Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

West High

Head coach: Garrett Hartwig (13^th season, 76-49)

Assistant coaches: Mike Kauzlarich; Cory Quail; Sage Norman; Erik Nelson; Bruce Davis; Ty Haren; John Gluesing; Josh Flammang; Stephen Breitbach; Brady West; Tim Sturgell; Grant Pippert; Mark Moody; Aiden Sorenson; Shane Sedenka; Noah DeSaulniers; DeAndre Stapleton;

Last season: 8-3 (Class 5A quarterfinals)

Returning starters: James Barnett, Jr., OL; AJ Hodge, Sr., DB; Neil James, Sr., DB/WR; Kingstone Ross, Sr., DL; Graham Towler, Sr., DE; Cade Towler, Sr., WR/DB; Jordi Zioka, Sr., OL; Alex Sterba, Jr., OL; Reece Wheeler, Sr., QB; Lucas Benitez, Sr., OL; Jack McLaskey, Sr., DE

Other returning letterwinners: Mikey Moody, Sr., QB/LB; Carter Spark, Sr., DB/WR; Khy Brink, Jr., LB; Cooper Bruxvort, Sr., WR; Jack Caylor, Sr., LB; Moses DeWaard, Sr., LB; Ashten Holmes, Jr., DL

Newcomers to watch: Atari Brown, Jr., RB/DB; Mac Genkinger, Jr., DB; KinSton Swayzer, Sr., DB; Ousman Keita, Jr., WR; Andrew Logsdon, Jr., DB; Jose Ramirez, Jr., RB; Lex Schneiter, Jr., LB; Tayten Wheeler, Soph., WR; Lucas Whitters, Jr., OL  

Playoff history: 21 appearances (1994-1999, 2002, 2003, 2009-2018, 2020, 2024, 2025). West High won Class 4A state titles in 1995, 1998, 1999.

Circle the date: September 25 at Liberty High. West High makes the short trip north to face Liberty High seeking to snap a two-game losing skid to its cross-town rival after Liberty High won 44-31 at West High last season.

Headliner: Once again a strong West High offensive line will be led by one of the best individual linemen in the state as this season it will be junior Iowa commit James Barnett (6-2, 275). Barnett was an all-state pick last season as a sophomore and will look to take his game to another level this season as an upperclassman.

Ready for a breakthrough: Senior Neil James (6-2, 180) emerged as one of the state’s best cover corners last fall leading West High with eight passes defended and adding an interception in an all-district season. Watch for James to establish himself as one of the state’s best all-around players this season as he takes on a larger role on offense after catching six passes for 74 yards a year ago in addition to his duties in the secondary/

Unsung hero: Offensive lineman are often the overlooked standouts of successful football programs and that has been the case for West High senior Jordi Zioka (6-1, 305) who was a key piece of a West High offensive line that was among the best in 5A last season. This season Zioka will be an anchor for a West High offensive front that brings back four starters and should again be a strength for the Trojans.

Keep an eye on: If you are watching the football you are going to see a lot of West High senior AJ Hodge (6-1, 175). Hodge was around the ball a lot last season ranking fifth on the team with 32.5 tackles including two for loss and ranking second on the team with six passes defended and adding an interception. Hodge should be in for an even bigger season this fall as he takes on a key role in a new-look West High defense.

Remember the name: Last season Reece Wheeler (6-0, 175) quickly established himself as one of the best quarterbacks in 5A with an impressive debut season in which he ranked fourth in 5A in both passing yards (2,280) and passing touchdowns (22) while completing 61 percent of his passes and rushing for 213 yards and four touchdowns. With a year of experience to his credit, look for another big season from Wheeler this fall.

Biggest strength: It’s a toss us between the offensive line and the secondary but the Trojans should be able to rely heavily on both units this fall.
West High brings back four starters on an offensive line that helped the Trojans average 192 rushing yards per game and 5.5 yards per carry last season.

Junior Iowa commit James Barnett (6-2, 275) is the anchor and is joined seniors Jordi Zioka (6-1, 305) and Lucas Benitez (5-9, 260) and junior Alex Sterba (5-11, 225) as returning starters.

The secondary returns a pair of all-state caliber players in seniors Neil James and AJ Hodge and has plenty of depth behind them in seniors Cade Towler (5-11, 170), KingSton Swayzer (6-1, 175) and Carter Spark (5-10, 170) among others.

Last season the Trojans held opponents to under 100 passing yards in eight of 11 games while allowing just 104 passing yards per game and should be extremely tough in the back end again.

Biggest question: Who step ups at the wide receiver and running back? The holes left by graduation at wide receiver and running back are noticeable. Campbell Janis rushed for 1,338 yards and 15 touchdowns a year ago while senior receivers Julian Manson, Ethan Headings and Henry Elser combined for 101 receptions for 2,041 yards and 22 touchdowns. West High has athletes capable of filling those roles, led by Neil James and Cade Towler, but how quickly the new players can get up to speed and in sync with Wheeler will be key against a challenging schedule.

Quotable: “We definitely got a sour taste in our mouth after that Dowling loss,” West High senior Neil James said. “I feel like that has been more motivation than anything. That Dowling loss really affected us and it’s really our main motivator this season. We want to get back that point and get even further.”

2026 Schedule

Date/Opponent/Record in 2025

August 28: City High (2-7)

September 4: at Dubuque Hempstead (3-6)

September 11: Pleasant Valley (5-4)

September 18: Bettendorf (4-5)

September 25: at Liberty High (11-2)

October 2: at Muscatine (1-8)

October 9: Davenport Central (1-8)

October 16: Cedar Rapids Prairie (6-4)

October 23: at Linn-Mar (4-5)

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