Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

No. 1 West Branch (11-0) vs. No. 2 Van Meter (10-1)  

When: Friday, 10 a.m.

Where: UNI-Dome in Cedar Falls     

When the week started there were 28 prep football teams still playing across the state of Iowa.

By Saturday night that list will be cut in half.

Semifinal action got underway in the UNI-Dome on Wednesday with a pair of eight-player games with Class A and Class 4A semifinals scheduled for Thursday.

West Branch (11-0) will make its return to the UNI-Dome on Friday when it kicks off the Class 1A semifinals against defending state champion Van Meter (10-1) at 10 a.m.

The winner of the first 1A semifinal between West Branch and Van Meter will face the winner of West Sioux (10-1) and Underwood (11-0) in the Class 1A title game on November 18 at 4 p.m.

Before we can talk title matchups we must focus on the semifinals.

The first Class 1A semifinal on Friday features two of the top programs in the state in Van Meter and West Branch.

Here are a few things to watch on Friday morning.

Players to Watch

West Branch – Andy Henson   

A three-year starter, Henson has emerged as one of the best two-way players in the state during a breakthrough senior season.

The 6-foot-2, 215-pound Henson is a difference maker on both sides of the ball.

Henson has rushed for a team-high 1,432 yards and 30 touchdowns while averaging 7.1 yards per carry and has also caught 14 passes for 155 yards and a touchdown.

On defense Henson has made a team-high 60.5 tackles including 36 solo stops and nine tackles for loss.

Henson missed the second half of last week’s quarterfinal win over MFL Mar Mac with an injury and West Branch showed it could win without its do-everything senior.

However, for the Bears to get past Van Meter on Friday they will likely need a big game from Henson who commands the full attention of opponents any time he is on the field.

Van Meter – Ben Gilliland

In his first season leading the Van Meter offense Gilliland has been among the most efficient signal callers in the state.

Gilliland has completed 67 percent of his passes while throwing for 1,058 yards and 20 touchdowns with just four interceptions.

The 6-foot, 195-pound Gilliland has also rushed for 746 yards and nine touchdowns while averaging nine yards per carry.

Van Meter leans on its power running game and elite defense first and foremost but Gilliland has shown he is more than just a game manager.

Gilliland is averaging 16 yards per completion and 10.8 yards per passing attempt.

Keys to the Game

West Branch – Weather the Storm

Weather won’t be a factor on Friday inside the climate-controlled UNI-Dome.

A welcome thought for West Branch fans that braved the elements last Friday.

However, a key for the Bears on Friday will be weathering the potential early storm that could come from Van Meter.

Defending 1A state champion Van Meter is making its eighth consecutive semifinal appearance and has reached the 1A title game each of the past three seasons.

That means the Bulldogs have played six games at the UNI-Dome since 2019 and has a routine down.

Meanwhile West Branch is making its first semifinal appearance since 2011.

Van Meter has a lot of new faces in the lineup this season but plenty of players on the roster have experienced a trip to the UNI-Dome for an early kick off.

West Branch must be ready for a quick start from the Bulldogs which have outscored opponents 42-0 in the first quarter of three postseason wins this season.

It takes some time to adjust to the environment of the UNI-Dome and West Branch must make sure it doesn’t dig itself an early hole while getting comfortable on Friday.

Van Meter – Run the Ball

It sounds fairly obvious to say a team that averages nearly 250 yards per game on the ground needs to run the ball.

It is and it isn’t.

Van Meter has been excellent in the run game averaging 249.8 yards per game and 7.7 yards per carry this season and ranks fourth in 1A with 42 rushing touchdowns.

The reason this is the key for the Bulldogs on Friday is because the strength of West Branch all season has been its defense and the biggest strength of that defense has been stopping the run.

West Branch is allowing just 82.9 rushing yards per game and 3.1 yards per carry.

The Bears have given up six rushing touchdowns all season with two coming in the quarterfinal win over MFL Mar Mac last Friday. T

That two-touchdown effort for MFL Mar-Mac was the first-time West Branch allowed multiple rushing touchdowns in a game all season.

Van Meter will no doubt attempt to establish the run game early but the Bulldogs will need to stick with the run game to get past the Bears.

Both teams – Win the Turnover Battle

Looking for an area of the game where West Branch has had a clear edge of Van Meter this season?

Look no further than turnovers.

The Bears are +16 in turnover margin this season forcing opponents into 19 turnovers while committing just three.

Van Meter hasn’t been bad in the turnover category at +4 for this season, committing 12 turnovers while collecting 16 takeaways.

Nothing changes a game like a turnover and West Branch has shown a knack for making game-changing plays on defense this season turning seven of its 19 turnovers into defensive touchdowns.

A play like that from either side could be a game changer but more likely than that, the team that ends up with fewer turnovers likely closes the game with more points.

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