Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

West Branch and Regina closed the regular season on Friday.

Both will open postseason play next week as the rest of the Your Prep Sports area teams wrap up the regular season.

Week eight of the high school football season had some of the best individual performances of the season, some late-game drama and saw two area teams lock up district crowns.

What stood out most from Friday?

We take a look in this week’s Rapid Reaction.

What Stood Out?

Liberty High Finds a Way

Liberty High clinched the Class 4A, District 3 title on Friday.

How?

The Lightning simply found a way.

Liberty High rallied from a touchdown deficit in the final 90 seconds and escaped Bracewell Stadium with a 29-28 win over Burlington when backup quarterback Cody Nichols lofted a two-point conversion pass to Christian Barney with 26 seconds remaining.

The thrilling win was the fifth straight for fourth-ranked Liberty High which improved to 7-1 on the season and a perfect 4-0 in District play.

Burlington took a 28-21 when fullback Nolan Simpson scored on a 3-yard run with 1:24 remaining.

Liberty High answered quickly as Nichols hit Wyatt Williams for a 52-yard touchdown pass to cut the lead to 28-27.

Liberty High went for two and Nichols rolled out and found Barney alone in the middle of the end zone for the game winner.

Sometimes great teams just find a way.

Liberty High has looked like a great team this season and on Friday the Lightning found a way.

West High Fights Back

Twice in the past three weeks West High fell into early deficits in losses to City High and Bettendorf.

Those two losses ended with a combined score of 91-6.

The Trojans fell into another early hole on Friday against eighth-ranked Cedar Rapids Prairie trailing 22-0 in the second quarter.

This time West High fought back.

Christian Janis threw a touchdown pass to Mason Woods on a trick play.

Jack Wallace found Woods for a 65-yard touchdown pass to cut the lead to 22-15.

It was 35-15 in the third quarter before Wallace hit Janis for a 9-yard score and a 79-yard pass from Wallace to Todd Rent set up a 1-yard Braden Gladwin touchdown run.

West High couldn’t come all the way back, falling 49-28 but the explosive plays from Wallace, Janis, Woods and company and the heart certainly stood out.

Regina Steps Up, Bounces Back

A couple of things you could be sure of entering Friday night’s regular season finale between Regina and Durant.

Durant standout Nolan DeLong was going to get some rushing yards.

And Regina was going to battle back.

Both happened but it was the Regals that came away with a win.

The state’s leading rusher DeLong rushed for 205 yards to crack the 6,000-yard mark for his career but Regina came up with some key fourth-down stops and got big plays from its offense in a 26-12 win over the Wildcats.

The win gives Regina (5-3) the third spot in Class 1A, District 5 and gave the Regals a bounce back win after last week’s 23-0 shutout loss at West Branch.

Almost as important as the win itself for the Regals was the explosive playmaking Regina showed.

Junior Jackson Naeve continued a breakout season with an 84-yard touchdown reception and a 77-yard kick off return for a score.

Senior Levi Daniel had a 60-yard touchdown run and finished with 148 yards on the ground and Gentry Dumont passed for 171 yards and two scores including a 44-yarder to senior Chris Waikel.

Nobody wants to get Regina in the 1A playoffs that open next week and Friday was a reminder of why the Regals are an unenviable opening-round foe.

Blake Timmons Puts on a Senior Night Show

Every senior wants to put on a show on senior night.

Solon senior Blake Timmons shined on center stage in his final regular season appearance at Spartan Stadium on Friday.

Timmons rushed for 172 yards and three touchdowns, threw a touchdown pass and picked off three passes on defense as Solon secured the 3A, District 5 title with a 51-7 win over Grinnell.

As he has been for most of the past three seasons Timmons was in total control on Friday.

He scored on touchdown runs of 20, 6 and 67 yards and tossed a 9-yard strike to fellow senior Oaken Foster on a fourth-down play.

Timmons was perhaps even better as a safety snaring three interceptions including an over the shoulder grab and a diving stop at the Spartan 2 yard line.

It was a fitting senior night performance for the Spartans’ unquestioned leader.

Who Stepped up?

Ben Kueter

Kueter always seems to be at the top of his game but even by his standards Friday night’s effort stood out.

The City High senior scored six touchdowns, three rushing, two receiving and one on a kickoff return in a 55-6 win at Davenport West.

Kueter rushed for 110 yards and caught five passes for 66 yards as City High improved to 5-3.

What’s Next

Three Games to Watch Next Week

Newton (6-2) at Clear Creek Amana (3-5) – The Clippers will attempt to close out the season with a win over Newton while the Cardinals look to keep their playoff hopes alive.

Clinton (2-6) at Liberty High (7-1) – Liberty High can put the finishing touches on the best regular season in program history with a win over the River Kings in the regular season finale.

Davenport Central (1-7) at City High (5-3) – City High needed back-to-back wins to lock up a playoff spot and can do that with a victory at home over Davenport Central.

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