Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

What Stood Out?

Mason Applegate.

It took a game but West High’s do-everything senior showed why Trojan coaches were gushing over his offensive potential during the preseason.

Applegate rushed for 220 yards and four touchdowns on just 11 carries as West High bounced back in a big way with a 42-7 road win at Muscatine.

The defensive tackle turned tailback had scoring runs of 69, 14, 32 and 6 yards in the first half as West High built a 28-7 lead at intermission.

Muscatine (0-2) gave up a lot of yards on the ground in a week one loss at Linn-Mar so the yardage isn’t exactly stunning but getting Applegate rhythm behind a veteran offensive line is big for West High going forward.

West High (1-1) and Applegate have a chance to get some real traction offensively the next two weeks with a trip to Dubuque Hempstead (0-2) and a home game against Davenport North (1-1) up next.

What Were We Watching?

Solon’s Streak Against Mount Vernon 

There was a little more drama than in past meetings but Solon continued its mastery over Mount Vernon with a 41-27 win over the Mustangs on Friday.

Solon rallied from a 21-14 halftime deficit to push its winning streak to 19 in a row over Mount Vernon.
The Spartans have five straight in the series by double digits with an average margin of victory of better than three touchdowns during that stretch.

Friday’s meet was much closer as the Spartans trailed by as many as 14 and didn’t lead until late in the third quarter.

Solon has scored 31 or more points 11 times in the last 14 meetings with the Mustangs and has scored 34 or more in each of the past three meetings.

Where Was the Focus?

The City High defense.

Could the Little Hawks back up a razor-sharp defensive effort in the opener under Mitch Moore in week two?

Short (and resounding) answer – yes.

City High posted a second consecutive shutout to open the season blanking over matched Cedar Rapids Jefferson 68-0.

Make no mistake the J-Hawks are in an unenviable spot this season with limited numbers but City High still produced a defensive effort worthy of mention.

Prior to this season City High had two shutouts in its previous 82 games, against Burlington in 2015 and Cedar Rapids Jefferson in 2012.

City High is now 2-for-2 in holding opponents scoreless in 2021.

The last back-to-back shutouts for City High came on September 24 and September 30 of 2010 against Cedar Rapids Kennedy (21-0) and Cedar Rapids Washington (31-0).

City High went 13-1 in that season and finished runner-up in Class 5A.

Who Stepped up?

Solon junior running back Sean Stahle.

With Mount Vernon running back Trenton Pitlik putting on a show in the first half Stahle turned in his own career performance on Friday as Solon scored the final 21 points in a 41-27 win.

Stahle rushed for a career-high 195 yards and three touchdowns on 17 carries and also caught three passes for 65 yards.

What’s Next?

Three games to keep an eye on next Friday

Regina (2-0) at Mid-Prairie (1-1) – Regina hits the road for a second consecutive week to take on a Golden Hawk team coming off a 42-12 loss to Sigourney-Keota.

Williamsburg (0-2) at Solon (2-0) – The Spartans must move past its rivalry win over Mount Vernon quickly with the Raiders coming to town next week, team that beat Solon at Spartan Stadium in the opener a year ago.

Washington (1-1) at Clear Creek Amana (1-1) – This feels like a big game early for the Clippers given what remains on the back half of the schedule.

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