Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

IOWA CITY – In some seasons at certain schools a 4-5 season is considered a success.

Or at the very least 4-5 is not a disappointment.

That wasn’t the case for West High which dropped its final three games last fall to finish 4-5 and miss the 5A playoffs for the second straight season.

The four wins for West High last season were an improvement from a 2-7 season in 2021 but it wasn’t enough for the Trojans.

“I feel like at some point it’s an expectation to be in the playoffs, we’ve been there many times at West High and we need to get back there,” West High senior offensive lineman Matt Cannon said. “We have all the motivation to get there and I think it’s an expectation at this point.”

The expectation is for West High to be a playoff team in 2023 and there are plenty of reasons to believe the Trojans can meet that expectation.

West High returns 16 starters from last season including junior quarterback Jack Wallace and four of top five tacklers from last season.

“Our standards are way higher than last year, the general feeling was we were disappointed with the way it ended last year and this year we are really feeling like we want to get back (to the playoffs),” West High senior defensive lineman Zach Logsdon said. “We are hungry for bringing West High back to where it should be and where it has been in the past. That’s really the mentality to get West back where it should be.”

For West High to take a step forward and return to the playoffs in 2023 Logsdon and Cannon are well aware one of the major pieces will be improved play up front on both sides of the ball.

West High averaged 101 rushing yards per game last season while allowing opponents to rush for 225 yards per game.

There are several factors that go into those numbers but both start with line play, something Cannon and Logsdon both believe will be better this fall.

Both believe West High is capable of being better on both lines.

“Being more aggressive at the point of attack is going to be important,” Logsdon said. “Last year we were getting driven off the ball a little bit and this year we revamped it, we have a new system, new guys and I think owning the line of scrimmage is a goal.”

Logsdon and Cannon personify both lines for West High this season.

A little undersized but tough, smart and experienced. And playing with a chip on their shoulder.

“I’m definitely undersized for the offensive line and we aren’t really big as a team but as long as you can play leverage, trust the guy next to you, play smart and have good vision you can do a lot of things to make up for size,” Cannon said.

The 5-foot-10, 200-pound Logsdon moved from linebacker to defensive line in a revamped West High defensive this fall.

Logsdon was fourth on the team with 40.5 tackles last season is one four players returning that had more than 30 tackles last season including fellow defensive end Jesus Marungo-Murrillo (6-3, 210) who had 31.5 tackles.

West High returns a talented group of linebackers behind a deeper defensive line group led by seniors Ashton Honore (6-0, 230) and Santana Miller (5-11, 205) who combined for 116.5 tackles last season.

“I think consistency is huge,” Logsdon said. “Last year we’d be good here and there. This year we have an older group of guys, a lot of returners so consistency is huge for us.”

On the offensive line West High returns five seniors with playing experience.

Cannon (6-0, 190) joins Luke Ernst (6-4, 240), Winner Ndjibu (6-5, 260), Nick Syata (6-1, 215) and Kendall Woodson (6-3, 270) as seniors with experience up front.

“We are all seniors now and that’s huge,” West High head coach Garrett Hartwig said. “We are five seniors across the board and that helps big time. These are seniors that have played, they’ve seen it, they’ve done it and they know what it takes.”

The returning offensive line should be a boost for Wallace, a two-year starter at quarterback and a new group of offensive skill positions players that includes talented seniors like Todd Rent (5-8, 160), Erik Caperon (5-9, 165) and Izaiah Loveless (5-11, 165) and junior Mason Woods (6-2, 200).

“We have a very senior dominated line, a lot of experience on the line this year and I think that’s going to be a big advantage,” Cannon said. “There is a really good understanding of how plays are supposed to be ran and how it’s supposed to be blocked. There is a lot of trust on our line.”

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