Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

Liberty High (7-3) at Ankeny (8-2)  

Where: Northview Middle School Ankeny Stadium, 7 p.m.

Last season: Did not play

Player to watch: Ankeny senior quarterback Mason Machan (5-11, 190) has completed 71% of his passes (136-of-193) while throwing for 1,618 yards and 24 touchdowns with eight interceptions and has rushed for 102 yards.

Key stat: Over the past six games Liberty High senior quarterback Emerson Berner has completed 72 percent of his passes (131-of-181), throwing for 1,705 yards and 22 touchdowns without an interception.

About the Hawks: Ankeny is appearing in the 5A playoffs for the ninth consecutive season and is seeking its first semifinal appearance since a runner-up finish in 2023.

The Hawks lost to Liberty High 21-13 in their most recent quarterfinal appearance in 2024.

Both losses for Ankeny this season are to Class 5A quarterfinalists in Johnston (27-0) and West Des Moines Valley (36-35) and the Hawks are coming off a 43-37 win over Ankeny in the opening-round last Friday.

Ankeny has scored 35 or more points in seven of its last eight games and is averaging better than 42 points per game during that stretch.

On the season Ankeny is averaging 37.9 points and 332 total yards per game while producing 6.7 yards per play.

Led by Machan the Ankeny offense has been balanced, averaging 154 rushing yards per game and 5.3 yards per carry to go with 178 passing yards per contest.

Four players have rushed for more than 200 yards and at least two touchdowns this season led by senior Devan Goode (5-10, 200) with 450 yards and 10 touchdowns.

Junior Caleb Alhussaini (5-6, 155) has rushed for 401 yards and two touchdowns and senior Dawson Whitinger (6-2, 220) has rushed for 225 yards and six touchdowns.

Four players have at least 20 receptions, 300 yards receiving and multiple touchdowns.

Junior Jamello Cooper (5-8, 175) has a team-high 34 receptions for 566 yards and four touchdowns and Quinn Somers (6-2, 180) has 29 receptions for 280 yards and eight touchdowns.

Alhussaini has caught 23 passes for 212 yards and two touchdowns and Dreighton Tate (5-9, 160) has 21 receptions for 302 yards and seven touchdowns.

Ankeny defense has been among the best in 5A this season holding opponents to 17.6 points and 246 total yards per game while allowing just 4.6 yards per play.

The Hawks are holding opponents to 93 passing yards per game and 3.3 yards per carry.

Ankeny has forced 25 turnovers in 10 games this season, including 15 interceptions. Nolan Bennett (6-0, 170) and Logan Wirtz (5-10, 190) each have three interceptions to lead four Hawks with multiple picks.

Rowan Doak (6-5, 215) leads Ankeny with 65.5 tackles including a team-high 14 tackles for loss and Whittinger has 60.5 tackles with 10.5 for loss.

Wirtz has 39 tackles, Hunter Minner (6-1, 240) has 35.5 tackles and Ben Fairchild (5-11, 220) has 21 tackles with 13 for loss and a team-high four sacks.

About the Lightning: Liberty High returned to the 5A quarterfinals with a 28-14 win at Indianola in the opening round and is seeking a third consecutive state semifinal appearance.

The Lightning have won three straight games following a week seven loss to Pleasant Valley and have outscored opponents by a combined total of 124-48 during that span.

On offense Liberty High is averaging 31.7 points and 392 total yards per game while posting 6.6 yards per play.

The Lightning are averaging 283 passing yards per game and 109 rushing yards per contest while averaging 4.1 yards per carry.

Senior quarterback Emerson Berner has been among the most prolific quarterbacks in Class 5A this season completing 69 percent of his passes (201-of-290) while throwing for 2,408 yards and 29 touchdowns with seven interceptions.

Berner leads 5A in touchdown passes and ranks third in passing yards.

Senior Pryor Reiners leads 5A in receptions (71), receiving yards (1,060) and receiving touchdowns (12) while senior Adrian Clerry has 41 receptions for 497 yards and six touchdowns.

Cooper Lester has caught 39 passes for 539 yards and six touchdowns and Tate Rettig has 18 receptions for 163 yards and a touchdown.

Senior Brody Beaver has rushed for 678 yards and seven touchdowns and caught 16 passes for 209 yards and Leo Rozz has rushed for 228 yards and two touchdowns and caught 17 passes for 99 yards and two touchdowns.

The Liberty High defense is holding opponents 18.2 points and 238 total yards per game while allowing 5.4 yards per play.

Liberty High is giving up 125 passing yards per game and 113 rushing yards per game while allowing 4.5 yards per carry.

The Lightning have forced 27 turnovers in 10 games, recovering 14 fumbles and picking off 13 passes.

Carter Lester leads Liberty High with 56.5 tackles including 14 for loss and Alex Strunk has 43 tackles with 12 for loss.

Asher Eisenbach has 35 tackles with 13 for loss, Eric Strunk has 32.5 tackles with 9.5 for loss and Hank Thompson has 27 tackles with 13.5 for loss and a team-high six sacks.

West Delaware (8-2) at Solon (10-0)

Where: Spartan Stadium, 7 p.m.

Last season: Did not play

Player to watch: West Delaware senior quarterback Paul Beswick (6-5, 207) has completed 53-of-81 passes for 887 yards and 10 touchdowns with two interceptions and has rushed for a team-high 1,167 yards and 20 touchdowns.

Key stat: West Delaware leads Class 3A in rushing averaging 312 yards per game on 7.1 yards per carry while Solon is allowing 139 rushing yards per game and holding opponents to 4 yards per carry.

About the Spartans: Solon is appearing in the quarterfinals for the eighth consecutive season and is seeking a fourth semifinal appearance in the last six seasons and second in a row.

The Spartans have been impressive offensively averaging 44.8 points and 399 total yards per game while posting 8.9 yards per play.

Senior quarterback Maddox Kelley (5-10, 185) has completed 91-of-128 passes while throwing for 1,531 yards and 22 touchdowns with four interceptions and has rushed for a team-high 1,006 yards and 24 touchdowns.

Senior Kaden Hoeper (6-2, 190) has been the top target in the passing game with 32 receptions for 583 yards and 14 touchdowns and junior Owen Bock (6-1, 180) has 17 receptions for 377 yards and four touchdowns.

Cody Milliman (6-2, 200) has 22 catches for 315 yards and three touchdowns and junior Paxton Holtkamp (6-1, 170) has 15 catches for 189 yards and one touchdown.

The Solon defense is holding opponents to 7 points and 197 total yards per game while allowing 3.9 yards per play.

The Spartans have forced 17 turnovers in 10 games, intercepting 10 passes and recovering seven fumbles.

Lucas Feuerbach (6-2, 260) leads Solon with 46.5 tackles including 6.5 for loss and Simon Einwalter (6-3, 215) has 38.5 tackles with a team-high 16 tackles for loss and nine sacks.

Kelley has 24 tackles and two interceptions and Hoeper has 23 tackles and two interceptions.

About the Hawks: West Delaware is seeking its first state semifinal appearance since 2015 and will try to snap a five-game losing streak in the quarterfinal round.

Three of the five quarterfinal losses for West Delaware in the last eight seasons have come to Solon, including a 36-35 Spartan win the 2023 quarterfinals.

The two regular season loss for the Hawks came to Dubuque Wahlert (35-32) and Clear Lake (35-21) in week nine and West Delaware opened the postseason with a 42-21 win over Davenport Assumption in which it outscored the Knights 28-7 in the second half.

West Delaware is averaging 38.9 points and 418 total yards per game while posting 7.7 yards per play.

The West Delaware offense relies heavily on a running game that leads Class 3A with 312 yards per game and averages 7.1 yards per carry.

Beswick leads a group of four players that have all rushed for 350 yards and at least three touchdowns.

Senior Wyatt Johnson (5-8, 193) has rushed for 958 yards and seven touchdowns while Wesley Helle (5-10, 173) has rushed for 365 yards and three touchdowns while averaging 10.4 yards per carry.

Sophomore Wyatt Wilson (5-6, 159) has rushed for 354 yards and four touchdowns.

Owen Jackson (6-3, 180) has caught a team-high 28 passes for 423 yards and five touchdowns and Emerson Smith (5-11, 161) has 12 receptions for 229 yards and four touchdowns.

Tyler Buesing (6-3, 183) has 12 receptions for 220 yards and two touchdowns and Ben Berning (6-3, 204) has eight catches for 124 yards and a touchdown.

The West Delaware defense is allowing 15.2 points and 280 total yards per game while surrendering 5.5 yards per play.

The Hawks are giving up 154 rushing yards per game and 4.8 yards per carry and 126 passing yards per contest.

West Delaware has forced 11 turnovers in 10 games with Jackson leading the team with five interceptions.

Lane Gudenkauf (5-10, 176) has a team-high 78.5 tackles with 9.5 tackles for loss and Johnson has 45 tackles with 6.5 for loss.

Jay Georgen (5-8, 215) has 39.5 tackles with 13.5 for loss and Cooper Eschen (6-2, 183) has 37.5 tackles.

No. 9 Grundy Center (8-2) at No. 1 Regina (10-0)

Where: Regal Field, 7 p.m.

Last season: Did not play

Player to watch: Grundy Center junior running back Cooper Keller (5-10, 180) has rushed for 840 yards and 13 touchdowns while averaging 7.1 yards per carry and has caught eight passes for 145 yards and a touchdown. Keller also leads the Spartans with 76.5 tackles including 8.5 tackles for loss and four sacks.

Key stat: Regina has allowed more than 13 points one time in its last 20 games dating back to last season and is allowing 8.4 points per game during that stretch.

About the Spartans: Grundy Center is making its eighth consecutive playoff appearance and has reached the semifinals in each of its previous seven times in the postseason.

The Spartans played in the state title game six consecutive seasons, winning titles in 2022, 2023 and 2024 before falling to Regina in the 1A semifinals last season.

Both losses for Grundy Center this season have come to Class 1A quarterfinal teams in sixth-ranked Clarion-Goldfield-Dows and third-ranked Aplington-Parkersburg.

Grundy Center has won five games in a row since a 41-21 loss to Clarion-Goldfield-Dows on September 25 and has scored 34 or more points in every game during that stretch.

The Spartan offense is averaging 31.2 points and 323 total yards per game while producing 6.6 yards per play.

Grundy Center has been balanced, averaging 145 passing yards and 178 rushing yards per game.

Senior quarterback Ethan Meester (6-4, 190) who has completed 68 percent (122-of-180) of his passes while throwing for 1,317 yards and 13 touchdowns with nine interceptions and has rushed for 320 yards and seven touchdowns.

Keller is the top rushing option while senior Hayden Geerdes (5-11, 163) has rushed for 587 yards and eight touchdowns and caught 13 passes for 141 yards and two touchdowns.

Lake Schrage (6-3, 190) leads Grundy Center with 29 receptions for 372 yards and four touchdowns and Carson Laube (6-1, 150) has caught 22 passes for 163 yards and two touchdowns.

Ross Lynch (6-0, 172) has caught 15 passes for 134 and four touchdowns and Jayce Fryslie (5-10, 160) has 12 receptions for 147 yards and a touchdown.

The Grundy Center defense has been stingy holding opponents to 16.1 points and 269 total yards per game while allowing 5.2 yards per play.

The Spartans are allowing 166 rushing yards per game and 4.5 yards per carry and is giving up 103 passing yards per game.

Grundy Center has forced 19 turnovers in 10 games with Laube recording two interceptions and three fumble recoveries.

Keller is the top tackler while junior Riggs Yoder (6-1, 192) has 46 tackles with 2.5 for loss.

Geerdes has 45.5 tackles with 1.5 for loss, Cash Combs (6-2, 202) has 42 tackles and leads the Spartans with nine tackles for loss and 5.5 sacks.

About the Regals: Regina is seeking a second consecutive state semifinal appearance after finishing runner-up in Class 1A last season.

The runner-up finish for Regina last season was the first semifinal for the Regals since they won the Class A title in 2020.

The quarterfinal matchup is a rematch of last year’s state semifinal won by Regina 31-12.

Regina has outscored Waterloo Columbus and Sigourney-Keota by a combined score of 99-20 in its first two playoff games.

The Regals have been dominant all season outscoring opponents by an average of 46.4-7.4 and hasn’t had a game decided by less than 16 points.

The Regina offense is averaging 46.4 points and 386 total yards per game while posting 9.8 yards per play.

Regina has been impressively balanced, averaging 196 rushing yards and 190 passing yards per game.

Junior quarterback Aiden Gaffey (6-3, 170) has completed 73 percent of his passes (73-of-100) while throwing for 1,386 yards and 19 touchdowns without an interception.

Junior Gabe Hegelheimer (6-0, 205) has rushed for 1,236 yards and 19 touchdowns and has 14 receptions for 342 yards and four touchdowns.

Tate Wallace (6-4, 240) has caught 30 passes for 472 yards and six touchdowns and Kaleb Moeller (6-0, 170) has 14 receptions for 220 yards and 3 three touchdowns.

Junior Holt Hinkel (5-11, 145) has 13 receptions for 397 yards and six touchdowns and has four return touchdowns (3 punt, 1 kick off).

The Regina defense has been among the best in the state holding opponents to 7.4 points and 173 total yards per game while allowing 4.2 yards per play.

Regina has forced 10 turnovers in 10 games with Moeller lead the team with two interceptions.

Roan Eckhoff (6-2, 225) leads the Regals with 52 tackles including 7.5 tackles for loss and three sacks while Wallace has 42 tackles with a team-high 23 tackles for loss and 12 sacks.

Zach Poe (6-1, 190) has 26.5 tackles with 4.5 for loss and Luke Hamiton (5-11, 175) has 22.5 tackles with six for loss.

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