Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

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

When: Friday, 7 p.m.

Where: The Little Rose Bowl

One of the best small school rivalries in the state continues on Friday with Regina and West Branch squaring off for the third consecutive season.

West Branch snapped a long losing skid to Regina last season with a 23-0 win over the Regals at the Little Rose Bowl in a game in which the Bears held a 322-108 edge in total yards.

The rematch comes on Friday in a game that will go a long way in determining the Class 1A, District 5 champion.

Regina and West Branch are both 2-0 in district play joining Wilton as undefeated teams in District 5 play.

The last four meetings between West Branch and Regina have all been decided by double digits with the last one-score game between the two teams a 35-28 win for Regina in the 2015 postseason.

Expect a close game on Friday between two teams that play great defense and are both holding opponents under 16 points per game.

Players to Watch

Regina

As a fan, coach or defender there many not be a player on the field you want to keep your eyes locked on more than Regina senior Jackson Naeve.

The 6-foot-1, 180-pound Naeve is one of the best wide receivers in Class 1A and leads 1A in both receiving yards (528) and receiving touchdowns (8).

However, one of the most difficult elements in defending Naeve is his ability to impact the game in every facet.

Naeve ranks fourth in 1A with 941 all purpose yards adding 130 rushing yards and four touchdowns to his receiving totals.

Don’t take your eyes on Naeve on special teams where he is averaging 38.6 yards per kick return and has taken two kicks back for touchdowns and 15.3 yards per punt return.

The game within in the game on Friday will be West Branch attempting to limit explosive plays for Naeve and Regina looking for creative ways to get their best playmaker the ball in space.

West Branch

To win football games against good teams you need your ‘A’ players to play like ‘A’ players.

West Branch senior two-way lineman Logan Wright is an ‘A+’ type player and the Bears will look for an ‘A+’ type of game from their leader up front on Friday.

The 6-foot-3, 235-pound Wright is a difference maker on both sides of the ball but has the ability to wreck a game plan for opposing offenses from his spot on interior of the Bear defensive line.

Wright ranks fourth on the team with 16.5 tackles and leads West Branch with 6.5 tackles for loss.

He also came up with a season-changing type of play for West Branch with a game-winning interception return for a touchdown in a 30-23 win at Waterloo Columbus.

Wright had a pair of tackles for loss last season against Regina as the Bears held the Regals to 32 yards rushing.

West Branch will likely need Wright to be a disruptive force defensively as it attempts to slow down a high-powered Regina offense.

Keys to the Game

West Branch

Manage the moment.

West Branch has gotten a boost from the emergence of sophomore quarterback Brennen Dale who has gone 3-0 in three career starts.

Dale faces his toughest test on Friday in the form of a Regina defense that is allowing 11.6 points per game and 3.8 yards per play.

The 6-foot, 170-pound Dale has completed 64 percent of his passes and thrown for 353 yards and three touchdowns in his first three career starts.

Dale has added a valuable element to the West Branch offense with his ability to run, rushing for 103 yards and four touchdowns in three games.

Composure will be the key for Dale on Friday against a sound Regina defense that has 10 interceptions and 15 sacks in five games.

Regina

Be explosive.

Regina has been improved across the board offensively this season.

An area where the Regals have been much better this season compared to last year is in finding explosive plays on offense.

Regina has scored 16 touchdowns on plays of 20 yards or longer this season and has nine touchdown plays of 40 yards or longer.

Last season Regina averaged better than eight yards per play one time in nine games while averaging 5.4 yards per play for the season including just 3.5 yards per play in its four losses.

This season Regina has averaged better than eight yards per play in all five games and is averaging 9.3 yards per play on the season.

Regina will certainly take long sustained drives but the ability to hit big plays can be a momentum shifter in big games and the Regals have been adept at finding big plays on offensie this fall.

Both Teams

Win up front.

Yes, both of these offenses have evolved.

And yes Regina leads 1A in passing yardage and West Branch has thrown the ball effectively during its three-game winning streak.

However, in rivalry games, especially a rivalry like the one between these two conference foes, the team that can win up front wins on the scoreboard.

Last season West Branch outgained Regina 172 to 32 in rushing yards in a 23-0 win.

This season Regina is allowing less than 100 yards per game on the ground and hasn’t given up more than 132 rushing yards in a game.

Neither offensive line needs to pave the way for 250 or even 150 rushing yards for their team to be successful on Friday.

Conversely it seems unlike either defensive line dominates the game either.

However, if history is any indicator when the clock at the Little Rose Bowl hits zeroes on Friday it will be the team that played better up front that walks off the field with a win.

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