Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

Class 5A No. 8 Cedar Rapids Prairie (5-2) at West High (4-3)

Where: Trojan Field, 7 p.m.

Last season: Cedar Rapids Prairie 50, West High 14

Player to watch: Cedar Rapids Prairie senior running back Makelle Taylor (6-0, 200) has rushed for 774 yards and eight touchdowns and caught a team-high 26 passes for 283 yards and five touchdowns.

Key stat: West High senior receiver Christian Janis is averaging 22.6 yards per reception this season with 28 catches for 633 yards and nine touchdowns.

About the Hawks: Cedar Rapids Prairie won five consecutive games by a combined score of 176-72 between a season-opening loss to top-ranked Pleasant Valley and a 41-0 loss to third-ranked and defending state champion Pleasant Valley last Friday.

The five wins for the Hawks include an 18-17 victory at Bettendorf and a 24-7 road win over sixth-ranked Cedar Falls.

Cedar Rapids Prairie ranks third in Class 5A averaging 282 rushing yards per game and has three players with at least 300 rushing yards led by Taylor.

Junior Casey Kelley (5-10, 160) has rushed for 300 yards and three touchdowns while averaging 8.6 yards per carry while senior quarterback Cal Sullivan (6-1, 190) has rushed for 503 yards and four touchdowns and passed for 868 yard and seven scores.

Taylor is the top pass catcher for the Hawks while junior Apollo Payne (6-3, 190) has caught 24 passes for 301 yards and Kelley has 14 receptions for 117 yards and two touchdowns.

Prairie is holding opponents to 243 total yards and 21.4 points per game and has been solid against the run allowing just 139 rushing yards per game.

Senior linebacker Nic Powell (6-0, 205) has a team-high 33 tackles with 6.5 for loss while Sawyer Slezak (5-10, 200) has 27 tackles with 4.5 for loss.

About the Trojans: West High will look to bounce back from a 42-6 loss at Bettendorf last week.

The Trojans will need to slow a Cedar Rapids Prairie rushing attack and is allowing 174 rushing yards per game this season after giving up 225 to Bettendorf last week.

On the season West High is allowing 297 total yards and 24.1 points per game.

Junior linebacker Ashton Honore leads West High with 46 tackles including 23.5 for loss and 6.5 sacks.

Senior Ryne VanderLeest has made 37 tackles with 6.5 for loss and Santana Miller has 33 tackles with 6.5 for loss.

Sophomore quarterback Jack Wallace has completed 57 percent of his passes for 1,320 yards and 13 touchdowns with just two interceptions.

Janis has been the top target for Wallace with senior Bryan Torres making 16 receptions for 272 yards and two touchdowns while sophomore Mason Woods has 11 receptions for 159 yards.

City High (4-3) at Davenport West (6-1)

Where: Brady Street Stadium, 7 p.m.

Last season: City High 76, Davenport West 0

Player to watch: Davenport West senior quarterback Brady Hansen (6-1, 200) has passed for 820 yards and 10 touchdowns and rushed for a team-high 416 yards and nine touchdowns.

Key stat: City High has three shut outs in seven games this season and seven shut outs in its last 19 games dating back to last season.

About the City High: City High had a two-game winning and shutout streak stopped with a 51-21 loss to top-ranked Pleasant Valley last Friday.

Junior quarterback Quinton Tran started in place of Drew Larson who missed the game with injury and passed for 283 yards and two touchdowns and also rushed for 21 yards.

On the season Tran has completed 32-of-54 passes for 378 yards and five touchdowns with one interception.

Akili Mattox has caught a team-high 26 passes for 568 yards and six touchdowns while Carsen Newton has caught 24 passes for 298 yards and four touchdowns.

Ronnie Major leads City High with 466 rushing yards and eight touchdowns and has caught 19 passes for 333 yards and three touchdowns and Ben Kueter has rushed for 304 yards and a touchdown.

On defense City High is holding opponents to 235 total yards and 20 points per game and is allowing 4.8 yards per play.

Kueter leads City High with 71.5 tackles and has 17.5 tackles for loss and 4.5 sacks while senior Evan Lampe has 45 tackles with 5.5 for loss.

About the Falcons: Davenport West has been one of the best stories in the state this fall and among the most improved teams in any class.

The Falcons went 1-16 over the previous two seasons, finishing last season with eight consecutive losses.

Davenport West opened this season with six consecutive wins to secure its first winning season since going 5-4 in 2015.

The Falcons had their six-game winning streak snapped with a 44-0 loss at fifth-ranked Cedar Rapids Kennedy on Friday but at No. 10 in the Class 5A RPI standings can still secure a spot in the 5A playoffs.

Hansen leads a Falcon offense that is averaging 24.3 points and 271 total yards per game.

Senior Tucker Avis (5-8, 175) has rushed for 378 yards and two touchdowns while sophomore Marvin Neely IV (5-10, 155) has rushed for 119 yards and a score and junior Ian Keeney (5-7, 155) has run for 117 yards and a touchdown.

Seniors Dalton Thompson (6-0, 175) and Landon Wright (6-0, 205) are the top two pass catches for the Falcons.

Thompson has 16 receptions for 267 yards and two touchdowns and Wright has 15 grabs for 229 yards and two scores.

Defensively, Davenport West is allowing just 264 total yards and 15.4 points per game and is led by Neeley IV who has 48 tackles including nine for loss.

Zane Fellman (5-8, 190) has 41.5 tackles with nine for loss and senior Duro Johnson (6-3, 220) has a team-high 4.5 sacks.

Class 4A No. 4 Liberty High (6-1) at Burlington (5-2)  

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

Last season: Burlington 20, Liberty High 18

Player to watch: Junior running back Caden Schisel (6-0, 170) has rushed for 782 yards and 11 touchdowns while averaging 7.7 yards per carry.

Key stat: Burlington ranks second in Class 4A in rushing yards averaging 337 yards per game on the ground and has rushed for at least 219 yards in every game this season.

About the Lightning: Liberty High continued its impressive season pushing its winning streak to four with a 49-0 win over previously unbeaten Fort Madison on Friday.

Liberty High has outscored district opponents 137-22 during a 3-0 start to District 4 action and is averaging 393 yards of total offense in those games.

Junior quarterback Graham Beckman leads a Liberty High offense that is averaging 397 total yards and 40.4 points per game while posting 7.3 yards per play.

Beckman is completing 64 percent of his passes while throwing for 1,785 yards and 22 touchdowns with just two interceptions and has rushed for 168 yards and four touchdowns.

Senior Trey Gregoire has rushed for 434 yards and five touchdowns and has also caught 13 passes for 168 yards and a touchdown.

Christian Barney and Garrett Gregoire have each caught 24 passes while Lucas Meyer and Wyatt Williams each have 18 receptions.

Garrett Gregoire leads the team with 569 receiving yards and eight touchdowns while Barney has 305 yards and five touchdowns.

About the Grayhounds: Burlington hadn’t won more than three games in a season before going 7-3 and reaching the Class 4A playoffs last season.

The Grayhounds have picked up where they left off a year ago this fall going 5-2 to open the season and currently sits No. 14 in the Class 4A RPI standings.

Burlington has relied heavily on its power running game this season and has three players with more than 500 rushing yards led by Schisel.

Junior quarterback Gabe Robinson (5-11, 160) has rushed for 594 yards and four touchdowns and has also completed 9-of-20 passes for 214 yards and a touchdown.

Burlington has completed just 10 passes in seven games this season but is averaging 24.4 yards per reception.

Senior Nolan Simpson (6-2, 205) has rushed for 520 yards and six touchdowns while averaging nine yards per carry.

Senior Alex Fawcett (6-2, 190) has caught seven passes for 209 yards and has both Burlington receiving touchdowns.

The Grayhounds are allowing 288 yards and 23 points per game this season and is giving up 192.5 rushing yards per game.

Trent Huffman (6-2, 220) leads the Grayhounds with 33 tackles while Schisel has 26.5 tackles with three sacks and five tackles for loss.

Clear Creek Amana (3-4) at Pella (1-6)

Where: Pella, 7:30 p.m.

Last season: Pella 28, Clear Creek Amana 9

Player to watch: Pella senior running back Kenson Fuller (6-0, 195) has rushed for a team-high 869 yards and nine touchdowns while averaging 9.1 yards per carry and has caught eight passes for 62 yards.

Key stat: The combined record of the six teams that Pella has lost to this season is 34-8.

About the Dutch: Pella snapped a six-game losing streak with a 49-0 road win over Oskaloosa last Friday.

The Dutch opened the season with six consecutive losses to opponents that were ranked at the time with four of those opponents in the Associated Press rankings this week.

A Pella offense that is averaging 273 total yards and 17.6 points per game has used two quarterbacks this season.

Senior Beau Bush (6-2, 200) has passed for 398 yards and two touchdowns while junior Luke Hardman (6-2, 185) has thrown for 281 yards and two scores.

Fuller leads the Pella rushing game while Hardman has added 239 yards and a touchdown.

CJ Shetterly (6-1, 190) is the top receiving option for the Dutch with 21 receptions for 299 yards and two touchdowns while Trey Van Hauen (6-0, 170) has caught 11 passes for 102 yards and two touchdowns.

Pella is allowing 394 total yards and 29.1 points per game including 212 rushing yards per game.

Tate Weesner (6-0, 195) leads Pella with 51 tackles including five for loss while Noah Parsons (5-10, 195) has a team-high 3.5 sacks and 7.5 tackles for loss.

About the Clippers: Clear Creek Amana has lost back-to-back games after falling to second-ranked Cedar Rapids Xavier 49-0 last Friday.

The Clippers are 1-2 in Class 4A, District 4 play and currently sit at No. 19 in the Class 4A RPI standings while Pella is No. 27.

Clear Creek Amana has continued to be solid defensively holding teams to 274 total yards and 23.4 points per game and allowing 5.6 yards per play.

Senior linebackers Brock Sherman and Nick Johnson have combined for 101 tackles including 13 for loss.

Sophomore Brody Clubb has made 40 tackles with 7.5 for loss and two sacks.

Sophomore Cale Berry replaced injured senior Jackson Schmidt at quarterback for the Cedar Rapids Xavier game last week and has completed 63 percent of his passes for 157 yards and a touchdown this season.

Junior Sam Pettinger has rushed for 344 yards and five touchdowns while Berry has rushed for 103 yards and a score.

Grinnell (4-3) at Class 3A No. 7 Solon (5-2)

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

Last season: Solon 35, Grinnell 17

Player to watch: Grinnell sophomore quarterback Brady Coffman (6-2, 190) has completed 47 percent of his passes while throwing for 745 yards and seven touchdowns with three interceptions and has rushed for 313 yards and four touchdowns.

Key stat: During its current four-game winning streak Solon is averaging 265 rushing yards per game, 6.9 yards per carry and has scored 17 rushing touchdowns.

About the Tigers: Since opening the season 1-3 with losses to a trio of top-10 ranked teams Grinnell has rattled off three consecutive wins in Class 3A, District 5 play.

Grinnell was outscored 140-13 in losses to top-ranked Harlan, ninth-ranked North Polk and No. 10 Benton Community in non-district play before outscoring district opponents 82-27.

The Tiger offense is led by Coffman, who has emerged as one of the top young dual threat quarterbacks in Class 3A.

Junior running back Kinnick Johnson (5-9, 190) has rushed for 491 yards and five touchdowns while senior Tryston Stark (5-11, 175) has added 171 rushing yards while averaging 6.6 yards per carry.

Junior Braden Johnson (6-3, 220) has caught a team-leading 14 passes for 250 yards and two touchdowns and junior Carson Penyich (6-4, 170) has added 13 receptions for 298 yards and three scores.

Stark has made a team-high 45 tackles including 7.5 for loss while senior Gene Blalock (6-4, 270) has made 25.5 tackles with 4.5 sacks and 11 tackles for loss.

About the Spartans: Following back-to-back losses to 2A top-ranked Williamsburg and 3A third-ranked Mount Vernon Solon has rattled off four consecutive wins while outscoring opponents by a combined total of 160-35.

The Spartans are unbeaten in District 5 play and have outscored teams 125-25 in district play and own a 379-76 scoring advantage over district 5 teams dating back to last season.

Solon has been impressive defensively all season holding teams to 200.7 total yards and 12.9 points per game and is allowing just 3.7 yards per play.

Junior linebacker Brett White leads the team with 57.5 tackles while Ben Kampman has 26.5 tackles and a team-high five sacks and nine tackles for loss.

Senior quarterback Blake Timmons has passed for 760 yards and five touchdowns and has rushed for 335 yards and 11 touchdowns.

White has rushed for a team-high 710 yards and 10 touchdowns while Oaken Foster has caught a team-high 21 passes for 223 yards and two touchdowns.

Regina (4-3) at Durant (5-2)

Where: Durant, 7 p.m.

Last season: Regina 34, Durant 16

Player to watch: Durant senior running back Nolan DeLong (6-1, 191) has rushed for 1,712 yards and 19 touchdowns and has made a team-high 55 tackles including nine for loss and two sacks.  

Key stat: Durant allowed an average of 120 rushing yards per game during a 5-0 start to the season and has given up an averaging of 281.5 yards on the ground in back-to-back losses to West Branch and Mediapolis.

About the Wildcats: Durant opened the season with five consecutive wins but has dropped its last two games to top-10 opponents West Branch and Mediapolis by a combined total of 77-21.

With the exception of allowing 464 yards and 49 points in a week six loss to top-ranked West Branch the Wildcats have been stingy defensively.

Durant has held each of its other six opponents under 28 points and 300 yards of total offense and is allowing 262.6 total yards and 19.1 points per game on the season.

The Wildcats are led offensively by the state’s leading rusher in DeLong.

The senior tailback has posted 19 consecutive 100-yard games with a touchdown and has rushed for a state-leading 1,712 yards and 19 touchdowns while averaging 9.4 yards per carry.

DeLong also has caught three passes for 43 yards and passed for 55 yards and a touchdown.

Sophomore quarterback Isaac Nielsen has thrown for 268 yards and a touchdown with senior Brady Meincke (5-6, 135) catching a team-high 13 passes for 173 yards while Grant Hein (5-7, 150) has four receptions for 33 yards and two touchdowns.

About the Regals: Regina will look to get back on track in its regular season finale after a 23-0 loss at top-ranked West Branch last Friday.

The Regals have secured a playoff spot and can finish third in Class 1A, District 5 with a win over Durant in its final regular season game.

In order to close the season with a win Regina will likely need to slow the DeLong-led Durant running game.

Regina has been solid against the run this season allowing more than 200 rushing yards in a game just one time and holding opponents to 124 rushing yards per game.

The Regals have been strong defensively all season allowing just 205 total yards and 15 points per game.

Regina will look to get its offense going after putting up just 108 yards in the loss to West Branch last week.

The Regals are averaging 238 total yards and 25.4 points per game this season.

Junior quarterback Gentry Dumont has passed for 695 yards and 10 touchdowns with four interceptions with junior Jackson Naeve his top target with 25 receptions for 382 yards and seven touchdowns.

Levi Daniel has rushed for a team-high 370 yards and three touchdowns while Ronan Poynton has rushed for two touchdowns and Chris Waikel and Dumont each have one rushing touchdown.

Class 1A No. 1 West Branch (7-0) at Wilton (4-3)

Where: Wilton, 7 p.m.

Last season: West Branch 28, Wilton 12

Player to watch: Wilton sophomore quarterback Drew Keith (6-0, 170) has completed 65 percent of his passes while throwing for 860 yards and 10 touchdowns and has rushed for 374 yards and five touchdowns.  

Key stat: In four wins this season Wilton has allowed 1.9 yards per carry and in its three losses the Beavers have given up 7.6 yards per rush attempt.

About the Beavers: Wilton snapped a three-game losing skid last Friday with a 68-0 win over Louisa-Muscatine.

The Beavers opened the season with three consecutive wins before dropping three straight to Durant, Regina and Mediapolis.

Wilton has been strong defensively for most of the season holding four opponents under 12 points and allowing 240 total yards and 20 points per game on the season.

The Beaver offense led by Keith is averaging 324 total yards and 31.9 points per game.

Sophomore tailback Owen Hassell (5-8, 155) has rushed for a team-high 677 yards and eight touchdowns while averaging 5.8 yards per carry and has caught 14 passes for 183 yards.

Junior Landyn Putman (6-3, 175) has caught a team-high 21 passes for 196 yards and a touchdown while sophomore Cade Souhrada (5-10, 160) has 18 receptions for 248 yards and five scores.

Another sophomore Kale McQuillen (5-7, 130) has 16 receptions for 156 yards and two scores.

Senior defensive lineman Alex Kaufmann (6-0, 255) leads the Wilton defense with 36.5 tackles including 10 tackles for loss while sophomore Damian Pestle (5-8, 165) has a team-high four sacks.

About the Bears: West Branch is seeking to cap its fifth unbeaten regular season in the past nine seasons with a win in the regular season finale.

The Bears have already clinched the Class 1A, District 5 title and can secure homefield advantage for the next two weeks with a win in the regular season finale.

West Branch is averaging 342 total yards and 49.6 points per game this season while averaging 6.8 yards per play.

Senior quarterback Tye Hughes leads the West Branch offense and has passed for 835 yards and nine touchdowns with just two interceptions and has rushed for 272 yards and six scores.

Andy Henson has been the workhorse rushing for 933 yards and 20 touchdowns and has caught 12 passes for 123 yards and a touchdown.

Kinnick Boelk has caught a team-high 18 passes for 134 yards and a touchdown while Carver Boelk has made 15 receptions for 287 yards and five touchdowns.

West Branch has been dominant defensively holding opponents to 140 total yards and 8.4 points per game and is allowing just 3.4 yards per play.

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