes for 241 yards and three touchdowns in his first career start at quarterback.

Clear Creek Amana rushed for 154 yards in the opener but look for the Clippers to get the running game going even more in week two behind senior tailback Gage Freeman (5-11, 185) who rushed for 124 yards and two touchdowns while being limited to 10 carries while battling cramps.

About the Mustangs: Independence went 6-2 a year ago advancing to the round of 16 in the Class 2A playoffs before falling to Solon 37-21.

A strong nucleus from that 2020 team returns for the Mustangs this fall led by Beatty and junior quarterback Mitchell Johnson (5-10, 180) and senior receiver Keegan Schmitt (5-10, 180).

Beatty picked up where he left off last season averaging 8 yards per carry in an 50-7 win over Maquoketa in week one.

Johnson passed for more than 1,000 yards and 17 touchdowns as a sophomore in 2020 and went 9-of-17 for 157 yards and two scores last week against the Cardinals.

The top receiver for Independence last year, Schmitt caught three passes for 46 yards and a touchdown in week one while sophomore Brady McDonald (6-3, 215) had four receptions for 69 yards.

Regina (1-0) at West Liberty (0-1)

Where: Memorial Field, 7 p.m.

Last season: Did not play

Player to watch: West Liberty senior quarterback Caleb Wulf (5-9, 170) completed 10-of-24 passes for 82 yards in a season-opening loss at Solon.

Key stat: Regina held Williamsburg to 3.2 yards per play in a week one win and faces a West Liberty offense that averaged just 2.3 yards per offensive snap in a 63-0 loss to Solon last week.

About the Regals: Regina used a late touchdown plunge by junior quarterback Jack Tierney to rally for a 16-14 win over Williamsburg in the opener last week.
The Regals relied on a stingy defense and a heavy dose of junior running back Levin Daniel (6-2, 185) to stretch its winning streak to 12 straight.

Daniel rushed for 192 yards and a touchdown on 40 carries and also caught two passes for 19 yards in his Regina debut while the Regals forced a pair of turnovers and limited Williamsburg to 131 total yards in the win.

Regina shut down the Williamsburg running game, holding the Raiders to 36 yards on 23 carries an effort spearheaded by senior defensive lineman Aidan Udell who had a team-high 9.5 tackles including 2.5 for loss.

About the Comets: West Liberty posted a 6-3 record and advanced to the 2A quarterfinals in 2020 but struggled in its season opener at Solon without the services of all-stater Jahsiah Galvan.

The Comets could muster just 107 total yards in a 63-0 loss to the Spartans and were held to 25 rushing yards on 21 attempts in the loss.

Senior Gabriel Martinez filled in for Galvan in the backfield and rushed for a team-high 36 yards on nine carries but four other Comets combined for -11 rushing yards in the loss.

Wulf completed passes to four different receivers with junior Tyler Jones (5-11, 160) catching a team-high six passes for 54 yards.

Senior defensive lineman Felipe Molina (6-1, 220) led the way defensively for West Liberty making a team-high seven tackles in the opener.

Waterloo Columbus (0-1) at West Branch (1-0)

Where: The Little Rose Bowl, 7 p.m.

Last season: Did not play

Player to watch: West Branch junior running back Andy Henson (6-2, 205) is a threat anytime he touches the football. Henson ran for 108 yards and a touchdown on 23 carries in a 12-6 win over Lisbon last week.

Key stat: West Branch has held five of its past seven opponents under 120 rushing yards dating back to last season and is allowing just 128 yards on the ground during that stretch.

About the Bears: West Branch rode a dominating defensive effort to a 12-6 win over Lisbon in the season opener holding the Lions to 113 total yards and 3.1 yards per play and scoring the go-ahead touchdown on an interception return for a touchdown by senior Cash Woody.

The Bears limited Lisbon to 34 rushing yards on 23 attempts and forced three turnovers in the win.

Junior quarterback Carver Boelk completed 3-of-6 passes for 24 yards for West Branch with Peyton Miller catching two passes for 10 yards and Kinnick Boelk grabbing a pass for 14 yards.

The Bears will need to find another offensive threat to compliment Henson going forward and look for Boelk to take a big step forward this week in his second game behind center.

About the Sailors: Waterloo Columbus went 8-2 last season falling to Sigourney-Keota 35-32 in the round of 16 in the Class 1A playoffs.

The Sailors jumped to a 14-0 first quarter lead in their season opener against Dike-New Hartford last week but were outscored 28-7 in the second half while falling to the Wolverines 35-21.

Waterloo Columbus returns senior dual-threat quarterback Carter Gallagher (6-1, 180) who passed for 1,381 yards and 16 touchdowns last season and also rushed for a team-high 595 yards and 10 touchdowns.

The Sails have their top running back and receiver from last season returning as well in senior Josh Heine (5-9, 185) and Caden Hartz (6-3, 185).

Heine rushed for 541 yards and five touchdowns and Hartz caught 28 passes for 619 yards and six touchdowns.

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