The 4A Club Conference Preview: Mississippi Athletic Conference

Because of the pandemic, the Iowa High School Athletic Association has let Class 4A schools and conferences make their own schedules, essentially bringing back conference play in Class 4A football for the first time since 2013. So here’s a preview of every Class 4A school in the Mississippi Athletic Conference. <strong>Disclaimer: </strong>Assumption, Central DeWitt, Clinton, and North Scott are all also apart of the MAC, but since they’re all 3A when it comes to football and I’m only covering 4A schools, I won’t be covering them this season.   Bettendorf My Preseason Ranking: 5th My Team Rating: 43 (A)   Head Coach: Aaron Wiley Offensive Coordinator: Phil Schaefer Defensive Coordinator: Aaron Wiley Base Offense: RPO (2-1, 2-0) Base Defense: 4-2-5   Watchlist Players: QB/WR [player_tooltip player_id="23954" first="Tynan" last="Numkena"], JR DT Kaden Klemme, SR DT/G [player_tooltip player_id="23815" first="Griffin" last="Liddle"], SR S [player_tooltip player_id="23848" first="Ryan" last="Cole"], SR   Returning Starters: TE Oliver Bakeris, SR MLB/RB Kane Schmidt, SR CB Mekou Smith-Reed, SR   Risers/Arrivals: WR Jacob Ripple, SR OT Blake DeLeon, JR G John Powell, SO DE [player_tooltip player_id="23995" first="Diego" last="Cortes"], JR DE Jeffrey Speer, SR OLB Nick Matthys, JR CB Willie Matthys, SR S Jack Glenn, SR   A quick word: The perennial team to beat in the MAC, the Bulldogs look to have more success in 2020. With much of their offense gone, Bett is willing to make some high risk/high reward moves to stay at the top, with WR [player_tooltip player_id="23954" first="Tynan" last="Numkena"] moving to QB despite never officially playing that position before, and MLB Kane Schmidt looking like the frontrunner to start both ways as their RB as well.     Davenport Central My Preseason Ranking: 36th My Team Rating: 28.1111 (E+)   Head Coach: Ben Sacco Offensive Coordinator: Alex Berg Defensive Coordinator: Anthony Wittemeyer Base Offense: Spread Base Defense: 4-3, 4-2-5, 3-4, 3-3-5   Watchlist Players: N/A   Returning Starters: WR Kevin Jones, SR DE Travis Thomas, SR DT Alex Moore, SR OLB Sam Fleming, SR MLB/K Nate Hummel, JR S Josh Howlett, SR   Risers/Arrivals: QB Corbin Simatovich, JR RB/CB Dane Howard, SR (returning from injury) RB Bryan Mitchell, SR WR Dylan Graves, JR TE Nick Hartje, TE OLB Isaac Penzol, SR CB Brian Morris, SR   A quick word: An already below-average Blue Devil squad lost a ton of players heading into the 2020 season, but that doesn’t mean the season is already a wash. They’ve got a ton of spots to fill, plus Dane Howard, who missed last season after starting at corner as a sophomore is coming back to probably play both ways.     Davenport North My Preseason Ranking: 8th My Team Rating: 39.3333 (B)   Head Coach: Adam Hite Offensive Coordinator: Adam Hite Defensive Coordinator: Nathan Fisher Base Offense: Spread (1-0, 1-1) Base Defense: 3-4, 4-2-5   Watchlist Players: DT/OT [player_tooltip player_id="23961" first="Dominic" last="Wiseman"], JR OLB/RB [player_tooltip player_id="23956" first="Cade" last="Sheedy"], JR   Returning Starters: WR/CB Quincy Wiseman, SR WR Yovani Morales, JR MLB Gaige Avants, JR S Zane Beebe, SR K Isaac Griffiths, SR P Nolan Bradley, SR   Risers/Arrivals: QB Nolan Mosier, SO WR Mehki Jacobs, SR WR Jayson Noriega, JR WR Cameron Stokes, JR DE Demetrius Cuevas, JR S/RB Gio Rivera, JR   A quick word: The Wildcats are no doubt the best of the three Davenport public schools, and are looking to show off that talent come playoff time. Their defensive core of [player_tooltip player_id="23961" first="Dominic" last="Wiseman"], [player_tooltip player_id="23956" first="Cade" last="Sheedy"], and Gaige Avants has to be one of the best trios in 4A, and they’re all juniors too.     Davenport West My Preseason Ranking: T-27th My Team Rating: 31.6667 (D+)   Head Coach: Brandon Krusey Offensive Coordinator: Brandon Krusey Co-Defensive Coordinators: Jim Crandall & Aaron McGinnis Base Offense: Multiple Spread (1-0) Base Defense: 4-2-5   Watchlist Players: N/A   Returning Starters: QB Payton Thompson, SR WR Hunter Runge, JR WR/OLB Aiden Fix, SR OT Austyn Hazelett, SR DT/G Garet Gustaf, SR P Jared Neitzer, SR   Risers/Arrivals: C Ernie Ramos, SR DE Brandon Benson, SR OLB Kyle Westphal, SR MLB Jonathan Thornton, SR   A quick word: Brandon Krusey returns to the Quad Cities after a year in Mason City to take over Davenport West’s program from Justin Peters, who resigned so he could move to Salt Lake City to live closer to family. Not many starters are coming back, but from what I’ve heard their freshmen and sophomore teams have been excellent last season, so it shouldn’t be that bad for his first season coaching the Falcons.     Muscatine My Preseason Ranking: 33rd My Team Rating: 29.2222 (D-)   Head Coach: DJ Hawkins Offensive Coordinator: Bryce Lightner Defensive Coordinator: DJ Hawkins Base Offense: Spread Base Defense: 3-4   Watchlist Players: RB Tim Nimely, SR WR [player_tooltip player_id="23907" first="Eli" last="Gaye"], SR DT [player_tooltip player_id="23892" first="Togeh" last="Deseh"], SR   Returning Starters: QB Jake Draves, SR QB/S Zander Morgan, SR RB/OLB Mentor Cooper, SR OT Xander Stolzfus, SR G Alex Edwards, SR C Schliesman Crew, SR DE/FB Nick Peterson, SR OLB Reed Ulses, SR OLB Diego Rangel, SR MLB Anthony Sanchez, SR MLB Josh Thomas, SR CB [player_tooltip player_id="23885" first="Prince" last="Wei"], SR S Jorge Ocampo, SR   Risers/Arrivals: QB/LB Conner Christiansen, JR RB/LB Mason Crabtree, JR WR/DB David Wuanti, JR TE/DE Nolan Recker, JR OT Brock Garrison, JR   A quick word: A few months before the season, coach Jake Mueller announced he was stepping down as Head Coach of the Muskies program after 10 years to take an assistant position at his alma mater Cedar Falls. Taking his place is his defensive coordinator DJ Hawkins, who shouldn’t be in that tough of a position, as Muscatine returns most of their starters from 2019, including a few like Tim Nimely, [player_tooltip player_id="23907" first="Eli" last="Gaye"], and [player_tooltip player_id="23892" first="Togeh" last="Deseh"], who’ve all been starting since their freshmen and sophomore seasons.     Pleasant Valley My Preseason Ranking: 24th My Team Rating: 34.3333 (C)   Head Coach: Rusty VanWetzinga Offensive Coordinator: Eric Royer Defensive Coordinator: Joe Youngbauer Base Offense: Triple Option (3-1, 2-2, 3-2) Base Defense: 4-3   Watchlist Players: G Kane Zemo, SR   Returning Starters: QB Ryan Mumey, SR RB Caden Kipper, SR SB Matt Mickle, SR TE/DE Kellen Hornbuckle, SR TE Michael Musal, SR OT Michael VanDerSchaaf, SR DT AJ Tappa, SR MLB Michael Acri, SR K Rhys Ward, SR P Parker Sutherland, SR   Risers/Arrivals: OLB Stiles Walker, SR CB Owen Belman, SR   A quick word: The Spartans missed the playoffs in 2019, but return some good contributors from last season, with most of them being on offense, that can help them at least get one playoff victory come October.