Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

Class A No. 8 Lisbon (3-1) at Class A No. 3 Regina (3-1)

Where: Regal Field, 7 p.m.

Last Season: Did not play.

Player to Watch: It all starts with defense for Lisbon and the Lion defense is led by senior Cole Clark (5-11, 210) who has 26 solo stops among his team-high 30 tackles and is second on the team with four tackles for loss.

Key Stat: Lisbon is holding opponents to 146 total yards per game this season and has held three of its four opponents to 40 or fewer rushing yards.

About the Lions: Lisbon had a three-game winning streak snapped with a 14-12 loss to 2A West Liberty last week in a contest that was scheduled Friday afternoon after both teams had opponents cancel due to COVID.

The Lions average 322 yards of offense per game behind a balanced running attack that features five players with more than 125 rushing yards.

Junior Max Kohl (6-0, 205) leads the Lions with 296 yards and three touchdowns while junior quarterback Gavin Wollum (6-1, 165) has rushed for 168 yards and a score.

The calling card for Lisbon is a defense that has posted two shutouts and allowed a total of 34 points in four games this season. The Lions haven’t allowed more than 314 yards or 20 points in a game and gave up a combined 43 yards of offense in shutout victories over Belle Plaine and Columbus.

About the Regals: Regina has rattled off three consecutive wins following a season-opening loss to Class 4A fifth-ranked Pleasant Valley outscoring opponents 126-36 along the way.

The Regals have been dominant in a pair of district wins, averaging 52.5 points and 435 yards of total offense in wins over North Cedar and Wapello the past two weeks.

Senior quarterback Ashton Cook is completing 67 percent of his passes and has thrown for 775 yards and seven touchdowns with senior receiver Alec Wick his top target with 28 receptions for 473 yards and six touchdowns. Senior Levi Quinlan has caught 16 passes for 117 yards and a score.

Theo Kolie leads the Regal rushing attack. The senior running back has racked up 425 yards on the ground and nine touchdowns while averaging 6.5 yards per carry.

Vinton-Shellsburg (1-3) at Solon (2-2)

Where: Spartan Stadium, 7:30 p.m.

Last Season: Did not play.

Player to Watch: Vinton-Shellsburg senior quarterback Brooks Erickson (6-0, 200) has passed for 405 yards and a touchdown and rushed for 269 yards and a team-high five scores.

Key Stat: The Solon defense allowed 6 yards per play in back-to-back losses to open the season but has cut that number to 2.6 yards per snap in consecutive district wins.

About the Vikings: Vinton-Shellsburg has been one of the more tough luck teams in Class 2A this season with all three of its losses coming by one score.

The Vikings fell to Class 3A Benton Community 28-21 in their opener, lost to South Tama by four points and 2A No. 6 Mount Vernon by eight last week. The lone win for Vinton-Shellsburg was its closest game of the year, a 7-6 victory over Waterloo Columbus in week two.

The Viking offense runs through Erickson but the senior quarterback has a pair of playmakers at his disposal in senior receiver CJ Rickels (6-3, 170) and junior running back Maximo Vasquez (5-10, 190).

Vasquez has rushed for a team-leading 344 yards and a touchdown while Rickels has caught 10 passes for 199 yards.

About the Spartans: After opening the season with consecutive losses to top-five ranked unbeaten teams the Spartans have been impressive in back-to-back district wins.

Solon has outscored district opponents Union and South Tama 84-7 while allowing a combined total of 220 yards of offense.

Sophomore quarterback Blake Timmons has thrown for 410 yards and six touchdowns without an interception and has also rushed for 249 yards and three scores.

Three different Spartans have at least 200 yards rushing led by senior Jackson Ryan who has rushed for a team-leading 444 yards and five scores.

Senior Colton Hoffman has been the top receiving target for the Spartans catching 11 passes for 254 yards and five touchdowns.

Clear Creek Amana (2-2) at Newton (0-4)

Where: H.A. Lynn Stadium in Newton, 7:30 p.m.

Last Season: Did not play.

Player to Watch: Newton junior Reese Hammons (5-11, 190) is all over the field for the Cardinals on defense posting a team-high 30 tackles including 24 solo stops with 3.5 for loss. Hammons also returned an interception 79 yards for a score.

Key Stat: Newton is giving up 453 total yards per game during its 0-4 start and is allowing opponents 289 rushing yards per game.

About the Cardinals: Newton has faced as challenging of an opening four-week stretch as perhaps any team in the state. The Cardinals have lost their four games by an average of more than 32 points but have faced a pair of 4-0 opponents, a 3-1 squad along with Class 4A foe Marshalltown.

Along with Marshalltown, the losses for Newton have come to 3A top-ranked Cedar Rapids Xavier, 2A third-ranked PCM and 3-1 Grinnell.

Newton is led by junior quarterback Zayvier Arguello (6-2, 195) who has passed for 244 yards and rushed for a team-leading 244 yards and three touchdowns. Junior Nathan Maki (5-11, 170) has rushed for 241 yards and two scores while averaging 6.9 yards per carry.

About the Clippers: For the second time this season Clear Creek Amana bounced back from a road loss with an impressive win at home, downing Benton Community 49-3 last week.

The Clippers are seeking to snap a five-game road losing skid that dates back to last season after falling to Mount Pleasant and top-ranked Cedar Rapids Xavier in its first two road games this season.

Outside of a seven-point, 188-yard showing against Cedar Rapids Xavier the Clippers have been excellent on offense. The Clear Creek Amana offense led by senior quarterback Ryan Navara is averaging 31 points and 335 yards of total offense per game.

Navara has thrown for 521 yards and five touchdowns while completing 59 percent of his passes and has also rushed for 104 yards and two scores.

West Branch (2-2) at Maquoketa Valley (1-3)

Where: Maquoketa Valley High School in Delhi, 7 p.m.

Last Season: Did not play.

Player to Watch: Maquoketa Valley senior quarterback Parker Stenhagen (5-10, 170) has passed for 379 yards and three touchdowns and leads the Wildcats with 534 rushing yards and seven touchdowns while averaging 7.9 yards per carry.

Key Stat: In three losses this season Maquoketa Valley has allowed an average of 48.7 points per game and the Wildcats posted a shutout in their one victory this season.

About the Wildcats: After opening the season with back-to-back losses to MFL Mar-Mac and Cascade, Maquoketa Valley earned an 8-0 win over East Buchanan in week three but fell to North Linn 39-36 last week.

Putting up points hasn’t been the problem for Maquoketa Valley. The Wildcats are averaging 27 points and 335 total yards per game behind its senior quarterback Sternhagen. AJ Ambundo (6-0, 165) has rushed for 248 yards and four scores and Zach Digman (6-0, 190) has added 207 yards and a touchdown on the ground.

Where the Wildcats have struggled is on defense. Maquoketa Valley is allowing 36.5 points and nearly 350 yards of total offense per game, including 244 rushing yards per game.

About the Bears: West Branch snapped a two-game losing skid with an impressive 43-8 road win over Wilton last week to pull even at 1-1 in district play. The Bears step back out of district play this week after district foe Northeast had to cancel due to COVID-19 concerns.

Instead the Bears will seek a second consecutive road win when it travels to face a Maquoketa Valley squad that is 0-2 at home this season.

Senior quarterback Gavin Hierseman leads a West Branch offense that is coming off its best game of the season last week with season-highs in points (43), rushing yards (219) and total yards (473).

Hierseman has thrown for 761 yards and seven touchdowns with two interceptions with four receivers catching at least 14 passes.

Peyton Miller leads the Bears with 24 receptions for 180 yards while Simon Palmer and Carver Boelk have each caught 14 passes and have three touchdowns.

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