Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

West High (2-3) at Cedar Rapids Jefferson (4-1)

Where: Kingston Stadium, 7:15 p.m. (Thursday)

Last season: Did not play.

Player to watch: Cedar Rapids Jefferson junior running back Ishara Kalolero (5-9, 185) ranks third in Class 5A in both rushing yards and rushing touchdowns running for 720 yards and 10 touchdowns while averaging 8.4 yards per carry.

Key stat: During a 26-game losing streak from 2020 to 2022 Cedar Rapids Jefferson averaged 7.2 points per game and scored double figure points seven times. This season the J-Hawks have scored at least 13 points in every game and are averaging 36.6 points per game.

About the Trojans: West High has dropped back-to-back games following a 2-1 start to the season after a 48-21 loss to Ankeny last week.

The Trojans will look to get back on track on Thursday against a Jefferson team it has gone 4-0 against since 2010.

West High is averaging 24.6 points and 302 total yards per game behind junior quarterback Jack Wallace (6-3, 210) who has thrown for 985 yards and eight touchdowns and rushed for 65 yards and three touchdowns.

Junior Mason Woods (6-2, 200) has been the top target for Wallace with 22 receptions for 357 yards and two touchdowns and Izaiah Loveless (5-11, 165) has caught 14 passes for 331 yards and three touchdowns.

Junior Butali Butali (5-8, 155) leads West High with 164 rushing yards and is averaging 6.6 yards per carry.

A West High defense that is allowing 30 points per game will look for a bounce back after giving up a season-high 48 points in the loss to Ankeny.

The Trojans are allowing 215 rushing yards and 391 total yards per game and are led by senior linebacker Santana Miller (5-11, 205) who has a team-leading 39.5 tackles.

Junior Declan Bunn (5-10, 180) has 33 tackles and senior Zach Logsdon (5-10, 200) has 27.5 tackles with three for loss.

About the J-Hawks: Cedar Rapids Jefferson has been one of the best stories in the state this season starting the season 4-1 after three consecutive wineless seasons in 2020, 2021 and 2022.

The J-Hawks snapped 26-game losing streak with a 33-24 win over Muscatine in the season opener and outscored Marshalltown, Des Moines North and Des Moines East by a combined total of 137-20 on its way to a 4-0 start.

Cedar Rapids Jefferson had its four-game winning streak end with a 21-13 loss to Cedar Rapids Washington last week.

The improvement for the J-Hawks has been impressive on both sides of the ball this season.

After allowing more than 51 points per game last season Cedar Rapids Jefferson is holding opponents to 13 points and 223 total yards per game this season.

The J-Hawks haven’t allowed more than 285 yards of total offense in a game and are allowing just 118 rushing yards per game.

Sophomore Kayden James (5-8, 185) leads the Jefferson defense with 35 tackles including seven for loss and three sacks and junior LJ Elophe (5-10, 200) has 34 tackles with seven for loss.

Senior Sherman Hopkins III (6-0, 265) has a team-high nine tackles for loss among 28.5 tackles.

The J-Hawks have forced nine turnovers in five games and returned three for touchdowns.

The Cedar Rapids Jefferson offense is led by senior quarterback Jeremiah Peiffer (6-0, 180) who has passed for 686 yards and five touchdowns and rushed for 59 yards and three touchdowns.

Kalolero leads a J-Hawk running game that is producing better than 222 rushing yards per game and sophomore LJ Nyenow Jr. (6-2, 190) has been the top receiver with 20 receptions for 354 yards and two touchdowns.

City High (2-3) at Davenport Central (1-4)

Where: Brady Street Stadium, 7 p.m.

Last season: City High 79, Davenport Central 0

Player to watch: Davenport Central senior defensive end Walid Botcho (6-0, 214) has made 22.5 tackles and leads the Blue Devils with 12.5 tackles for loss and 3.5 sacks.

Key stat: City High has defeated Davenport Central each of the past three seasons outscoring the Blue Devils by a combined total of 177-21 in those wins.

About the Little Hawks: City High had a two-game winning streak halted with a 61-34 loss to Cedar Rapids Kennedy last Friday at Bates Field.

The Little Hawks will look to get back on track on Friday with its first of consecutive trips to Brady Street Stadium.

After scoring a combined 27 points in back-to-back losses to open the season City High has averaged 35.3 points per game over its last three games behind junior quarterback Bobby Bacon (6-1, 165).

Bacon has completed 66-of-103 passes for 941 yards and six touchdowns with three interceptions and has rushed for two touchdowns.

Seniors Carsen Newton (5-7, 140) and Jeremiah Madlock (6-0, 175) headline a pass catching group for the Little Hawks that has four players with at least 10 receptions and 140 receiving yards.

Newton has a team-high 30 receptions for 292 yards and two touchdowns and Madlock has caught 18 passes for 441 yards and two touchdowns.

Senior Miles Parlet (5-9, 185) has rushed for a team-high 525 yards and five touchdowns and is averaging 5.8 yards per carry.

City High is allowing 37.2 points and 373 total yards per game and is led defensively by senior Jake Mitchell (5-5, 135) who has a team-high 38 tackles including six for loss and four sacks.

Senior Sam Kueter (6-4, 200) has 33 tackles and has recovered two fumbles.

About the Blue Devils: After opening the season with a 21-13 road win at Clinton, Davenport Central has lost four straight games the latest a 49-14 loss to Davenport North on Friday.

Davenport Central is allowing 28 points and 328 total yards per game after giving up an averaging of just 13.5 points and 123 total yards in its first two games.

Senior Davion Williams (5-6, 175) leads the Davenport Central defense with 34.5 tackles including 5.5 for loss and has recovered a fumble.

The Blue Devil offense is led by senior quarterback Blake Ferris (6-3, 165) and is averaging 14.8 points and 245 total yards per game.

Ferris has passed for 608 yards and three touchdowns with five interceptions and has rushed for 84 yards.

Senior Jake Jantzi (5-8, 180) leads the Blue Devils with 164 rushing yards and two touchdowns and senior Jack Frohna (6-1, 175) has been the top target in the passing game.

Frohna has 12 receptions for 132 yards while senior Savieon Ross (5-7, 130) has 11 receptions for 125 yards and a touchdown and senior Shayne Hagedorn (5-10, 140) has eight receptions for 120 yards and a touchdown.

Cedar Rapids Washington (1-4) at Liberty High (1-4)

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

Last season: Did not play

Player to watch: Cedar Rapids Washington sophomore quarterback Grady McGuire (6-0, 155) has completed 46-of-104 passes while throwing for 511 yards and five touchdowns with eight interceptions and has also rushed for a touchdown.

Key stat: Liberty High is running an average of 74.6 offensive plays per game, has had 73 or more offensive snaps in four of five games and has run at least 80 offensive plays three times this season.

About the Lightning: Liberty High has lost three straight games after a 41-14 win over City High in week two dropping its third consecutive game to a team with a winning record on Friday falling 38-30 at Cedar Rapids Prairie.

The combined record of the Liberty High’s opponents this season is 14-11 as the Lightning have lost three consecutive games to Pleasant Valley (4-1), Cedar Falls (3-2) and Cedar Rapids Prairie (3-2).

Liberty High will look to get back on track on Friday as it returns to Liberty Stadium for the first time since week three where the Lightning are averaging 40 points per game this season.

The Lightning are averaging 31.4 points and 431 yards of total offense this season behind senior quarterback Graham Beckman (6-1, 194).

Beckman has been among the best in the state this season throwing for 1,620 yards and 15 touchdowns with nine interceptions while completing 61.5 percent of his passes and rushing for 132 yards and two touchdowns.

Junior Sutton Koller (5-11, 165) has caught a team-high 49 passes for 594 yards and six touchdowns and has also rushed for 170 yards and three touchdowns.

Dallas Miller (5-10, 160) has caught 41 passes for 486 yard and six touchdowns and Collin Decker (6-3, 190) has 18 receptions for 251 yards.

On defense Liberty High is allowing 35.6 points and 370 yards per game and has given up 35 or more points in three consecutive games.

Senior Gavin Benton (5-11, 190) leads Liberty High with 35 tackles including 8.5 for loss and Dantrell Skinner (6-0, 210) has 20 tackles with six for loss and has recovered two fumbles.

About the Warriors: Cedar Rapids Washington earned the first win of its season last week with a 21-13 win over previously unbeaten Cedar Rapids Jefferson in a cross-town showdown at Kingston Stadium.

The win over the J-Hawks snapped a six-game losing skid for Cedar Rapids Washington that stretch back to last season and included loss to Dubuque Hempstead, Linn-Mar, Davenport West and Cedar Rapids Kennedy to open 2023.

The Cedar Rapids Washington offense led by McGuire is averaging 12.4 points and 182 total yards per game.

Sophomore Nicholas Riley (5-10, 175) has rushed for a team-high 197 yards and a touchdown and senior Landyn Mitvalsky (6-1, 160) is the top pass catcher with 15 receptions for 139 yards and a touchdown.

Senior J’Quari Willis (6-3, 185) has caught 12 passes for 172 yards and three touchdowns and junior Brock Davis (5-11, 175) has seven receptions for 136 yards and a touchdown.

The Warriors are allowing 32.6 points and 337 total yards per game on defense but are coming off their best game of the season holding Cedar Rapids Jefferson to 235 total yards and 13 points.

Junior Aaron Butikofer (5-9, 175) leads the Warriors with 24.5 tackles while junior Will Barnes (5-8, 170) has 20.5 tackles including seven tackles for loss and three sacks.

Cedar Rapids Washington has forced nine turnovers in five games and returned a fumble and an interception for touchdowns.

Benton Community (4-1) at Solon (4-1)

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

Last season: Did not play

Player to watch: Benton Community senior running back Carson Bruns (5-11, 175) has rushed for 571 yards and nine touchdowns while averaging 6 yards per carry and ranks fifth on the team with 16.5 tackles including 3.5 for loss.

Key stat: Benton Community has outscored opponents 45-7 in the first quarter of games this season and has held four of five opponents scoreless in the opening half.

About the Spartans: Solon extended its winning streak to four with a 40-7 win over Grinnell in its Class 3A, District 5 opener last week and has now outscored opponents 125-36 during its current winning streak.

The Spartans had a season-high 412 total yards, ran a season-best 58 offensive plays and averaged 7.1 yards per play in the win at Grinnell.

Solon is averaging 26.4 points and 286 total yards per game this season and has scored 37 or more points in each of its past three games.

Junior quarterback Tyler Bell (6-1, 180) has completed 44-of-80 passes for 621 yards and seven touchdowns with two interceptions.

Sophomore Conlan Poynton (5-10, 175) has rushed for 288 yards and four touchdowns while averaging 7.6 yards per carry.

Senior Nash Kotar (6-1, 185) leads the Spartans with 13 receptions for 176 yards and two touchdowns and junior Eddie Johnson (6-1, 205) has caught 10 passes for 149 yards and two touchdowns.

Senior Grant Knipper (6-0, 175) has eight receptions for 152 yards.

Solon is holding opponents to 14 points and 281 total yards per game and is allowing just 250 total yards and nine points per game during its four-game win streak.

Senior linebacker Brett White (6-0, 210) leads Solon with 46 tackles including 12 for loss and senior Brayden Moore (5-9, 185) has 22 tackles with four for loss.

About the Bobcats: Benton Community has won back-to-back games following its only loss of the season, a 19-7 loss at Mount Vernon in week three.

The Bobcats opened 3A, District 5 play with a 38-0 win over Fairfield last week holding the Trojans to 73 total yards while recording their second shutout of the season and first since a 49-0 win over Vinton-Shellsburg in the season opener.

Benton Community has relied heavily on its running game this season racking up 249 of its 293 total yards per game on the ground.

Bruns leads the Bobcat rushing attack but three other players have rushed for at least 150 yards and a touchdown this season.

Senior Owen Tjelmeland (5-11, 170) has rushed for 268 yards and five touchdowns and junior Brenden Heying (6-1, 170) has run for 250 yards and seven touchdowns with both players spending time at quarter.

Heying has started each of the past two games and has completed 13-of-19 passes for 93 yards on the season.

Junior Blayke Heying (5-10, 160) has rushed for 158 yards and a touchdown.

Senior Easton Pfiffner (6-0, 180) is the top target in the passing game for the Bobcats with 16 receptions for 166 yards.

Benton Community has been impressive defensively holding opponents to 10.6 points and 186 total yards per game.

The Bobcats are allowing just 102 rushing yards per game and have allowed more than 100 rushing yards just twice in three games.

Junior Dylan LeFebvere (5-11, 165) has a team-high 23 tackles while Pfiffner has 21 tackles with 5.5 for loss and senior Brennen Blegen (6-3, 290) has 20 tackles with five for loss.

Clear Creek Amana (1-4) at Burlington (2-3)  

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

Last season: Did not play

Player to watch: Burlington senior quarterback Gabe Robinson (5-11, 160) has completed 13-of-34 passes for 237 yards and a touchdown and has rushed for 314 yards and four touchdowns.

Key stat: Burlington has run the ball on 86 percent of its offensive plays this season with 211 of the 245 offensive snaps for the Grayhounds resulting in run plays.

About the Clippers: Clear Creek Amana snapped a four-game losing skid to open the season with a 28-21 win over Oskaloosa last week in its 4A, District 3 opener.

The Clippers started the season with four consecutive losses to teams with a combined record of 17-3.

Clear Creek Amana has upped its scoring and total yardage output in each of the last four games, putting up season-highs of 28 points and 395 total yards in the win over Oskaloosa last week.

Senior quarterback Quinton Tran (5-9, 165) leads a Clear Creek Amana offense that is averaging 15.6 points and 267 total yards per game.

Tran has completed 49-of-97 passes for 576 yards and two touchdowns with five interceptions and has rushed for 88 yards.

Senior Jackson Stevens (5-10, 155) has rushed for a team-high 546 yards and seven touchdowns and senior Sam Pettinger (6-0, 205) has rushed for 104 yards and two touchdowns.

Owen Rosenberg (6-2, 180) leads Clear Creek Amana with 19 receptions for 191 yards and Haiden Hardy (6-2, 165) has caught 13 passes for 159 yards.

Stevens leads a Clear Creek Amana defense that is allowing 26.8 points and 295 total yards per game with 25.5 tackles.

Ben Haughey (5-10, 175) has 24 tackles with four for loss while Trace Robertson (6-0, 170) has 20.5 tackles with four for loss.

About the Grayhounds: Burlington had a two-game losing skid snapped last week with a 48-0 loss to North Scott in its Class 4A, District 3 opener.

The Grayhounds opened the season with back-to-back losses to Fort Madison and Washington before posting wins of Keokuk and Mount Pleasant.

Burlington is averaging 15.8 points and 283 total yards per game doing most of its work on the ground, averaging 236 rushing yards per game.

Senior Caden Schisel (6-0, 175) leads five Burlington players with at least 129 rushing yards with a team-high 336 yards and a touchdown.

Robinson has rushed for 314 yards while senior Dimitri Donald (5-9, 175) has run for 223 yards and two touchdowns and senior Rafe Butherus (5-9, 175) has run for 133 yards and a touchdown.

Sophomore Adrian Perez-Hall (5-9, 140) has caught four passes for 110 yards to lead Burlington.

The Grayhound defense is allowing 23 points and 265 total yards per game after giving up a season-high 452 yards to North Scott last week.

Prior to the 452 yards for North Scott no opponent had put up more than 280 total yards against Burlington this season.

Perez-Hall leads the team with 16.5 tackles including three for loss and Donald has 16 tackles.

Schisel has 13 tackles with two for loss and Butherus has made three tackles for loss.

Class 1A No. 3 Regina (5-0) at West Branch (3-2)  

Where: The Little Rose Bowl, 7 p.m.

Last season: West Branch 23, Regina 0

Player to watch: Regina senior quarterback Gentry Dumont (6-2, 205) has completed 65-of-104 passes and leads Class 1A with 1,261 passing yards and 15 touchdowns. Dumont has thrown just two interceptions and has rushed for 50 yards and a touchdown.

Key stat: Only 70 quarterbacks in the state are averaging better than 12 yards per completion this season. Regina senior Gentry Dumont is averaging 12.1 yards per pass attempt this year and ranks second in the state at 19.4 yards per completion.

About the Regals: Regina has matched its win total from a year ago during a 5-0 start in which the Regals have outscored opponents by a combined total of 238-58.

Regina moved to 2-0 in Class 1A, District 5 play with a 49-14 win over Cascade last week.

The Regals have been impressive on both sides of the ball during their unbeaten start to the season.

Offensively the Regals are averaging 47.6 points and 408 total yards per game and have scored at least 44 points in every game this season.

Dumont leads a Regina offense that is averaging 9.3 yards per play this season and has relied on senior Jackson Naeve (6-1, 180) as his top weapon.

Naeve has caught 22 passes for 528 yards and eight touchdowns and has rushed for 130 yards and four touchdowns to go with two kickoff returns for touchdowns.

Junior William Aitchison (5-9, 175) has rushed for 376 yards and five touchdowns to lead Regina while senior Ty Joss (6-0, 175) has caught 13 passes for 309 yards and five touchdowns.

Regina has been equally impressive on defense holding opponents to 11.6 points and 194 total yards per game while allowing 3.8 yards per play.

Junior Leren Fernandez (5-10, 180) leads Regina with 22.5 tackles while senior defensive linemen Jack Clark (6-2, 215), Ian Udell (6-0, 210) and Drew Streb (6-2, 235) have combined for 58 tackles with 17 tackles for loss and 7.5 sacks.

About the Bears: After opening the season with back-to-back losses to ranked opponents West Branch has rattled off three consecutive wins while outscoring opponents 96-26.

West Branch improved to 2-0 in District 5 play with a 28-3 win at Dyersville Beckman last Friday holding the Blazers to 146 yards of total offense.

The Bears opened the season with consecutive losses to 3A top-ranked Williamsburg and 1A No. 10 Dike-New Hartford before wins over Waterloo Columbus, Cascade and Dyersville Beckman.

West Branch is allowing 15.4 points and 280 total yards per game this season but has lowered those totals to 8.7 points and 260 total yards per game during its current winning streak.

West Branch is led defensively by senior Shae Farmer (6-1, 175) with 26 tackles while senior linebacker Reese Trepanier (6-1, 210) has 24.5 tackles including 1.5 for loss.

Senior defensive lineman Logan Wright (6-3, 235f) is the anchor of the West Branch defense and has 16.5 tackles including 6.5 for loss and an interception.

West Branch is averaging 23.4 points and 263 total yards per game behind sophomore quarterback Brennen Dale (6-0, 175).

Dale has completed 40-of-63 passes for 353 yards and three touchdowns with two interceptions and has rushed for 103 yards and four touchdowns.

Senior Cale Seydel (5-10, 165) has caught 12 passes for 100 yards and a touchdown, Jake Swisher (5-10, 170) has nine receptions for 112 yards and Joe Hamann (6-0, 170) has caught seven passes for 128 yards and two touchdowns.

Senior Zach Capper (5-10, 180) has rushed for a team-leading 215 yards and three touchdowns, senior Auron Marsh (5-9, 175) has rushed for 181 yards and sophomore Cooper Gates (5-11, 185) has run for 179 yards and three touchdowns.

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