By Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

The halfway point of the high school football regular season will come and go on Friday night.

Officially the midpoint of the nine-game regular season comes at halftime of week five games this week and by the time the dust settles on Friday the season will be in the home stretch.

The later the season goes the more the games matter with district races and playoff spots on the line.

Here are five things to keep an eye on this week as the high school season hits the half way mark.

Top-10 Title Matchups?

No district titles will be officially secured this week and no playoff spots will be locked up.

That doesn’t mean a few district crowns won’t end up being decided during the week that marks the season’s midway point.

West High and West Branch both face unbeaten opponents in top-10 district showdowns that will go a long way in determining who takes the top spot.

Second-ranked West High (4-0) hosts No. 6 Cedar Rapids Prairie (4-0) in the Class 4A, District 8 opener for both teams.

The winner of Friday’s meeting at Trojan Field is the front runner to earn the district title spot after the two teams went unbeaten against the rest of district eight last season.

No. 9 West Branch (4-0) has its own possible de facto district title contest when it hosts No. 8 Bellevue (4-0) at the Little Rose Bowl.

Bellevue won the district title last season thanks in part to a 26-13 win over West Branch.

Friday will mark the second time in three seasons the two teams have met in battle of unbeatens in week five.

West Branch won the previous meeting 42-0 at the Little Rose Bowl in 2015.

What Gives?

The key to beating Cedar Rapids Prairie isn’t exactly complicated – stop the run.

It’s actually slowing down the Hawks’ single-wing rushing attack that gets a little tricky.

Prairie’s offense full of shifts and deception and spearheaded by junior running back Keegan Simmons is averaging 7.3 yards per carry and 340 rushing yards per game this season.

The Hawks have run the ball on 86 percent of their offensive plays this season so they make no bones about what they want to do.

Slowing the Prairie rushing attack is easier said than done.

With 740 yards this season Simmons himself has more rushing yards than 28 Class 4A teams.

West High has the defense and the formula to slow the Prairie attack.

The Trojans have faced Prairie three times in the past two seasons so they have seen all the single-wing tricks.

West High enters Friday among the best teams in the state against the run this season allowing opponents 2.9 yards per attempt and 70 yards per game on the ground.

Putting On A Show

If you like high-scoring offenses and efficient quarterback play the Little Rose Bowl is the place to be on Friday.

Two of 1As top offenses led by two of the best passing quarterbacks in the Class meet as West Branch hosts Bellevue in what has the makings of a shootout.

The offensive numbers for both sides are impressive.

Led by senior Cade Daughtery the Comets are averaging a 1A-best 428 yards of total offense per game and rank second with 42.3 points per contest.

Daughtery is the top passer in 1A with 842 yards and has nine touchdowns with one interception.

West Branch counters with a Beau Cornwell-led offense that ranks 11th in total yards (356), fifth in scoring (37.5) and third in passing yards (196).

Cornwell has thrown for 783 yards and 10 touchdowns without an interception.

Defensive stops could be at a premium on Friday.

Keeping it Rolling

It took a few weeks longer than expected but Clear Creek Amana got in the win column under first-year head coach Gabe Bakker last week throttling Maquoketa 51-0.

The key for the Clippers is to keep that momentum going on Friday at Center Point-Urbana.

At 1-1 in Class 3A, District 4 play the Clippers have life but need to string wins together and fast.

In order to do that Clear Creek Amana will need to build on the momentum that came with last week’s impressive win.

Another Spartan Shutout?

The expectation was for Solon to be stout on the defense this season.

What the Spartans have done thus far on the defensive side of the ball exceeds any possible expectation.

Solon is a fourth-quarter touchdown against Keokuk away from entering week five without allowing a point on the season after posting its third shutout of the year last week, a 40-0 win over Washington.

The Spartans are allowing less than 150 yards of total offense per game entering Friday’s road tilt at Oskaloosa (3-1).

Solon limited Oskaloosa to 167 yards and forced three Indian turnovers in a 34-3 win last season.