Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

After closing the regular season with back-to-back disappointing losses the postseason opener for City High was less about who was lining up on the other side and more about the Little Hawks themselves.

In its 4A playoff opener against Ottumwa on Friday City High got back on track by getting back to what it does best.

City High (2-3) rushed for a season-high 328 yards and snapped a three-game losing skid with a 41-16 win over Ottumwa at Bates Field.

It wasn’t perfect and it wasn’t fancy but Friday’s postseason opener was vintage City High.

The Little Hawks averaged a season-best 6.4 yards per carry on a season-high 51 rushing attempts while controlling the line of scrimmage and the clock in a dominating win.

“I think we’ve said it all along, we’ve kind of beaten ourselves in some games with turnovers and just mistakes,” City High senior quarterback Raph Hamilton said. “And so to come out tonight, it wasn’t perfect, but we played a lot better and executed. So to win a playoff game, no matter what, that’s a big deal. I thought it was a really good team effort.”

Junior Joey Bouska took over the lead role in the Little Hawk backfield rushing for a career-high 136 yards and a touchdown.

The 152-pound Bouska averaged 5.9 yards per carry in his breakthrough performance but got plenty of help.

Sophomore fullback Ben Kueter ran for 53 yards and senior Joe Bacon had 24 yards and a pair of 1-yard touchdown runs.

Hamilton, the 235-pound senior quarterback, rumbled for 97 yards and a touchdown on just nine carries, hammering up the middle on quarterback sneaks and designed quarterback runs.

“In the offseason and last year we just talked about that’s just going to have to be one of our main plays,” Hamilton said of the quarterback run. “The line in front is doing a great job taking care of the defensive linemen and then it’s just up to me to get past the linebackers in that second level. But the guys up front are just busting their butts and doing a great job.”

City High rushed for 299 yards in a season-opening win over Davenport Central but hadn’t cracked the 200-yard mark since while dropping three straight games.

The Little Hawks averaged just over four yards per carry during its three-game losing skid but saw that number rise more than two yards on Friday.

Continuing the success on the ground will be a key for City High in its second-round matchup with seventh-ranked West High.

The Trojans held City High to 162 yards on 43 attempts in a 56-20 win in week two but as important as it is for the Little Hawks to chew up yards on the ground it may be more important to grind up clock and keep the ball away from West High senior quarterback Marcus Morgan. “Obviously, West High is a really good team,” Hamilton. “Marcus is doing a great job back there. But we believe in what we can do and we’ll have to have a really good week of practice and everything. But we believe in ourselves and what we can do.”

1,000 yard watch: Three Your Prep Sports area running backs have a chance to crack the 1,000-yard barrier this week.

Regina senior Theo Kolie needs just 13 yards against Wapello to reach 1,000 for the season entering with 987 yards.

Solon senior Jackson Ryan and Andy Henson are both within striking distance of the 1,000-yard mark entering their postseason opener.

Ryan enters Friday’s second-round matchup with Oelwein with 845 yards while Henson has 817 yards on the season entering Friday’s meeting with Mediapolis.

Clear Creek Amana senior Alex Figueroa came up just shy of the 1,000-yard mark this season, rushing for a single-season career-high 996 yards in eight games.

Offensive performer of the week: City High junior running back Joey Bouska made the most of his increased role in the City High running game racking up career highs in carries and yards in an opening-round win over Ottumwa.

Bouska rushed for 136 yards and a touchdown on 23 carries as City High advanced with a 41-16 win over the Bulldogs.

Best of the rest: Clear Creek Amana senior running back Alex Figueroa rushed for 112 yards and caught a 15-yard touchdown pass in an 18-14 loss to Marion.

City High senior quarterback Raph Hamilton rushed for 97 yards and a touchdown and completed 7-of-13 passes for 72 yards and a touchdown in a 41-16 win over Ottumwa.

Defensive performer of the week: Clear Creek Amana junior defensive back Ben Swails came up with a pair of huge plays in the Clippers opening-round loss to Marion.

Swails picked off a pass and also recovered a fumble and also made a solo tackle in the 18-14 loss to the Indians.

Best of the rest: Clear Creek Amana senior defensive end TJ Bollers had six tackles, including four solo stops and two tackles for loss in his final prep game.

Clear Creek Amana senior linebacker Nate Beckmann had a team-high 7.5 tackles including six solo stops in an 18-14 loss to Marion.

Did you enjoy this subscription free article? Help keep Your Prep Sports free by donating.