Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

Like so many high school football players in the state Aaron Stalkfleet dreamed of playing in the UNI-Dome.

As a City High continued to pile up wins this fall and the Little Hawks moved within a few wins of a state semifinal berth Stalkfleet refused to let himself think about his long-time goal of reaching the Dome.

After years of picturing a trip to the Dome it was all Stalkfleet could do to block it out of his mind.

“I’ve been thinking about it for a long time and I have to stop because we have to get past Kennedy but playing at the Dome would be really cool,” Stalkfleet said last week. “I’ve been thinking about playing in the Dome nonstop but we have to get past Kennedy first, that’s the first order of business.”

City High (10-1) handled that business on Friday and now Stalkfleet and his City High teammates get the Dome trip they dreamed of.

The Little Hawks rolled up 265 rushing yards while posting 375 yards of total offense in a 32-13 win over top-ranked and previously unbeaten Cedar Rapids Kennedy on Friday at Kingston Stadium.

With the win City High secured its first trip to the state semifinals since making the second of back-to-back title game trips in 2010.

City High rolled up 278 rushing yards, it’s second highest total of the season and most since week five against West High.

Senior Darren Richardson ran for 227 yards and three touchdowns as the Little Hawks finished with 116 more rushing yards than Kennedy had allowed in a single game this season.

The Cougars entered allowing 92.7 yards per game on the ground and hadn’t given up more than 162 in a game this year.

“I’d get it and I’d see my linemen doing their work, and I just followed my linemen,” Richardson said.

City High held Kennedy to a season-low 13 points and 210 total yards while limiting the Cougars to 113 rushing yards.

Kennedy entered averaging 191 rushing yards per game.

News and Notes

3A Unbeatens Meet: There will be an unbeaten state champion in Class 3A this season.

All four 3A semifinals enter play on Saturday 11-0, the lone class with four remaining unbeaten teams.

Solon will face Boyden-Hull/Rock Valley in the first semifinal at 4 p.m. on Saturday with Harlan and Humboldt facing off in the other semifinal at 7 p.m.

Harlan was the 3A runner-up last season falling to North Scott in the title game while Boyden-Hull/Rock Valley reached the 3A semifinals.

Undefeated Tracker: The list of unbeaten teams across the state is down to 11 with Solon (11-0) among a shrinking list of undefeated teams.

Of the 11 teams that enter the semifinals without a loss four are in Class 3A and three each in 1A and 8-player.

Class A has one remaining undefeated teams while 2A, 4A and 5A are without an undefeated.

Players of the Week

Offensive Player of the Week: City High senior running back Darren Richardson came up with the best game of his career in the biggest moment on Friday.

Richardson rushed for 227 yards and three touchdowns on 27 carries and also caught two passes for 23 yards in a quarterfinal win over Cedar Rapids Kennedy.

Defensive Player of the Week: Solon sophomore linebacker Brett White racked up 16.5 tackles including 15 solo stops in a 23-19 quarterfinal win over West Delaware.

The performance from White helped Solon hold the Hawks to a season-low 19 points.

Special Teams Players of the Week: Solon junior Zeb Kleinsmith came up with the play of the game in the Spartans win at West Delaware blocking a punt and returning it 20 yards for a touchdown with under two minutes to play.

Helmet Stickers

Offense: Solon senior Logan Sieverding rushed for 57 yards, caught two passes for 58 yards and made 9.5 tackles in the win over West Delaware.

Offense: City High senior Jamari Newson caught five passes for 92 yards and a touchdown in a win over Cedar Rapids Kennedy.

Special teams: Solon senior place kicker Brent Lumpkin went 2-for-3 on PATs and hit a key 30-yard field goal in a 23-19 win over West Delaware.

Defense: City High junior linebacker Ben Kueter had 11 tackles including three sacks and 3.5 tackles for loss.

Defense: City High senior linebacker John Klosterman had two sacks and three tackles for loss among his 5.5 tackles against Cedar Rapids Kennedy.

Defense: Solon senior defensive tackle Gage Marty had 10.5 tackles in a road win at West Delaware.

Defense: City High senior defensive back Gable Mitchell had eight tackles and an interception in a win over Cedar Rapids Kennedy.

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