Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

Clear Creek Amana missed an opportunity to lock up a spot in the Class 4A postseason on Friday with a 35-7 loss to Pella.

Pella secured the runner-up spot in Class 4A, District 4 with the win over Clear Cleek Amana in Tiffin.

The Clippers are still in the postseason hunt.

Clear Creek Amana (5-3) is currently 15^th in the Class 4A RPI rankings that is used to determine the four at-large qualifiers in Class 4A that are not district champions or runner-ups.

Clear Creek Amana needs a win at Oskaloosa (0-8) on Friday to keep its playoff chances alive.

Liberty High (5-3) faces a similar situation in its quest to return to the Class 5A playoffs.

The Lightning are 13^th in the most recent 5A RPI rankings that determine all 16 playoff qualifiers.

Liberty High remained in the postseason race following a 41-14 win at City High (3-5) on Friday and travels to Muscatine (1-7) for its regular season finale on Friday.

Solon (8-0) has secured its playoff spot, winning the Class 3A, District 4 title with a 38-6 win over Mount Pleasant (7-1) on Friday.

Regina and West Branch open postseason post season play on Friday.

Top-ranked Regina (8-0) hosts Waterloo Columbus (2-6) in a Class 1A opening-round contest on Friday while West Branch (4-4) hosts No. 10 Osage (7-1) in a 2A opening-round matchup on Friday at the Little Rose Bowl in West Branch.

News and Notes

Stat Leader Breakdown: Entering week nine several area players lead their respective classes in statistical categories.

Liberty High senior Pryor Reiners leads Class 5A in both receiving yards (868) and receptions (61) while Lightning senior quarterback senior Emerson Berner leads 5A with 161 completions.

City High senior Shepherd Stanton leads 5A with five interceptions.

Clear Creek Amana junior Texton Bollers leads Class 4A with 1,722 passing yards and 1,973 total yards.

Solon senior quarterback Maddox Kelley leads Class 3A with 36 total touchdowns and senior receiver Kaden Hoeper leads 3A with 12 receiving touchdowns.

Solon senior defensive lineman Simon Einwalter leads 3A with eight sacks and Regina senior Tate Wallace is tied for the Class 1A lead with 9.5 sacks and tackles for loss with 19.

1,000-yard Watch: Several area players continue to close in on the 1,000-yard rushing mark this season.

Regina junior Gabe Hegelheimer has 970 rushing yards this season and needs 30 yards in the playoff opener against Waterloo Columbus to cross the 1,000-yard barrier for the season.

West High junior Atari Brown has rushed for 857 yards while averaging 6.1 yards per carry and needs 143 yards in the regular season finale at Linn-Mar (2-6) to hit the 1,000-yard plateau.

City High senior Savion Miller has rushed for 832 yards and needs 168 yards in the Little Hawks’ final regular season game at Ottumwa (2-6) on Friday to reach 1,000 yards.

Solon senior quarterback Maddox Kelley has rushed for 761 yards.

Undefeated Update: Entering week nine only 21 teams across the state remain unbeaten and two area teams are on that list.

Regina (8-0) and Solon (8-0) have both opened the season with eight consecutive wins.

Regina joins Aplington-Parkersburg as the only two remaining unbeaten teams in Class 1A while Solon joins Clear Lake and Des Moines Chrisitan as undefeated teams in Class 3A.

There are three undefeated teams in Class 4A, one is Class 2A, and six each in Class A and eight-player.

Players of the Week

Offensive player of the week: Solon senior quarterback Maddox Kelley had another impressive performance as the Spartans clinched the Class 3A, District 4 title with a 38-6 win over previously unbeaten Mount Pleasant.

Kelley completed 9-of-14 passes for 95 yards and a touchdown and rushed for 112 yards and four touchdowns on 12 carries and also added two tackles and an interception on defense.

Defensive player of the week: West Branch sophomore defensive back Brooks Seydel came up big as the Bears secured a home playoff game with a 34-33 win over Bellevue on Friday.

Seydel had a team-high 8.5 tackles, including five solo stops, and intercepted two passes in the win.

Special teams player of the week: Liberty High senior Adrian Clerry made a strong case for either offensive or defensive player of the week but gets the nod on special teams after an impressive all-around effort in a 41-14 win over City High.

Clerry had a 54 yard kick off return and averaged 21.5 yards per punt return on two attempts while also making big plays on both offense and defense.

The senior caught five passes for 43 yards and two touchdowns, threw a 75-yard touchdown pass and had 3.5 tackles and recovered a fumble in the win.

Helmet stickers

Offense: Liberty High senior receiver Pryor Reiners caught seven passes for 173 yards and a touchdown in a 41-14 win at City High.

Offense: West Branch senior running back Keaton Gates rushed for 245 yards and three touchdowns including the go-ahead score in the final minute in a 34-33 win over Bellevue.

Offense: Liberty High senior quarterback Emerson Berner completed 28-of-35 passes for 276 yards and four touchdowns in a 41-14 win over City High.

Offense: City High senior running back Savion Miller rushed for 118 yards and a touchdown and had four tackles including a tackle for loss in a 41-14 loss to Liberty High.

Defense: West High junior defensive lineman Ashten Holmes had 5.5 tackles with 2.5 tackles for loss and a sack in a 32-11 loss to Cedar Rapids Prairie.

Defense: Liberty High sophomore linebacker Carter Lester had 5.5 tackles, including three tackles for loss and a sack and recovered a fumble in a 41-14 win at City High.

Defense: Liberty High junior linebacker Asher Eisenbach had 4.5 tackles, two sacks and forced a fumble in a 41-14 win at City High.

Defense: City High junior Arrow Westerdahl had 8.5 tackles, including six solo stops and a sack in a 41-14 loss to Liberty High.

Defense: West High senior defensive back Carter Spark had 14 tackles, including 10 solo stops, in a 32-11 loss to Cedar Rapids Prairie.

Defense: Solon senior defensive lineman Simon Einwalter had 5.5 tackles and four sacks in a 38-6 win over Mount Pleasant.

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