Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

5A No. 6 City High (2-0) at Ames (1-1)  

Where: Ames High School, 7:15 p.m.

Last season: Did not play.

Player to watch: Ames junior quarterback Dallas Sauser (6-2, 150) has completed 36-of-65 passes for 429 yards and two touchdowns with four interceptions.

Key stat: City High hasn’t allowed a point this season while holding opponents to 121 total yards per game and 3.1 yards per play.

About the Little Cyclones: Ames is off to a 1-1 start under first-year head coach and former West High head coach Brian Sauser opening the season with a 14-7 win over Marshalltown before falling to Fort Dodge 42-21 last week.

Sauser leads a Little Cyclone offense that has a trio of talented receivers led by senior tight end Corey Phillips (6-5, 271) who has caught 12 passes for 151 yards and a touchdown.

Senior Evan Grey (6-0, 181) has nine receptions for 67 yards and junior Jalen Lueth (6-3, 155) has six receptions for 154 yards.

A pair of freshmen have split time in the backfield for Ames with DeShawn Long (5-11, 165) rushing for 161 yards and three scores and Jameson Poe (5-9, 150) adding 68 yards on 15 carries.

About the Little Hawks: City High has raced out of the gate under first-year head coach Mitch Moore winning its first two games by a combined score of 109-0.

The Little Hawks have been impressive defensively to open the season posting back-to-back shutouts for the first time since 2010.

City High has been solid offensively averaging 372 total yards and 236 rushing yards per game while posting 10.5 yards per play.

Sophomore quarterbacks Quinton Tran and Drew Larson have combined to complete 13-of-20 passes for 327 yards and four touchdowns without an interception.

Four Little Hawks have rushed for at least 59 yards and a touchdown this season led by senior Darren Richardson with 107 yards and two scores and junior Ronnie Major with 103 yards and two scores.

West High (1-1) at Dubuque Hempstead (0-2)

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

Last season: West High 38, Dubuque Hempstead 24

Player to watch: Dubuque Hempstead senior quarterback Noah Pettinger has completed 42-of-68 passes for 337 yards and a touchdown and is second on the team with 58 rushing yards.

Key stat: Dubuque Hempstead is allowing 237 rushing yards per game and 7.1 yards per carry and has had an opposing player rush for 100 yards in each of the first two games.

About the Trojans: West High bounced back from a seven-point, season-opening loss to second-ranked Cedar Rapids Kennedy in a big way with a 42-7 road win at Muscatine last Friday.

After rushing for 95 yards in the opener against the Cougars West High got its ground game on track with 346 rushing yards last week behind 200 yards from senior tailback Mason Applegate.

Applegate (6-0, 190) has rushed for 240 yards and five touchdowns in two games and ranks third on the team with 10.5 tackles including a team-high five tackles for loss.

Freshman quarterback Jack Wallace (6-3, 200) has been solid completing 21-of-36 passes for 259 yards and a touchdown and also running for a score.

Senior Nate Gudenkauf (5-10, 155) has been the top target for Wallace with six receptions for 87 yards.

West High has been strong defensively to open the season holding its first two opponents to an average of 204 total yards per game on just 4.3 yards per play.

About the Mustangs: Dubuque Hempstead went 7-2 a year ago falling to West High in the round of 16 in the Class 4A playoffs but has dropped two straight to open the 2021 season.

The Mustangs have faced a challenging start with a 19-6 loss to cross-town rival Dubuque Senior and 35-0 week two setback to defending 4A semifinalist Pleasant Valley.

Dubuque Hempstead has gotten steady production out of Pettinger at quarterback but hasn’t gotten much traction in the running game averaging just 67.5 yards per game on the ground.

Senior Bryar Blean has been the most productive runner for the Mustangs rushing for 62 yards on just 12 carries.

Senior receiver Jayden Siegert has already caught 17 passes for 133 yards and a touchdown while senior Luke Odefey has nine receptions for 107 yards.

Western Dubuque (0-2) at Liberty High (0-2)

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

Last season: Did not play.

Player to watch: Western Dubuque senior wide receiver Andrew Oltmanns (6-1, 175) has caught 11 passes for 209 yards and three touchdowns in two games and is averaging 15.3 yards per kick off return.

Key stat: Liberty High receivers Ja’Quez Hall and Amari Thigpen each have four receptions this season and together the duo is averaging nearly 22 yards per catch.

About the Bobcats: Perhaps no team in Class 4A has had a more challenging start to the season than Western Dubuque who opened up with consecutive losses to 2020 3A semifinalist Cedar Rapids Xavier and defending 3A champion North Scott.

The Bobcats were competitive in both games, falling to Xavier 28-14 and dropping a 33-13 decision to North Scott last week.

Western Dubuque has been solid all around early and is led by senior quarterback Jack Clemens (5-10, 180) who has passed for 280 yards and three touchdowns with one interception.

Senior Spencer Zinn (6-0, 195) has rushed for 110 yards and a touchdown while sophomore Grant Glausser (5-11, 190) has run for a team-high 129 yards while averaging 5.6 yards per carry.

About the Lightning: Like Western Dubuque the Lightning have faced a challenging start to the season opening the year with back-to-back losses to 2-0 Class 5A teams City High and Linn-Mar.

Liberty High made strides in a 25-15 week-two loss to the Lions especially on offense as the Lightning put up 290 total yards while averaging 5.7 yards per play.

Junior quarterback Tye Hughes (6-1, 175) continues to impress in his first season as a full-time starter and has completed 24-of-48 passes for 332 yards and two touchdowns with three interceptions while rushing for 57 yards.

Hughes has a pair of big-play threats at receiver in Hall and Thigpen. Hall (6-0, 160) has caught four passes for 105 yards and a touchdown and Thigpen (6-0, 165) has four receptions for 70 yards.

Seniors Luke Meyers (5-10, 175) and James McKinney (6-1, 186) are viable threats in the pass game as well with Meyers making three receptions for 58 yards and McKinney three grabs for 40 yards.

Washington (1-1) at Clear Creek Amana (1-1)

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

Last season: Did not play.

Player to watch: Washington junior quarterback Ethan Patterson (6-2, 160) has completed 21-of-48 passes for 346 yards with three touchdowns and an interception and has also rushed for 94 yards and two scores.

Key stat: Clear Creek Amana senior Harrison Rosenberg (6-2, 170) has caught 13 passes and ranks third in Class 4A with 212 receiving yards with two touchdown grabs in two games.

About the Clippers: Clear Creek Amana opened the season with a come-from-behind 36-35 win over Marion before falling to Class 3A ninth-ranked Independence last week.

The Clippers have been solid offensively, averaging 315.5 total yards and 25 points per game behind the senior trio of Rosenberg, quarterback Ben Swails and running back Gage Freeman.

Swails (6-2, 175) has completed 32-of-50 passes for 366 yards and three touchdowns and has also rushed for 86 yards and a score while Freeman (5-11, 185) has run for a team-high 147 yards and three touchdowns and caught seven passes for 62 yards.

Where the Clippers must improve is on the defensive side of the ball where they are allowing 425 total yards and 31.5 points per game.

About the Demons: Washington bounced back from a 39-18 season-opening loss at Burlington with a 22-0 shutout of Mount Pleasant last week.

The Demons did a complete about face defensively in week two.

After allowing 370 yards on the ground, 467 total yards and 39 points in the opener at Burlington the Demons gave up just 72 rushing yards and 166 total yards in a shutout of Mount Pleasant last week.

Patterson is the latest in a long-line of dual threat quarterbacks at Washington and has weapons around him.

Junior running back Tayven Stuart (5-11, 185) has rushed for 123 yards while seniors Jacob Miller (5-11, 160) and Ethan Zieglowsky (5-11, 170) each had six receptions.

Miller has six grabs for 78 yards and a touchdown, Zieglowsky six for 74 and Lucas Kroll (6-3, 200) has caught four passes for 96 yards and two touchdowns.

Williamsburg (0-2) at Class 3A No. 5 Solon (2-0)  

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

Last season: Williamsburg 17, Solon 14

Player to watch: Williamsburg senior quarterback Cade Ritchie (5-8, 145) has completed 17-of-33 passes for 128 yards with two touchdowns and three interceptions.

Key stat: Through two games Williamsburg is averaging 15.5 rushing yards per game on .6 yards per carry.

About the Raiders: A perennial small school power Williamsburg is no stranger to challenging non-district schedules but the Raiders have one of the most difficult stretches in recent memory to start the season.

The Raiders opened with back-to-back losses to top-three ranked Class 1A programs falling to defending Class A champion Regina 16-14 in the opener and dropping a 20-0 decision to 2020 1A runner-up Van Meter last week.

After facing 3A fifth-ranked Solon this week the Raiders host Central Lee before travelling to 2A sixth-ranked Centerville.

While Williamsburg has struggled to get its offense on track it has been rock solid on defense with 16 tackles for loss and five sacks through two games.

Junior Owen Douglas (5-10, 180) has a team-high five tackles for loss while sophomore Derek Weisskopf (6-2, 185) teams the Raiders with 14.5 tackles.

About the Spartans: After opening the season with back-to-back losses a year ago Solon has gotten off to a strong start in 2021, posting back-to-back wins over West Liberty and Mount Vernon.

The Spartans have sparkled offensively early averaging 52 points and 506 total yards per game while averaging 9.7 yards per play.

Junior quarterback Blake Timmons (5-10, 175) has completed 13-of-24 passes for 297 yards and four touchdowns without an interception and has rushed for 227 yards and three scores.

Junior running back Sean Stahle (5-10, 162) has rushed for a team-high 282 yards and four scores.

Nine different Spartans have caught a pass this season led by Stahle with four receptions for 104 yards and a touchdown while senior Jake Quillin (5-10, 160) has three receptions for 92 yards and a score.

West Branch (1-1) at Maquoketa Valley (1-1)  

Where: Delhi, 7 p.m.

Last season: West Branch 50, Maquoketa Valley 14

Player to watch: Maquoketa Valley senior running back AJ Ambundo (6-1, 175) has rushed for 358 yards and four touchdowns while averaging 7.6 yards per carry in two games this season.

Key stat: With his 358 rushing yards Ambundo has accounted for nearly 73 percent of the total offense for Maquoketa Valley this season and has four of the Wildcats six touchdowns.

About the Bears: West Branch opened the season with a 12-6 win at Lisbon before falling to Waterloo Columbus 17-6 last week.

As is evidence by the two low scoring games the Bears have been solid on defense so far holding opponents to 200 total yards per game and just 4.2 yards per play.

West Branch has been especially stingy on the ground, holding opponents to 81.5 rushing yards per game.

The strength of the West Branch defense is at linebacker where senior Cole Bailey has a team-high 14.5 tackles and junior Andy Henson has made 11 stops. Both Bailey and Henson have 3.5 tackles for loss.

West Branch will look to get its offense going in week three after averaging 108 yards through its first two games.

About the Wildcats: Coming off a 2-7 season in 2020 Maquoketa Valley opened the year with a 40-22 win at North Cedar before falling to South Winneshiek 19-0 in week two.

Maquoketa Valley has relied heavily on the running of Ambundo early this season as freshman quarterback TJ Cook (6-3, 175) gets comfortable running the offense.

Cook has completed 10-of-35 passes for 34 yards with an interception in his first two games with junior Avery Holtz (5-8, 145) catching six passes for 19 yards and sophomore Lance McShane (6-2, 175) making four receptions for 15 yards.

The Wildcats are allowing 279 rushing yards per game this season after giving up 417 yards on the ground against South Winneshiek last week.

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