Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

Cedar Rapids Xavier (0-0) at Regina (0-0)

Where: Regal Field, 7:30 p.m.

Last Season: Xavier 35, Regina 26

Player to Watch: Xavier junior Quinn Schulte will make his first career start at quarterback after catching 52 passes for 546 yards and five touchdowns last season as a sophomore.

Key Stat: Xavier has averaged 354 rushing yards per game and scored nine rushing touchdowns in back-to-back wins over Regina.

About the Saints: Only three starters return from a team that won 11 straight games before falling to eventual champion Pella 34-30 in the Class 3A semifinals but few teams in the state reload better than Xavier.

Schulte makes the move from receiver to quarterback and takes over for his older brother Bryce who led the offense the past three seasons.

Senior Jack Lemke is back to lead a Xavier defense that always ranks among the best in Class 3A after ranking second on the team with 44.5 tackles last season.

About the Regals: Regina went 11-2 last season and had a string of six straight state titles end with a 47-34 loss to Western Christian in the Class 1A title game.

The talent returns for Regina to start a new title streak this season.

Regina brings back a pair of all-staters in the offensive backfield in senior quarterback Michael Conlon and senior running back Isaac Vollstedt.

Colon accounted for nearly 2,400 total yards and 30 touchdowns (19 passing, 11 rushing) last season while Vollstedt ran for 1,114 yards and 15 touchdowns despite missing four games.

West High (0-0) at Southeast Polk (0-0)

Where: Southeast Polk High School, 7:15 p.m.

Last Season: West High 42, Southeast Polk 17

Player to Watch: Southeast Polk running back Gavin Williams (5-11, 198) rushed for 805 yards and seven touchdowns last fall as a freshman and has already secured a scholarship offer from Iowa State.

Key Stat: The five teams to defeat Southeast Polk last season had a combined record of 43-14.

About the Trojans: West High returns 17 starters from a team that won 10 games and advanced to the Class 4A title game for the first time since 1999.

Senior quarterback Evan Flitz is back after passing for 2,237 yards and 22 touchdowns last season while Iowa recruit Dillon Doyle leads a West High defense that allowed less than 17 points per game last season.

About the Rams: Southeast Polk opened the season 2-4 but won its final three games of the regular season to reach the 4A playoffs for the seventh straight season.

Senior Shane Starcevich returns at quarterback after completing 61 percent of his passes and throwing for 584 yards and seven touchdowns without an interception in limited action last season.

The Rams will attempt to improve on defense after allowing better than 30 points per game last season and giving up more than 40 points in four of its five losses.

Solon (0-0) at Mount Vernon (0-0)

Where: Cornell College in Mount Vernon, 7:15 p.m.

Last Season: Solon 26, Mount Vernon 21

Player to Watch: Mount Vernon senior quarterback Drew Adams ranks among the most prolific passers in the state throwing for 6,176 yards and 67 touchdowns over the past two seasons.

Key Stat: Mount Vernon averaged 46.8 points per game last season, the third highest scoring output in the state among 11-player squads.

About the Spartans: Solon bounced back from a disappointing 6-5 season in 2015 with a 9-2 campaign last year that ended with a 28-14 loss to eventual champ Pella in the Class 3A quarterfinals.

The Spartans bring back the firepower on both sides of the ball to take another step forward this season.

Iowa recruit Tyler Linderbaum anchors the line on both sides of the ball and has help from fellow seniors Zach Wegmann and Joe Kral.

Kendrick Harris returns at running back after rushing for 883 yards and 12 touchdowns last year. 

About the Mustangs: Mount Vernon returned to the UNI-Dome for the second straight season last fall, following up a runner-up finish in 2015 with a 9-3 record and a trip to the 2A semifinals.

The Mustangs are led by one of the top passers in the state in senior signal caller Drew Adams who threw for a state-best 2,785 yards and 29 touchdowns last year.

Adams’ favorite target returns in senior Cale Snedden who caught 34 passes for 918 yards and 11 touchdowns last year.

City High (0-0) at Linn-Mar (0-0)

Where: Linn-Mar Stadium, 7:15 p.m.

Last Season: City High 26, Linn-Mar 6

Player to Watch: Linn-Mar senior linebacker Isaiah Garman had 57 tackles including 14 for loss and three sacks last season. Garman had two tackles for loss and a sack in last year’s meeting with City High.

Key Stat: City High is 4-1 over the past two seasons when it rushes for more than 200 yards.

About the Little Hawks: City High is coming off an 8-3 season that ended with a loss to then Paul James-led Cedar Rapids Washington in the Class 4A quarterfinals.

Bryce Hunger makes the move from defense to offense where he will make his first career start at quarterback and will look to get the ball to senior receiver Zach Jones often.

Jones led City High with 39 receptions for 556 yards and four touchdowns past season.

About the Lions: Paul James makes his Linn-Mar debut after winning 97 games in 15 seasons at Cedar Rapids Washington.

James takes over a Linn-Mar squad that went 3-6 last season and missed the playoffs for the first time since 2013.

The Lions will be breaking in plenty of new starters after losing their starting quarterback and top two rushers and pass catchers to graduation.

Garman leads a Linn-Mar defense that allowed more than 30 points six times last season.

West Liberty (0-0) at West Branch (0-0)

Where: The Little Rose Bowl, 7:30 p.m.

Last Season: West Branch 40, West Liberty 20

Player to Watch: West Liberty senior running back Joe Kelly averaged 7.6 yards per carry while rushing for 959 yards and six touchdowns last season.

Key Stat: West Branch rushed for a season-high 386 yards against West Liberty last season and has averaged 306 yards on the ground in its last two wins over the Comets.

About the Comets: West Liberty matched its win total from the previous three years combined and posted its first winning season since 2012 with a 5-4 mark last season.

With their quarterback and top rusher returning along with a solid group up front on both sides the Comets are after even more this season.

Junior Seth Feldman returns at quarterback after passing for 1,016 yards and nine touchdowns as a sophomore and teams with Kelly in an experienced and explosive backfield.

Junior lineman Spencer Daufeldt headlines an improved Comet defense after making 20.5 tackles for loss last season including 11.5 sacks. 

About the Bears: West Branch finished 6-4 last fall advancing to the Class 1A playoffs for the ninth consecutive season.

The Bears should get a boost from the return of junior quarterback Beau Cornwell who rushed for 117 yards and two touchdowns in a season-opening win over West Liberty but broke his collar bone in week two and missed the rest of the year.

All-state tackle Jacob Barnhart headlines a group of three returning starters on the offensive line and senior cornerback Jacob Graves is back on defense after picking off seven passes a year ago.

Mount Pleasant (0-0) at Clear Creek Amana (0-0)

Where: Clipper Field, 7:15 p.m.

Last Season: Clear Creek Amana 23, Mount Pleasant 8

Player to Watch: Mount Pleasant junior quarterback Zach Beason threw for 864 yards and four touchdowns and ran for another 153 yards last season as a sophomore.

Key Stat: Clear Creek Amana outgained Mount Pleasant 308 to 43 on the ground in a 23-8 win in last year’s season-opener.

About the Panthers: Mount Pleasant followed up a 1-8 season in 2015 with a 3-6 mark last season, matching its best record in the past five years.

The Panthers averaged 19.6 points per game last season but return some firepower in the form of Beason at quarterback and two of his top two targets in Kieran Kohorst and Jordan Magnani.

Kohorst had a team-high 24 receptions for 190 yards last season while Magnani caught seven passes for 144 yards and three touchdowns.

About the Clippers: The Gabe Bakker era officially opens giving Clear Creek Amana fans their first glance at the new-look Clippers.

Bakker won’t be the only Clipper making their debut on Friday as Clear Creek Amana breaks in an almost entirely new lineup after the graduation of 23 seniors.

A couple of newcomers should give the Clipper passing attack a much-needed boost as senior West High transfer Ethan Postler will get the start at quarterback and will have Sioux City West transfer Darius Moore as one of his top targets.