Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

West Branch halted a two-game losing streak and got itself back in the thick of the postseason race with a 10-6 win over Tipton on Friday.

The Bears got a boost from freshman quarterback Teddy Bucknell in their key Class 2A, District 5 victory on Friday.

Bucknell rushed 64 yards and passed for another 11 yards in his first career start as West Branch improved to 2-4 on the season and more importantly moved to 1-2 in District 5 play.

“He is a freshman but he brings a lot of explosiveness to the position,” West Branch coach Matt Hughes said of Bucknell. “As we continue to evolve our offense with reads and RPO and things like that we just wanted to give him a chance to come out and show what he could do.”

The first freshman to start a game at quarterback for the Bears in the modern era, Bucknell helped the Bears rack up 279 rushing yards in his first start.

As expected, Bucknell got better the longer he played on Friday.

Bucknell rushed for 46 yards on seven carries in the second half and completed his only second-half pass attempt for 11 yards.

The freshman quarterback ran for 32 yards on five carries on a 14-play, 60-yard field goal drive in the fourth quarter that took more than six minutes off the clock and ended with a McGavin Smith 26 yard field goal.

Three of Bucknell’s run on the field goal drive resulted in first downs including a 7-yard scramble on a third-and-four and a 4-yard run on a third-and-four.

“He made a lot of freshman mistakes but overall he commanded the huddle well,” Hughes said. “The kids rallied around him and they played hard for him so I am proud of him.”

At 1-2 in District 5 play West Branch remains in line to potentially host a 2A playoff game.

The Bears travel to Anamosa (4-2, 3-0) on Friday and host Bellevue (2-4, 1-2) in the regular season finale.

With wins in those finale two games West Branch could find itself playing in the Little Rose Bowl to open the 2A postseason on October 23.

“I am proud of the win, we are still on track,” Hughes said. “We have a good Anamosa team next week on the road and we have to come out ready to play.”

News and Notes

Regina Special Teams Sparkle: For the second consecutive week Regina scored a special teams touchdown as junior Holt Hinkel returned a punt for a touchdown for the second game in a row.

Hinkel returned a punt 67 yards for a score in a 44-9 win over Sigourney-Keota a week after scoring a 51-yard punt return in a victory at Durant.

The punt return for a touchdown for Hinkel was the fifth non-offensive touchdown for Regina over the past three weeks and the third special teams touchdown of the season for the Regals.

On the season Hinkel is averaging 20.5 yards per punt return on 11 attempts.

West High Gets Back on Track: West High got the bounce back it needed on Friday and the Trojans did it with defense.

West High (3-3) forced three turnovers and had two sacks while snapping a three-game losing streak with a 33-0 shutout of Muscatine.

The shutout was the first for West High since a 30-0 win at City High in the season opener last season.

A week after allowing 478 total yards and 51 points in a loss at Liberty High the Trojans held Muscatine 190 total yards and Neil James, AJ Hodge and Jack Caylor all had interceptions for the Trojans.

Newton Keeps Adding On: City High senior receiver Chayse Newton already holds the school record for career receptions.

Newton added to his already stellar career receiving resume with another big game against Southeast Polk.

The senior had 11 receptions for 104 yards in a touchdown in a 49-21 loss at Southeast Polk on Friday.

Newton now has a program-best 134 career receptions for 1,620 yards and 12 touchdowns.

Another Spartan Shutout: Solon continued its dominant start with a 51-0 win at Keokuk.

It was the third shutout of the season for Solon and the sixth in the last 14 games for the Spartans dating back to last season.

Solon forced four turnovers and had eight sacks, holding Keokuk to -25 rushing yards and 94 total yards in the win.

In six games this season Solon has allowed 29 total points and is allowing just 182 total yards per game.

RPI Update: The Iowa High School Athletic Association released the initial Ratings Percentage Index (RPI) rankings of the season for Class 5A, 4A and 3A on Monday morning.

Liberty High (4-2) is ninth in Class 5A in the initial RPI while City High (2-4) is 22^nd and West High (3-3) is 24^th.

Clear Creek Amana (5-1) is sixth in the initial Class 4A RPI while Solon (6-0) is atop the Class 3A RPI.

Players of the Week

Offensive player of the week: Liberty High senior quarterback Emerson Berner posted a second consecutive four-touchdown game in a 48-6 win over Davenport Central.

Berner completed 15-of-20 passes for 255 yards and four touchdowns, throwing touchdown passes to four different players.

Defensive player of the week: West Branch junior Gabe Depoorter had a huge game to help West Branch to a 10-6 win over Tipton. Depoorter had a team-high 6.5 tackles with six solo stops, four tackles for loss and two sacks as West Branch held the Tigers to 157 total yards.

Special teams player of the week: Solon senior special teams standout Collin McKie had another strong performance in a win at Keokuk.

McKie connected on all six of his PAT attempts and punted twice averaging 48 yards per punt in a 51-0 win over Keokuk.

Helmet stickers

Offense: Regina junior Gabe Hegelheimer rushed for 212 yards and three touchdowns on 16 carries in a 44-9 win over Sigourney-Keota.

Offense: West Branch senior Keaton Gates rushed for 211 yards and a touchdown and had 2.5 tackles in a 10-6 win over Tipton.

Offense: Solon senior quarterback Maddox Kelley completed 6-of-9 passes for 76 yards and two touchdowns, rushed for 128 yards and three touchdowns and had two tackles and an interception in a 51-0 win at Keokuk.

Offense: Clear Creek Amana junior quarterback Texton Bollers completed 13-of-19 passes for 280 yards and three touchdowns and rushed for a touchdown in a 43-7 win at Marion.

Offense: Regina senior Tate Wallace had five receptions for 131 yards and a touchdown, rushed for a touchdown and had five tackles, with 1.5 tackles for loss and half a sack in a 44-9 win over Sigourney-Keota.

Offense: Clear Creek Amana senior Tay Seals had five receptions for 156 yards and a touchdown in a 43-7 win at Marion

Defense: Solon junior defensive back Michael Bigelow had 4.5 tackles with three solo stops and three interceptions in a 51-0 win over Keokuk.

Defense: Clear Creek Amana junior Tyler Seidl had two tackles, an interception and returned a fumble 46 yards for a touchdown in a 43-7 win at Marion.

Defense: Liberty High junior Cooper Lester had 2.5 tackles, recovered a fumble and had an interception in a 48-6 win over Davenport Central.

Defense: West High senior linebacker Jack Caylor had 7.5 tackles with two tackles for loss, a sack and an interception in a 33-0 shutout of Muscatine.

Defense: Solon senior defensive lineman Simon Einwalter had five tackles with four tackles for loss and two sacks in a 51-0 win at Keokuk.

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