Class 4A Final 4 Teams Preview - The 4A Club

It’s been a wild season, but now we’re finally at the home stretch, as 24 schools head to the UNI-Dome for the opportunity to win one of six state championships in their class. For this article, I’m taking a look at the four Class 4A schools that were able to make it this far. This analysis includes how they got to this point and the stars you need to pay attention to over these next couple of weeks.   Ankeny How they got here: The Hawks head into the dome for the first time since the district split as the heavy favorites to win it all in 2020. They’ve dominated all of their opponents up to this point with the exception of a final second week 2 loss to Waukee. Teams like Centennial, Fort Dodge, Valley, Johnston and Indianola were no match for this high-octane offense and tough defense in the regular season. Once the playoffs started they crushed CBTJ 70-0, put up 37 points against a pretty good Cedar Falls team, and got revenge on Waukee in the quarterfinals 28-7, with Kansas high school transfer [player_tooltip player_id="35343" first="Arland" last="Bruce IV"] scoring all four touchdowns for the Hawks, proving to be the difference-maker as he sat out their first confrontation earlier in the year. They haven’t played Dowling this season, so it’ll be interesting to see how their offense handles a very good Maroon defense. Who are the stars?: Leading the way is quite possibly the best collection of skill position players the state has seen in years. Dual-Threat QB [player_tooltip player_id="23828" first="Jase" last="Bauer"] holds FCS offers with potential to go even higher with a PWO offer from Iowa. The run game led by [player_tooltip player_id="23967" first="Colin" last="Kadolph"] provides an excellent complement to it’s amazing passing attack. Iowa commit [player_tooltip player_id="23810" first="Brody" last="Brecht"] is without question the state’s best receiver, Slot Kade Somers is a very solid #2 option, and guys like Brady McCullough and Weston Fulk provide themselves as good targets as well. But the one x-factor that has really helped Ankeny get on a late-season hot streak is [player_tooltip player_id="35343" first="Arland" last="Bruce IV"]. Despite all the trouble early on in the season caused by the IHSAA over his eligibility, the future Hawkeye has made these last five games his revenge tour of sorts. 21 receptions for 347 yards and 4 touchdowns, plus 482 rushing yards and 6 more touchdowns since being eligible in week 6. The Hawks defense has also proven to be well-off to lead them to a championship too. Guys like DE [player_tooltip player_id="23957" first="Braden" last="Simonsen"] and LB’s Jackson Pennigroth and Brecken Manus control the front seven, while the secondary is considered one of the best in the state. CB’s Cooper Cox and [player_tooltip player_id="23989" first="Will" last="Cornwell"] lock down receivers, SS [player_tooltip player_id="23955" first="Ryan" last="Crandall"] provides really good run support, and future Hawkeye wrestler [player_tooltip player_id="23931" first="Caleb" last="Rathjen"] really stepped up to fill in the injured [player_tooltip player_id="23845" first="Cael" last="Boyd"]’s position at free safety.   Dowling How they got here: The Maroons are almost like zombies, whenever you think they’re down and out and maybe this will be the year they get knocked out early, they return to the dome, and that’s especially the case for this season. They started off 2-0 with wins over Indianola and shutting out a Valley team that was expected to win it all this year, but then a nail-biting 15-18 loss to Johnston, followed by an even more exciting 37-34 win over Waukee would bring them to 3-1. With 42 and 49 points scored in their wins over Marshalltown and Fort Dodge to end the season, the Maroons would ride high with decisive wins over Sioux City North and Waterloo West in the playoffs. Unfortunately, we never got to see a Valley-Dowling rematch in the quarterfinals, as the COVID-19 pandemic hit the Tigers football team and they were forced to forfeit the game and shut down their season early. The Maroons come into the dome with a little bit of an advantage as a result, but will their defense be able to stop Ankeny’s tremendous offensive attack? Who are the stars?: Usually, Dowling’s bread and butter is their run game, but this season the passing game takes the front seat. Running a QB platoon of senior Jake Steingreaber and sophomore Jaxon Smolik, they each combined to pass for almost 1700 yards and 15 touchdowns. Leading the receiving game is the very quick [player_tooltip player_id="23842" first="Louis" last="Brooks"], and with fellow receivers Koah Thompson and Mack Anderson along with FCS-level tight end [player_tooltip player_id="23850" first="Andrew" last="Lentsch"], the Maroons receiving corp should be one of the better groups in the state. The run game featuring Zach Schwager and Khameron Middleton primarily sharing the load is also worth noting, as they both combined for 14 touchdowns up to this point. Dowling’s defenses have always been pretty stingy, and this season is no exception. The D-Line featuring DE’s Russell Pearson and Roosevelt transfer [player_tooltip player_id="23920" first="Finn" last="Claypool"] along with DT’s Jaylen Pettus and Chase Patton control games for the most part with the impact they make. LB’s Max Derry and Jack Meyer are performing excellently at the moment as well, and an excellent secondary featuring corner Austin Klein and safeties Blake Anderson, Carson Kriegshauser, and Will Hermann provide coverage for this awesome defense.   Pleasant Valley How they got here: Heading into the season, PV wasn’t even a lock to even get through to the round of 16, but now the Spartans represent Eastern Iowa with a perfect 10-0 record as they head into their first semifinals berth in 24 years, and the first time they’ve stepped into the dome since their Class 3A title 35 years ago. Starting off the year strong with a big win over perennial Class 1A powerhouse Regina, they’d get a 14-point win over playoff regulars, North Scott the next week. Then we get to a major problem with the MAC schools. Besides Bettendorf, every other school is hit or miss (usually miss) at the 4A level. Muscatine and the 3 Davenport public schools are more often dreadful at football than not, so PV’s undefeated start heading into the dome might be a bit deceiving. But the Spartans are able to make up for that with, not just one, but TWO victories over “big brother” Bett this year. They’re turning even more heads now with a 38-24 win over a great Iowa City West squad, thus making PV eastern Iowa’s sole 4A representation in the playoffs. They’re facing another undefeated team in Southeast Polk, so while they’ve returned to the underdog role because of the level of teams SEP has played compared to PV, the Spartans certainly are not out of it. Who are the stars?: Pleasant Valley has used the triple-option offense out of the flexbone formation for quite a while now, and it’s really proving to work out this season. RB Caden Kipper and QB Barrett Lindmark led a deep pool or rushers to a total of 2875 rushing yards over the season. The o-line is not to be ignored either with guards Kane Zemo and Aidan Kilstrom, tackle Michael VanDerSchaaf, and tight end Kellen Hornbuckle controlling defenses all day long. Although the offense is good, the defense might be even better. The linebacker quartet of Michael Acri, Parker Sutherland, Rusty VanWetzinga IV, and Stiles Walker just might be the most balanced and dominant LB corp in the state. Supporting cast on the d-line worth noting like NT Luke Vondehaar and sophomore DE Andrew DePaepe help make this front-seven very deadly. The secondary isn’t anything to mess around with either, led by corner Owen Belman, the DB’s held up really well against the best the MAC had to offer over the course of the season.   Southeast Polk The #1 ranked team according to the AP polls throughout the last half of the regular season, SEP is looking to capitalize on their status as the only undefeated school in the ultra-competitive CIML with a state title in 2020. Although they haven’t played the likes of Ankeny and Dowling this season, wins over Waukee, Valley, and Johnston might subsidize their lack of wins over teams that aren’t as good as them. Dominant wins over Ames, Centennial, and Cedar Rapids Kennedy where they only allowed a single touchdown between those three games should give them a strong momentum leading into their matchup against Pleasant Valley on Friday. QB [player_tooltip player_id="23947" first="Jaxon" last="Dailey"] is living up to the hype he’s gotten with how he’s led them up to this point. Receivers like Isaiah Emanuel, Boone Bain, and TE [player_tooltip player_id="23918" first="Caleb" last="Daniels"] make for solid options that contribute a lot to this passing game. In addition, [player_tooltip player_id="23983" first="Titus" last="Christiansen"] has proven to be a very good runner and receiver out of the backfield as well. But what really keeps this offense going is arguably the best all-around o-line in the state. [player_tooltip player_id="24023" first="Kadyn" last="Proctor"] and [player_tooltip player_id="23986" first="Cade" last="Borud"] bookend an awesome o-line where 4 out of the 5 starters all have (or for Cade’s case, he’s on pace to have) offers to play at the next level. Defensively the Rams are pretty solid on that part too. D-End Dominic Caggiano has been a beast all year long, leading the team with 55 tackles, 24.5 tackles for loss, and 13.5 sacks. On the other side is [player_tooltip player_id="23918" first="Caleb" last="Daniels"], who’s also playing really good as well with 30 tackles of his own. The rest of the defense featuring LB Andrew Reed, safeties Alek Kilgopoluos and Austin Enos, and the Auginiga brothers Jalen and Jace as starting CB’s are solid enough on their own, but the “X-Factor” on this team is [player_tooltip player_id="23942" first="Xavier" last="Nwankpa"], On defense, he’s made 25 tackles, 5 interceptions, and a pick-six on his way to being rated among the top-50 players in the nation according to 247Sports.com. Even on offense, he’s dangerous, averaging nearly 12 yards per game and 7 touchdowns off of 31 carries as their #2 RB.