Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

West High

Head coach: Garrett Hartwig (10th season)

Assistant coaches: Tyler Meade; Andrew Durham; Josh Flammang; Stephen Breitbach; Paul Breitbach; Erik Nelson; Carlos Honore; Corderol Campbell; Trey Bronner; Nick Matsen; Ty Haren; John Gluesing; Tim Sturgell; JoJo McNair; Beni Nasoni; Noah Breitbach; Demitrius Harper; Tom Van Dyke

Last season: 4-5

Returning starters: Jesus Marungo, Sr., DE/TE; Daniel Robinson, Sr., DE; Winner Ndjibu, Sr., DL/OL; Ashton Honore, Sr., LB/RB; Zach Logsdon, Sr., DL; Dayne Van Dyke, Sr., DL; Jack Wallace, Jr., QB; Izaiah Loveless, Sr., DB/WR; Mason Woods, Jr., WR/TE/FS; Todd Rent, Sr., DB/RB; Santana Miller, Sr., RB/LB; Erik Caperon, Sr., WR/DB; Luke Ernst, Sr., OL; Quinn Abbott, Sr., DE; Evan Anderson, Jr., P/DL; Addam Salem, Soph., K

Other returning letterwinners: Kendall Woodson, Sr., OL/DL; Richard Wu, Sr., WR/DB; Nick Caylor, Jr.., DE/TE; Kevin Mendoza, Sr., DL; Nick Syata, Sr., OL; Matt Cannon, Sr., OL; Declan Bunn, Jr., LB; Zion Shaw, Sr., DE

Newcomers to watch: Julilan Manson, Soph., LB; Mason Goering, Soph., WR/DB; Ahmed Almaki, Jr., WR; Marquise Rose, Sr., RB; Butali Butali, Jr., RB; Colin Whitters, Soph., DE; Ethan Headings, Soph., WR/DB

Playoff history: 19 appearances (2994-1999, 2002-2003, 2009-2018, 2020). West High won Class 4A state titles in 1995, 1998 and 1999.

Circle the date: September 15 at City High. West High travels across town for the annual Battle for the Boot seeking to snap a two-game losing streak to rival City High. The Little Hawks have won back-to-back games in the series by a combined score of 105-0.

Headliner: Senior linebacker Ashton Honore is coming off an impressive junior season in which he established himself as one of the best in the state. Already a two-year starter, the 6-foot, 230-pound Honore led West High with 66.5 tackles and 7.5 sacks last season and ranked sixth in the state and led Class 5A with 27 tackles for loss.

Ready for a breakthrough: Junior Mason Woods was good last season as a sophomore. Actually Woods was really good, making 21 tackles and leading West High with three interceptions as a safety while catching 19 passes for 392 yards and two touchdowns as a receiver. The 6-foot-2, 200-pound Woods should be better this season. In fact he will likely be much better this season as he continues to emerge as one of the best players in the state.

Unsung hero: Senior Zach Logsdon had a strong season last year at linebacker ranking fourth on the team with 40.5 tackles to go with 4.5 for loss. Like any true unsung hero Logsdon took on a position change this offseason as the 5-foot-10, 200-pounder moved to defensive end where he will look to be part of an improved Trojan front four.

Keep an eye on: Junior quarterback Jack Wallace enters his third season as the starter and will look to make another major step forward after a stellar sophomore season in which he passed for 1,754 yards and 17 touchdowns with just two interceptions. The 6-foot-3, 210-pound Wallace has all the tools and will look to put together his best season yet.

Remember the name: Mason Goering. A 6-foot-5, 180-pound sophomore Goering has a combination of size, speed and athleticism that is going to get him on the field as a pass catcher and defensive back.

Biggest strength: Experience. West High was forced to play a lot of young players the past two seasons but now has the benefit of being one of the more experienced teams in Class 5A. The Trojans return 16 starters from last season including several three-year starters in key spots.

Biggest question: Who emerges at the offensive skill positions? West High didn’t lose a lot from last season but the Trojans did graduate their leading rusher and two of their top three receivers. There is plenty of talent and a lot of speed returning at both receiver and running back. Track standouts Todd Rent and Izaiah Loveless will be in the mix along with Woods and senior Erik Caperon. If a couple of playmakers emerge at receiver and running back the West High offense could be explosive.

Quotable: “We’ve been a .500 team that last couple of years and a lot of it has been that we’ve played some of the best teams in the state,” West High coach Garrett Hartwig said. “In two years we’ve played 12 playoff teams out of a possible 18 games in the regular season schedule so we’ve seen good competition and we’ve shown flashes of being right there with those teams but a lot of times it was mistakes that cost us. I think this group having the playing experience they have understands that and we have more depth this year than we’ve had the last few years.”

2023 Schedule

Date/Opponent/Record in 2022

August 25: Liberty High (9-2)

September 1: at Urbandale (5-4)

September 8: Muscatine (3-6)

September 15: at City High (6-4)

September 22: Ankeny (9-2)

September 28: at Cedar Rapids Jefferson (0-9)

October 6: Cedar Rapids Washington (5-5)

October 13: at Pleasant Valley (9-1)

October 20: Cedar Rapids Prairie (7-4)

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