Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

Every coach wants a strong start to every game.

Clear Creek Amana first-year head coach Matt Haddy couldn’t have scripted a much better start to the Clippers homecoming tilt with Oskaloosa on Friday.

The Clippers jumped to a 14-0 lead in the opening 121 seconds and cruised to a 48-9 win over the Indians in the district opener for both teams at Clipper Field.

“You can’t draw it up much better than that,” Haddy said. “That really set the tone.”

Clear Creek Amana (4-1) jumped to its early two-touchdown lead without running an offensive play.

The Clippers forced Oskaloosa (4-1) to go three-and-out on the opening possession of the game after a tackle for loss on third-and-short.

Gage Freeman had the first of his two blocked punts and senior Grant Kruse scooped up the loose ball and returned it 13 yards for a touchdown less than two minutes into the game.

On the next Oskaloosa offensive play senior linebacker Ethan Pegump grabbed a fumble after a Oskaloosa screen pass and raced 25 yards for a score to put the Clippers up 14-0 with 9:59 left in the first quarter.

The strong start didn’t end there.

The first offensive possession of the game for Clear Creek Amana was a 3-play, 59-yard touchdown drive that ended with a 42 yard run by quarterback Ben Swails that gave CCA a 21-3 lead less than midway through the opening quarter.

“Just all three phases tonight were good and to me that’s complimentary football,” Haddy said. “That’s what we are striving for.”

Clear Creek Amana ran just seven offensive plays during a first quarter that ended with the Clippers leading 34-3.

A second blocked punt by Freeman that he returned himself 15 yards for a score made it 28-3 with 6:16 left in the quarter.

“Our whole team has bought into special teams so much,” Clear Creek Amana senior Tommy Morlan said. “We practice it all the time. Probably 30 percent of our practice is special teams.”

Reece Hoffman intercepted a pass on the ensuing possession and returned it 25 yards to set up a 4-play, 20-yard touchdown drive capped by an 8-yard pass from Swails to Harrison Rosenberg.

Oskaloosa actually outgained Clear Creek Amana 122 to 79 in the opening quarter but the Clippers held the Indians to a field goal inside the 10 yard line on one possession and took advantage of turned the two turnovers into points.

The nine points for Oskaloosa was the lowest scoring output for a Clear Creek Amana opponent this season.

“Where we are getting better is we are forcing teams to drive the field,” Haddy said. “We are not giving up big plays. That’s the area we are getting better at is keeping the ball in front of us and getting to the next play.”

News and Notes

Trophy sweep: The Boot is headed back to City High and will have some company in the Little Hawk’s trophy case.

With its 56-7 win over West High on Friday night City High regained the Boot for the first time since 2016 and completed a clean sweep of its three trophy games.

City High won the Zeus trophy for the first time in three seasons with a 41-0 win over Liberty High in the season opener secured the Little Cy-Hawk trophy with a 43-5 win over Ames.

It is the first time in program history that City High has held all three trophies at the same time.

Boelk to Boelk: The Boelk brothers couldn’t have picked a better time to connect for a touchdown pass for the first time in a varsity game.,

Junior quarterback Carver Boelk hit brother Kinnick Boelk with a 6-yard touchdown pass with 3:50 left as West Branch rallied late for a 24-21 win at Mediapolis in a key Class 1A, District 5 matchup.

The touchdown pass was the first career scoring grab for Kinnick Boelk and the third touchdown pass of the season for Carver Boelk who moved from receiver to quarterback this season.

Spartan Shutout: Solon has its offense rolling averaging 45 points and 463 total yards per game but don’t overlook what the Spartans are doing on defense.

The Spartans posted their second shutout in five games on Friday blanking West Burlington 56-0.

Solon (5-0) is holding opponents to 10.2 point and 193 total yards per game this season while limiting teams to 4.2 yards per play.

Since allowing season-highs of 415 yards and 27 points against Mount Vernon the Spartans have held three teams to an average of eight points and 148 total yards.

100×2: City High had a 100-yard rusher in a game for the second time this season while rushing for a season-high 400 yards against West High.

For the first time this season the Little Hawks had a pair of runners crack the 100-yard mark.

Darren Richardson ran for 204 yards and four touchdowns and Joey Bouska rushed for a career-high 150 yards as the Little Hawks posted their highest rushing output since running for 403 yards against Liberty High in the 2018 season opener.

Undefeated Tracker: City High, Solon and Regina all improved to 5-0 on Friday to remain among a group of 40 undefeated teams across the state.

Regina is one of nine unbeaten teams in Class 1A and Solon is one of six undefeated teams in Class 3A.

City High joins Cedar Rapids Kennedy and Linn-Mar as the only remaining unbeatens in Class 5A.

Players of the Week

Offensive Player of the Week: City High senior running back Darren Richardson ran for a career-high 204 yards and four touchdowns as the Little Hawks rolled up 400 yards on the ground in a 56-7 win over West High.

Defensive Player of the Week: Regina senior defensive lineman Josh Gaffey continues to be a disruptive force along the Regina front posting his second consecutive impressive performance against a previously unbeaten team.

Gaffey had seven tackles, including six solo, and had two sacks among 2.5 tackles for loss in a 35-7 win at Wilton.
Special Teams Player of the Week: Perhaps the easiest decision of the week here where Clear Creek Amana senior Gage Freeman gets the nod after blocking a pair of punts and returning one for a touchdown in a 48-9 win over Oskaloosa.

Helmet Stickers

Offense: Regina senior Carson Jensen caught six passes for a career-high 145 yards and two touchdowns in a 35-7 win at Wilton.

Offense: City High sophomore quarterback Quinton Tran had the best game of his young career going 9-of-11 passing for 141 yards and a touchdown and also rushing for 40 yards in a 56-7 win over West High.

Defense: City High senior defensive back Gable Mitchell had 6.5 tackles, including 5 solo stops and returned an interception 73 yards for a score in a win over West High.

Defense: Regina senior defensive lineman Aidan Udell had a team-high 8.5 tackles including one for loss in a win at Wilton.

Defense: West High senior linebacker Boaz Abramoff had a team-high 10.5 tackles with nine solo stops and 1.5 tackles for loss against City High.

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