Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

After rattling off six straight wins to start last season a loss to Liberty High in the season opener was a big of a shock for defending 5A semifinalist City High.

In that season-opening 36-19 loss there were glimpses of what City High could be in 2022.

One of those flashes came in the second quarter when the Little Hawks scored 19 points including a pair explosive plays that went for touchdowns.

That explosive offense has been more and more prevalent over the past two weeks.

City High (2-1) has averaged 441 yards of total offense and 66 points in consecutive wins over Cedar Rapids Jefferson and Ames after putting up a season-high 474 yards in a 55-19 win over the Little Cyclones on Friday evening at Bates Field.

“Game one we knew we didn’t play our style and a lot of credit goes to Liberty they are a good football team and very well-coached we just didn’t play our style,” City High coach Mitch Moore said. “We didn’t have that aggression. We do play with a little bit of swag and we do play with a little chip on our shoulder because we practice that way.”

In the season-opening loss City High still produced 409 total yards while averaging better than 8 yards per play.

So it is hard to say the Little Hawks got off to a slow start offensively despite replacing its top rusher and six of its top seven pass catchers from a year ago.

Still over the past several weeks the offensive numbers have taken off.

Three games into the season City High is averaging 50.3 points, 430 total yards and 8.5 yards per play, numbers that are up, or nearly up, from last season when the Little Hawks averaged 399 total yards, 42.5 points and 8.6 yards per snap.

This team really has to understand that progression, we aren’t going to be as good in game four as we are in game 10,” Moore said. “It’s going to be a steady growth and I am proud of them for the improvement they have made.”

Junior quarterback Drew Larson has been at the forefront of what in some ways is a new-look City High offense.

Larson is completing 79 percent of his passes (46-of-58) while passing for 766 yards and seven touchdowns.

Seven Little Hawks have at least four receptions, six different City High players have caught touchdown passes and four players have more than 100 receiving yards.

Senior tailback Ronnie Major leads the team with nine receptions for 171 yards and two touchdowns while Sam Rew has eight grabs for 115 yards and three scores.

Ben Kueter has six catches for 106 yards and a touchdown and Akili Mattox is averaging 48.5 yards per catch with four grabs for 194 yards and two touchdowns.

“We have guys that are big, guys that are small but they all get the job done,” Major said. “They know their assignment and they get it done.”

Major rushed for a season-high 94 yards on Friday and is averaging 11.4 yards per carry while rushing for a team-high 183 yards.

The 220-pound Kueter has 89 rushing yards which has opened up the pass for Larson.

“That opens up our passing game when they have to defend the run more,” Larson said. “That has really opened up our offense.”

News and Notes

West Branch’s Fumble Streak: Perhaps the most amazing stat in the state through three games belongs to West Branch.

In three games the Bears have recovered five fumbles.

That’s good but that’s not the astonishing part.

All five fumbles recovered by West Branch this season have gone for touchdowns.

Five different players have scored on fumble recoveries after Evan Striegel picked up a loose ball and returned it 15 yards for a score on Friday in a 59-0 win over previously unbeaten Maquoketa Valley.

The fumble returns by Cale Seydel, Kinnick Boelk, Striegel, Jack McCullough and Jaxson Kaalberg have totaled 130 yards.

West Branch has scored six total defensive touchdowns in three games (and allowed four total touchdowns) after Kinnick Boelk took an interception back 33 for yards for a touchdown on Friday.

CCA Defense Impressive Again: Entering the season Clear Creek Amana stressed the importance of improving defensively in year two under Matt Haddy.

So far, so good.

Clear Creek Amana (2-1) posted another dominating defensive effort on Friday in a 31-6 road win over Washington.

The Clippers have allowed 19 total points in three games after holding the Demons to six on Friday.

Clear Creek Amana opponents Marion (25.5), Independence (33.7) and Washington (37.5) are all averaging more than 25 points per game against their other opponents this season and have been held to season-low scoring outputs against the Clippers.

Clippers Rev up Run Game: Another emphasis for Clear Creek Amana was the run game.

That too has been mission accomplished through three games.

Led by a career-high 203 yards from senior quarterback Jackson Schmidt and 59 from junior Sam Pettinger the Clippers rushed for 296 yards in the win over Washington.

The 296 yards were the most for the Clippers under Haddy and its highest rushing output since running for 312 in a win over Oskaloosa on October 2 of 2020 a span of 14 games.

Clear Creek Amana is averaging 230 rushing yards per game on a solid 4.6 yards per carry.

The Impact of Janis: West High senior Christian Janis continues to show the impact he has when on the field.

Janis posted his third consecutive multi-touchdown game of the season catching a touchdown pass for the third game in a row and returning an interception for a score in a 40-15 win over Dubuque Hempstead.

Janis had five receptions for 129 yards, a tackle, recovered a fumble and had an 18-yard kick off return.

Watch for Woods: West High sophomore Mason Woods drew rave reviews from the West High coaching staff during fall camp and had an interception in the opener against Cedar Rapids Kennedy.

On Friday Woods showed why the West High coaches are so excited with a 98-yard interception return for a touchdown to go with three tackles and a catch for 13 yards.

Jack of All Trades: Regina senior Jack Tierney continues to emerge as one of the most versatile weapons in the state.

Tierney spent time at quarterback, receiver and defensive back on Friday in a 35-7 win over Mid-Prairie accounting for 118 yards of total offense and two touchdowns.

Tierney threw a touchdown pass, rushed for 83 yards and a score, caught three passes for 32 yards on offense and had two tackles and an interception on defense.

Lightning strike: For the second time in three games Liberty High got a boost with a big special teams return.

Junior Cody Nichols returned a kickoff 85 yards for a touchdown in a 36-30 loss to Western Dubuque.

Hughes the Triple Threat: A dual threat quarterback is know for the ability to both run and throw the football.

That would make West Branch senior Tye Hughes a triple threat.

Hughes completed 7-of-9 passes for 134 yards and two touchdown, rushed for 19 yards and a score and added a 9-yard touchdown catch in a 59-0 win over Maquoketa Valley.

Players of the week

Offensive Player of the Week: Clear Creek Amana senior quarterback Jackson Schmidt had the best game of his career at quarterback throwing for 68 yards and a touchdown and rushing for 203 yards and a touchdown in a 31-6 win at Washington.

Defensive Player of the Week: West High junior linebacker Ashton Honore made his presence felt in a 40-15 win over Dubuque Hempstead with seven tackles for loss and three sacks among his eight total tackles.

Special Teams Player of the Week: West High freshman Adam Salem made of 4-of-5 PATs and connected on both of his field goal attempts including a 30 yarder in a 40-15 win over Dubuque Hempstead.

Helmet Stickers

Offense: Solon junior running back and linebacker Brett White rushed for 149 yards and two touchdowns and also make a team-high 12 tackles and added a sack in a 38-25 loss to Williamsburg.

Offense: Liberty High senior Garrett Gregoire had four receptions for 90 yards and a touchdown in a 36-30 loss to Western Dubuque.

Defense: Clear Creek Amana senior linebacker Nick Johnson had 9.5 tackles, two tackles for loss and recovered a fumble in a 31-6 win over Washington.

Defense: Clear Creek Amana senior linebacker Brock Sherman had 10.5 tackles, four tackles for loss and half a sack in a 31-6 win over Washington.

Special teams: Solon junior place kicker Grant Knipper hit a pair of field goals including a 35 yarder in a 38-25 loss to Williamsburg.

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