Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

The regular season is officially in the books.

Now things really get interesting.

Playoffs start for all classes next Friday and City High, Liberty High and Solon will all be in.

West Branch already started the postseason with a win on Friday.

Before digging into the postseason pairings that will be released on Saturday we take a look back at what stood out from the final week of the regular season.

What Stood Out?

City High Looked Sharp

Following a 30-point loss to second-ranked Pleasant Valley in week seven the Little Hawks posted back-to-back impressive wins to secure a playoff spot.

A week after downing Davenport West 55-6 the Little Hawks set a single-game program scoring record in a 79-0 win over Davenport Central on Friday.

Junior quarterback Drew Larson returned to action on Friday after missing the previous two games with an injury and appears poised to provide a boost entering the postseason.

West Branch Looked Like No. 1

What is a number one ranked team expected to do in a playoff opener?

Dominate.

That is what top-ranked West Branch did in its Class 1A opening-round meeting with South Hardin at the Little Rose Bowl.

Andy Henson rushed for 144 yards and three touchdowns, Tye Hughes passed for 88 yards and rushed for two scores and West Branch posted its fourth shutout of the season blanking South Hardin 42-0.

It was a thoroughly dominating effort for West Branch as the Bears double up South Hardin in total yardage 320-160.

Graham Beckman Looked Healthy

With junior quarterback Graham Beckman sidelined with a thigh bruise last Friday Liberty High needed a late touchdown drive and two-point conversion to escape at Burlington.

With Beckman back in the lineup on Friday the Lightning looked poised for a deep playoff run as Beckman continued his impressive season.

Beckman threw for 269 yards and four touchdowns as Liberty High rolled to a 42-7 win over Clinton in its regular season finale.

Beckman has now passed for 2,128 yards and 27 touchdowns through nine games in his first season as the Lightning starter.

Solon Looks Ready for a Run

The 1-2 start to the season for Solon seems lightyears away.

Seventh-ranked Solon continued its stroll through Class 3A, District 5 play with a 41-7 win over Keokuk on Friday in which the Spartans led 35-0 at the half and played plenty of subs over the final three quarters.

The Spartans got a special teams touchdown courtesy of junior Keenan Kruse on a blocked punt, held Keokuk to 229 yards and forced two turnovers and got touchdown passes from three different players.

A state semifinalist a year ago, Solon will host an opening-round playoff game next week and looks ready for another deep postseason run.

Who Stepped up?

Kinnick Boelk

The West Branch senior had his hand in a lot of the Bears success on Friday night.

Boelk had a 56-yard touchdown run and caught five passes for 32 yards on offense.

On defense Boelk had 5.5 tackles including five solo stops and picked off a pass.

And on special teams Boelk returned a pair of punts for 18 yards.

What’s Next

Three Games to Watch Next Week

Playoff pairings for next Friday will be released on Saturday.

Liberty High, Solon and West Branch will all host playoff games.

City High will play a 5A playoff game on the road.

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