West High

Head coach: Garrett Hartwig (11^th season)

Assistant coaches: Tyler Meade; Mike Kauzlarich; Erik Nelson; JoJo McNair; Demetrius Harper; Ty Haren; John Gluesing; Josh Flammang; Stephen Breitbach; Paul Breitbach; Noah Breitbach; Ethan Poster

Last season: 4-5

Returning starters: Evan Anderson, Sr., K; Declan Bunn, Sr., LB; Butali Butali, Sr., RB; Nick Caylor, Jr., TE; Adrian DeWaard, Jr., DB; Mason Goering, Jr., WR/DB; Ethan Headings, Jr., WR/DB; Julian Manson, Jr., WR/LB; Adam Salem, Jr., K; Titan Ross, Jr., OL; Jack Wallace, Sr., QB; Sterling Warren, Sr., LB; Collin Whitters, Jr., OL/DL; Mason Woods, Sr., WR/DB

Other returning letterwinners: Ahmed Almaki, Sr., WR; Scott Bass, Sr., DL; Chase Bopp, Sr., WR; Kellen Craig, Jr., DB; Henry Elser, Jr., WR; Campbell Janis, Jr., RB/LB; Demari Lacy, Jr., WR/DB; Jack Law, Jr., DE; Maddux Lyons, Sr., OL; Elite Mbulekoya, Jr., OL/DL; Ben Morrilly, Sr., DL; Davis Nepple, Sr., DE; Serafim Surgaladze, Sr., OL; Ethan Truman, Sr., WR; Lowden VanDaele, Jr., OL

Newcomers to watch: James Barnett, Fr., OL; Abdul Hodge, Soph., DB; Mikey Moody, X, QB/WR; Kingston Swayzer, Soph., DB; Cade Towler, X, WR/DB; Graham Towler, X, TE/OLB

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: October 25 at Cedar Rapids Prairie. This will be the fourth consecutive year that West High closes the regular season with back-to-back games against Pleasant Valley and Cedar Rapids Prairie. Last season a 45-38 loss to Cedar Rapids Prairie in the regular season finale kept West High out of the postseason and a playoff berth could be on the line again this season in week 9.

Headliner: Senior quarterback Jack Wallace (6-2, 225) is a four-year starter that needs 870 yards to break the career passing record at West High. A Minnesota State recruit, Wallace is coming off a junior season when he passed for a career-high 1,807 yards and 13 touchdowns while completing 57 percent of his passes.

Ready for a breakthrough: Junior Julian Manson (6-4, 220) has emerged as one of the most exciting prospects in the state collecting scholarship offers from Iowa and Minnesota among others. Look for a breakout from Manson who ranked fifth on the team with 31.5 tackles and caught six passes for 54 yards last season as a sophomore.

Unsung hero: On a roster loaded with talent senior linebacker Declan Bunn (5-10, 200) can go overlooked but his play is tough to ignore. Bunn ranked second on the team with 55 tackles including 6.5 for loss last season from his inside linebacker spot.

Keep an eye on: Senior two-way standout Mason Woods (6-2, 220) is one of the top all-around players in the state. An Iowa recruit, Woods caught 35 passes for 535 yards and three touchdowns and also had 17.5 tackles with three tackles for loss and two interceptions last season.

Remember the name: Freshman James Barnett (6-0, 230) is going to be a major factor for West High in the future it is just a matter of when the talented lineman makes his mark.

Biggest strength: Skill positions on offense and secondary on defense. Led by a four-year quarterback in Wallace and power five recruits in Woods and Manson the Trojans have high-end talent on offense. In the secondary the Trojans return three players with starting experience in the talented junior trio of Adrian DeWaard, Ethan Headings and Mason Goering.

Biggest question: Offensive line. West High must replace the entire offensive line from a year ago which makes it an obvious question mark but West High has the talent up front to erase those questions early in the season. West High will be definitely be bigger up front this season than it was a year ago partly due to juniors Collin Whitters (6-3, 300) and Titan Ross (5-9, 230) who got varsity experience a year ago but the question is whether the Trojans can be better in the front five this fall.

Quotable: “I think (the seniors) have noticed a change in our accountability level,” West High coach Garrett Hartwig. “We changed some of the standards in the offseason and didn’t have a single player on the roster ineligible academically which is the first time that’s happened since I’ve been the head coach here. What we’ve done is always what you need to do but it’s just a level of accountability that we had to refocus on starting with coaches, beginning with myself and going all the way down the staff to our players.”

2024 Schedule

Date/Opponent/Record in 2023

August 30: at Liberty High (4-5)

September 6: Urbandale (4-5)

September 13: at Muscatine (4-5)

September 20: City High (6-4)

September 27: at Ankeny (9-4)

October 4: Cedar Rapids Jefferson (4-5)

October 11: at Cedar Rapids Washington (1-8)

October 18: Pleasant Valley (8-2)

October 25: at Cedar Rapids Prairie (5-5)

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