West High junior quarterback Evan FlitzBy Ryan Murken
Your Prep Sports

IOWA CITY – Three games into his varsity career Evan Flitz has conquered all the firsts.

The West High junior quarterback sparkled in his first career start throwing for 244 yards and three touchdowns in a win over Southeast Polk.

In his first road game the following week Flitz passed for 210 yards and a score without an interception in a win over then No. 10 Muscatine.

Last week, Flitz overcame his first shaky half by throwing for 216 yards and two touchdowns in the final two quarters of a 17-10 win over Cedar Falls.

The next first for Flitz is a big one.

Flitz will make his first appearance in the Battle for the Boot on Friday when Class 4A fifth-ranked West High (3-0) hosts No. 9 City High (2-1) at 7:15 p.m. at Trojan Field.

“This will certainly be one of the attention drawn games with the whole cross-town thing,” Flitz said. “It’s a big game, City High is a good team, they are a good defense, they are probably one of the best defenses that we are going to face all year so we just have to try to do what we do.”

West High has put up big numbers through three weeks thanks largely to the play of its first-year quarterback.

Flitz leads all 4A quarterbacks in completion percentage at just over 70 percent and ranks fourth in 4A with 710 yards.

The strong start by Flitz has helped West High average 426 total yards and 30 points per game entering Friday’s meeting with cross-town rival City High.

“He has gotten better each week and that’s what has to happen,” West High coach Garrett Hartwig said. “We have a lot of confidence in Evan and he’s continued to show progress each week.”

Entering the season the quarterback spot was viewed by those outside the program as one of the few question marks on a West High squad that returned a slew of experienced starters.

Flitz got the starting nod over fellow junior Ethan Postler in week one and has turned the quarterback spot from a question mark to a strength in a span of three weeks.

“I think there is some confidence that you have to have, you have to have that trust in your abilities because you can’t second guess yourself out here,” Flitz said. “In my head I’m concentrating on what I do and I’m confident in what I do.”

Friday will be the first action for Flitz against City High but he got a glimpse into what the Battle for the Boot is about last year.

Flitz was in uniform but didn’t play in last year’s 14-12 City High win at Bates Field.

Even without stepping on the field during the game Flitz hasn’t forgotten the feeling of last year’s meeting.

“I think the most valuable memory of that game was after the game just that feeling of disappointment and not getting the outcome the seniors wanted,” Flitz said. “I don’t want to put that on our seniors this year and we are going to be super glued in so we don’t have to go through that again.”

Hartwig believes the Trojans’ early season schedule that has featured back-to-back games against ranked teams has prepared Flitz for Friday’s cross-town showdown.

Flitz threw for 466 yards and three touchdowns with one interceptions in those wins over Musctaine and Cedar Falls.

“Our schedule has put us in a lot of big games, so the stage is nothing new, the opponent is who it is,” Hartwig said. “You never know how kids are going to react and that’s not just Evan there are a lot of new guys out there but I think they are ready for this type of game.”