By Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

IOWA CITY – Most coaches opening practice with three returning starters would view the upcoming season as an obstacle.

Faced with that very situation this fall City High coach Dan Sabers saw an opportunity.

With an abbreviated list of players back from last season’s Class 4A quarterfinal squad that finished 8-3 City High entered practice low on experience and high on open positions.

Rather than trying to mold nine or 10 two-way starters during fall camp Sabers opted for a change with more players focusing on one side of the ball instead of both.

“When I looked at our personnel I said ‘this guy doesn’t really have a position on offense or this guy doesn’t have a spot on defense and why should we throw the book at him and try to make him learn everything’,” Sabers said. “Instead we changed things up a little bit, we are going to try to platoon more which sounds kind of crazy with our numbers but it lets us really take these guys and focus on one spot.”

Iron man football has been common at City High the past several years with most of the Little Hawks contributing on both sides of the ball.

With senior defensive back and receiver Zach Jones (5-10, 172) the only returning two-way starter Sabers saw the opportunity to make a change.

“Zach Jones is going to be on the field and there may be a couple of others as we go that work in but right now Zach will be the main guy that hardly ever leaves the field and that is something new and I like it,” Sabers said. “I think the kids like it.”

By opening up 11 starting positions on both sides of the ball instead of 11 total starting spots as there may have been on past City High teams, Sabers has created more widespread intense competition for spots in fall camp.

Instead of the top players fighting for playing time, everyone on the varsity roster is trying to secure a spot on the field and the Little Hawks are buying in.

“It’s very fun, very competitive there are a lot of guys fighting for a spot,” said City High senior running back Davonte Foster. “We know there are a lot of spots open, we have a lot to prove and so everyone is out there competing and it’s very intense and very fun.”

The need for a change came with the graduation of a strong group of seniors.

City High must replace quarterbacks Nate Wieland and Jared Taylor, it’s top five rushers, all but one of its top eight pass catchers and its top five tacklers from a year ago.

The losses are significant but Jones isn’t questioning City High’s returning talent.

“I feel like we are definitely overlooked,” Jones said. “I feel like we have a lot of guys that will step up. Most of these guys are hungry like I was last year.”

Jones is the unquestioned headliner of the three returning starters after leading City High with 39 receptions for 556 yards and four touchdowns last season.

A kick returner and lock down defensive back, Jones made 36 tackles, picked off three passes and averaged 18.1 yards on 14 punt returns as a junior.

“I think he is one of the best all-around players in the state,” City High senior quarterback Bryce Hunger said. “He can do some great things.”

Hunger takes over at quarterback after spending last season as a starter in the City High defensive backfield.

The 6-foot-1, 195-pound Hunger joins junior lineman Jacob Murry as the only other players with returning experience but likes the weapons he has at the skill positions.  

“I think it’s exciting to see new players come out and see what they can do,” Hunger said. “We have a lot of hidden talent.”

Foster is the leader to take over the tailback duties after carrying three times for 22 yards last season.

A short list of returning starters hasn’t lowered expectations for City High which has reached the 4A quarterfinals each of the past two seasons.

“We have athletes, we have great weapons, some great underdogs, some great people that are under the radar,” Foster said. “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.”

The biggest challenge for City High may be shoring up a defense that allowed 192 rushing yards per game a year ago and allowed at least 28 points in four of the final seven games.

“We are going to battle,” Sabers said. “We are going to keep being City High and battling and getting after people and we will go out and do that and see what happens.” 

Sabers is hoping that putting more fresh bodies on the field through the season will help keep the Little Hawks fresh.

City High opens the season at Linn-Mar and faces non-district games with West High, Ames and Pleasant Valley before its district slate.

“I think we have 25 guys that we can say you can go out and play,” Sabers said. “Sometimes in the past with teams like Bettendorf they could wear us out in the fourth quarter and I don’t see that happening to us this year.”