Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

Week four in the Your Prep Sports area featured some of the individual offensive performances of the season.

Clear Creek Amana quarterback Ben Swails was fantastic in a come-from-behind win over Liberty High.

Solon junior Blake Timmons was equally impressive in a road win at ninth-ranked Davenport Assumption.

Solon receiver Jake Quillin had a big game, Clear Creek Amana senior Harrison Rosenberg came up huge.

Liberty High senior Darius Willis-Newell had one of the best rushing performances in the state this season. Regina’s Levi Daniel and West Branch’s Andy Henson were excellent again.
The list goes on and one.

Even with all that offensive success somehow week four belonged to the area defenses.

West Branch, Regina, Solon and City High all got stellar defensive efforts on their way to wins on Friday night.

Regina shut down all-state tailback Anthony Isley and Mediapolis, allowing just 268 total yards on 4.2 yards per play in a 34-0 shutout of the Bulldogs.

The Regals are holding opponents to 6.7 points per game and just 3.8 yards per play through three games.

West Branch gave up 97 total yards on just 3 yards per play in a 51-6 win over Loiusa-Muscatine and is giving up 7.3 points per game and 3.5 yards per play this season.

Solon allowed 160 total yards in a 38-10 win at ninth-ranked Davenport Assumption while holding the Knights to 4.2 yards per play.

The Spartans are giving up 12.8 points per game this season on 4.3 yards per play.

Then there is City High which continued to show it has one of the top defenses in the state this season in a 21-17 win over West Des Moines Dowling.

City High held the Maroons to 159 yards of total offense and just 3.2 yards per play in the win and is now allowing 5.5 points per game and just 2.9 yards per play this season.

News and Notes

Jack of all trades: Regina junior Jack Tierney continued to show his versatility on Friday passing for 151 yards and a touchdown, rushing for 78 yards and a touchdown and adding an interception.

While playing both quarterback and receiver this season Tierney has passed for 166 yards and two touchdowns, rushed for 181 yards and two scores and caught two passes for 19 yards.

Tierney also has 10.5 tackles and two interceptions as a defensive back and is averaging 24.7 yards on six punts.

Henson Has Big Day: West Branch junior two-way standout Andy Henson continued his strong season on both sides of the ball with a monster game in a 51-6 win over Louisa-Muscatine.

Henson rushed for 100 yards and four touchdowns on seven carries and at linebacker had a sack among two tackles for loss and recovered a fumble.

Undefeated Tracker: As the list of undefeated teams continues to shrink there are still three teams in the Your Prep Sports area with unblemished records.

City High (4-0), Solon (4-0) and Regina (4-0) are all unbeaten at or near the midpoint of their regular season schedules.

City High is one of only three unbeaten teams remaining in Class 5A, joining Cedar Rapids Kennedy and Linn-Mar.

Solon is one of six undefeated teams in Class 3A while Regina is in a group of 11 undefeated teams left in Class 1A and plays another of those teams on Friday at Wilton (4-0).

Players of the Week

Offensive Player of the Week: Liberty High senior Darius Willis-Newell turned in perhaps the best offensive performance of the season in the area on Friday rushing for a school-record 306 yards and four touchdowns on 44 carries in a 31-30 loss to Clear Creek Amana.

Defensive Player of the Week: Regina shut down a potent Mediapolis offense in a 34-0 shutout of the Bulldogs and senior defensive lineman Josh Gaffey was a big reason for that defensive success.

Gaffey had a team-high 7.5 tackles and had a sack among his 1.5 tackles for loss as Regina held Mediapolis to 4.2 yards per play.
Special Teams Player of the Week: Clear Creek Amana senior Grant Kruse made all four extra point attempts and hit a season-long 37 yard field goal in a 31-30 win over Liberty High.

Kruse is now 14-of-15 on PATs and has made all four of his field goal attempts this season.

Helmet Stickers

Offense: Solon junior quarterback Blake Timmons completed 13-of-18 passes for 234 yards and three touchdowns and rushed for 92 yards in a 38-10 win at Davenport Assumption.

Offense: Clear Creek Amana senior quarterback Ben Swails completed 13-of-24 passes for 248 yards and three touchdowns and also rushed for 81 yards in a 31-30 win over Liberty High.

Offense: Clear Creek Amana senior receiver Harrison Rosenberg caught five passes for 129 yards and two scores in the win at Liberty High.

Defense: Clear Creek Amana linebacker Gunther Sandersfeld made a game-high v15 tackles including 13 solo stops and two tackles for loss and also recovered a fumble in a win at Liberty High.

Defense: City High senior linebacker Carter Seaton had 4.5 tackles and the game-clinching interception in a 21-17 win over West Des Moines Dowling.

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