By Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

City High 

Head coach: Dan Sabers (17th season, 132-47)

Assistant coaches: Joe Wilcox, Dennis Knoop, Tim Casey, Greg Brown, James Piper, Narada Poole, Jason Dwight

Last season: 8-3 (Class 4A Quarterfinals)

Returning Starters: Bryce Hunger, Sr., QB; Zach Jones, Sr., WR/DB; Jacob Murry, Jr., OL/DL.

Playoff history: 27 appearances (1986, 1988-1990, 1992-2001, 2003-2013, 2015, 2016) City High won 4A titles in 1993, 1994, 1996 and 2009.

District: Class 4A, District 7

District favorites: Annual power Bettendorf went 5-0 on its way to the district title last season winning games by an average of 32.2 points. City High, Clinton and Muscatine should fight to be the Bulldogs top competition.

Circle the date: Sept. 15 vs. West High. The annual Battle for the Boot returns to Bates Field where the Little Hawks have won eight straight over West High.

Headliner: Senior receiver Zach Jones (5-10, 172) is a threat to score every time he touches the ball. Jones caught 39 passes for 556 yards and four touchdowns and averaged 18.1 yards per punt return.

Unsung hero: Junior lineman Jacob Murry is the lone returning starter on the offensive line but he’s a good one. The 6-1, 245-pound Murry will anchor the Little Hawks front this season.

Keep an eye on: Senior Bryce Hunger returns to quarterback after spending last season as a defensive back where he made 27.5 tackles and picked off two passes.

Biggest question: Who picks up the offensive slack? City High must replace its starting quarterback, top three rushers and three of its top four pass catchers from last year’s quarterfinal squad.

Quotable: “We don’t care what people think about us, we don’t care how it looks on paper we know the guys that we have and we know the competitors that we have and we know we are going to compete,” Senior running back Davonte Foster.

Schedule

Aug. 25: @ Linn-Mar

Sept. 1: Pleasant Valley

Sept. 8: @ Ames

Sept. 15: West High

Sept. 22: Clinton*

Sept: 29: Davenport Central*

Oct. 6: @ Muscatine*

Oct. 13: @ Bettendorf*

Oct. 20: Davenport North*

*-District Game