Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

Clear Creek Amana

Head coach: Gabe Bakker (4^th season, 16-12)

Assistant coaches: Trevor Bollers, Bob Broghammer, Mikkel Brown, Mike Dewaard, Cam Fox, Jackson Litterer, Trey MacTaggart, Todd Mosier, Evan Schulte, Jake Sedlacek, Trever Shores, Kyle Stoner, Matt Trosky, Mike Upton

Last season: 5-4

Returning starters: Alex Figueroa, Sr., TB/DB; Nate Beckmann, Sr., LB; Tom Johnson, Sr., WR/DB; TJ Bollers, Sr., TE/DE; Arron Feinberg, Sr., OL/DL; Joey Lepire, Sr., OL/DL; Ryan Navara, Sr., QB/DB; Harrison Rosenberg, Jr., WR/DB; Brock Reade, Sr., WR/DB; Jacob Curtin, Sr., DB/WR

Other returning letterwinners: Gage Freeman, Jr., LB/TB; Harrison Cory, Sr., LB/TB; Riley Wolfe, Sr., WR/DB; TJ Hansen, Sr., OL/DL; Tanner Webb, Sr., OL/DL; Anthony Hennes, Sr., WR/DB; Mason Stanfield, Sr., DB; Wes Quinlan, Sr., DL/OL; Treyton Bickel, TE/DE

Newcomers to watch: Tommy Morlan, Jr., OL/DL; Kalvin Mendieta, Jr., OL/DL

Playoff history: 6 appearances (2008-2010, 2014, 2015, 2018)

District: Class 3A, District 6

Circle the date: September 11 at Cedar Rapids Xavier. Even with a first-round playoff last season Xavier is still the bench mark program in Class 3A and measuring stick for any opponent. The Clippers will get a sense of where they stand in their district opener when they face a Saint squad that is 34-2 with a pair of 3A titles in the past three seasons.

Headliner: Senior TJ Bollers is a four-star Wisconsin commit widely considered among the top defensive line prospects in the country. A 6-foot-3, 255-pound physical specimen Bollers is a load for any offensive lineman and is seeking to put together a dominant season to end what has been a brilliant prep athletic career.

Unsung hero: A three-year varsity starter, Arron Feinberg has been a stalwart up front for the Clippers throughout his career. The 6-foot-1, 295-pound Feinberg has 31 career tackles including 5.5 for loss and will be the anchor for the Clippers up front on both sides of the ball.

Keep an eye on: Senior Ryan Navara has taken hold of the quarterback job and appears poised for a big-time season leading the Clipper offense. The 6-foot-2, 190-pound Navara passed for 1,249 yards and 12 touchdowns last season and rushed for 64 yards and three scores.

Biggest question: What can the Clippers do against a schedule that ranks among the most challenging in Class 3A? There are no gimmies on a seven-game slate for the Clippers that features four contests with 2019 playoff qualifiers and five games against opponents that won six or more games last season. One of the two contests against teams that didn’t post six wins a year ago is a week two home game against a 4A Muscatine team that returns much of its offensive firepower.

Quotable: “I think we learned a lot from those games last year that we fell short in,” Clear Creek Amana senior quarterback Ryan Navara said. “We learned we could be right there with a lot of good teams and I think this year coming together and having the right chemistry is going to take us a long way. We’ve built a lot of good chemistry over the last month lifting and being with each other and I think we are building something really strong here.”

2020 Schedule

August 28: @Mount Pleasant

Sept. 4: Muscatine

Sept. 11: @Cedar Rapids Xavier

Sept. 18: Benton Community

Sept. 25: @Newton

Oct. 2: Oskaloosa

Oct. 9: Grinnell

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