Prep Redzone Iowa | Games of the Week | 4th Edition

Take a look below at the game preview summaries for Iowa’s top matchups across all classifications. The spotlight will be on these programs as they get into the thick of it and the heart of their schedules. These programs are in the spotlight here in week 4 as those who are for real start to separate from the pack. Who will come out on top in Prep Redzone Iowa’s games of the week? Southeast Polk at Ankeny Can you say rematch? Many have had this one circled on the calendar since the schedule was released and there is no doubt that Southeast Polk has had this opportunity in the back of their minds for a while. The defending champs dropped a close one to rival Centennial in week 2, but bounced back in week 3 for a decisive win over Dowling. Quarterback [player_tooltip player_id="104081" first="JJ" last="Kohl"] appeared to settle in and find his rhythm in the Ankeny offense last week and that could be big trouble for the rest of Iowa starting with the Rams. Brady McCullough blew up against a tough Dowling secondary and clearly established legitimate rapport with his new Quarterback. [player_tooltip player_id="23967" first="Colin" last="Kadolph"] hasn’t skipped a beat in the backfield and is averaging nearly 7 yards per carry as the Hawks’ bell cow. The Ankeny defense is loaded and can deliver a signature performance if the likes of [player_tooltip player_id="100844" first="Jackson" last="Penningroth"], [player_tooltip player_id="23955" first="Ryan" last="Crandall"], [player_tooltip player_id="100843" first="Tamden" last="Webb-Tate"], [player_tooltip player_id="23989" first="Will" last="Cornwell"], and [player_tooltip player_id="23957" first="Braden" last="Simonsen"] can take a step towards their full potential. The Southeast Polk offensive train has picked up some serious steam, though, and this could prove to be an impossible task. [player_tooltip player_id="148732" first="Cole" last="Filloon"] has surfaced as a true number one target and that added element makes the Rams offense very balanced. Pick your poison against this crew because you can’t defend everything. Sell out against [player_tooltip player_id="23947" first="Jaxon" last="Dailey"] and the pass and you can be sure [player_tooltip player_id="23983" first="Titus" last="Christiansen"] will pound the rock behind [player_tooltip player_id="24023" first="Kadyn" last="Proctor"] and [player_tooltip player_id="23986" first="Cade" last="Borud"]. The Rams defense will face their toughest challenge to date, but it is safe to assume [player_tooltip player_id="23942" first="Xavier" last="Nwankpa"] and company will be ready. Prep Redzone Iowa’s Pick: Southeast Polk Lewis Central at Indianola Indianola is quietly off to a dominant 3-0 start and will host Lewis Central in week 4 in a contest featuring two of the most legitimate contenders in the new 4A. After a disappointing opener Lewis Central has cruised to a combined score of 101-25 over Carlisle and Norwalk. Lewis Central may have more household names, but Indianola features plenty of stars on the rise that should make for interesting matchups all over the field. The Indianola defense has some outstanding players in [player_tooltip player_id="148784" first="Walker" last="Whalen"], [player_tooltip player_id="148851" first="Jacob" last="Lundberg"], and Jaxson Morawski, but has been susceptible at times this year. The Lewis Central offense is powered by [player_tooltip player_id="104088" first="Braylon" last="Kammrad"], [player_tooltip player_id="104113" first="Jonathan" last="Humpal"], and [player_tooltip player_id="99196" first="Brayden" last="Loftin"] who are capable of getting things established against anyone. On the other side, Quarterback Bennett Brueck has been on fire through three games. He has a myriad of talented targets in Drew Kingery, Carter Erickson, and Colton Gordon. It must be a nightmare trying to figure out how to account for these guys while having to think about [player_tooltip player_id="147958" first="Kael" last="Kolarik"] and the Indian run game. If any defense is up to the task, though, it is the Titans. They feature a lot of experienced senior talent in [player_tooltip player_id="100841" first="Wyatt" last="Hatcher"], [player_tooltip player_id="100842" first="Nick" last="Miller"], [player_tooltip player_id="23948" first="Hunter" last="Deyo"], and Ethen Fishell. Joining them are Payton Ludington, Boston Hensley, Chase Wallace, and [player_tooltip player_id="156631" first="Caleb" last="Moore"]. They can definitely match talent for talent and are sure to have different answers for the explosive Indianola attack. This one could be a barn burner or a stalemate; both seem just as likely. Prep Redzone Iowa’s Pick: Indianola Sioux City East at Sergeant Bluff-Luton The Black Raiders of Sioux City East are on fire and will stumble across a big challenge, the first in a stretch of tough games, in the Sergeant Bluff-Luton Warriors. The Black Raiders enter their regular season gauntlet starting now; this certainly seems to be the starting point of forecasting and determining a big picture playoff outlook. The Warriors are battle tested through 3 weeks and will be stepping up to the plate here in week 4 in a contest that should help Iowa learn just how for real this Sioux City East team is. [player_tooltip player_id="23964" first="Luke" last="Longval"] is the real deal and has been one of the best, most efficient passers in the state. It helps to have such explosive, electric weapons to throw to like [player_tooltip player_id="152853" first="Kelynn" last="Jacobsen"] and [player_tooltip player_id="147997" first="Taejon" last="Jones"], but Longval, the current 5A QBR leader, has been outstanding nevertheless. The Warriors defense has their hands full for a second straight week with these guys and will look for answers after giving up 55 points a week ago to a similarly talented Harlan team. [player_tooltip player_id="23950" first="Jacob" last="Imming"], Jason Dickson and company should be stout against the run, but will they be able to hang in there against the pass? The other side of the contest is interesting because while Sioux City East has only allowed 20 points through three games they haven’t seen an offense quite like Sergeant Bluff-Luton’s. [player_tooltip player_id="104079" first="Tyler" last="Smith"] is one of the state’s top passers and the Quarterback matchup in this one is a dream. Tyler Schenkelberg, through the air, will really press and challenge the Black Raider’s secondary, too. This is a real “prove it” opportunity for [player_tooltip player_id="105144" first="Nick" last="Wells"], Brecken Schossow, [player_tooltip player_id="24025" first="Brady" last="Wavrunek"] and the rest of the defense. Prep Redzone Iowa’s Pick: Sioux City East OABCIG at Southeast Valley The 3-0 OABCIG Falcons and Beckett DeJean will travel to Gowrie to square off with the 3-0 Southeast Valley Jaguars and [player_tooltip player_id="23944" first="Aaron" last="Graves"]; this is undoubtedly both team’s toughest challenge yet and an intriguing battle among top 2A competitors. OABCIG has dominated both sides of the ball through three weeks outscoring Ridge View, Storm Lake, and East Sac County 124-30. Led by junior Beckett DeJean, first year varsity Quarterback, the Falcons are averaging over 400 yards of offense per game and a staggering 10 yards per play. [player_tooltip player_id="152751" first="Griffin" last="Diersen"] has been a force on the ground, as has DeJean, and they will look to establish that early on as it really opens up the passing game. This offense is as deep as anyone in 2A with [player_tooltip player_id="23962" first="Easton" last="Harms"], Gabe Winterrowd, [player_tooltip player_id="105194" first="Josh" last="Peters"], and [player_tooltip player_id="152906" first="Treyten" last="Kolar"] catching passes. This group is on pace to combine for over 2,000 receiving yards in the regular season. Karson Quirk and Zach Hemer headline a defense that is holding opponents to 10 points per game, a number that is slightly inflated due to some late game scoring. [player_tooltip player_id="147479" first="Kolson" last="Kruse"], Southeast Valley Quarterback, who has racked up over 800 total yards and 9 total touchdowns, will make the Falcons defender’s jobs a lot harder on Friday night. He is an outstanding dual-threat and has a couple of 2A’s biggest home run hitters at Wide Receiver in Eli Johnson and Colton Brant. The Jaguars defense, led by a very stout defensive line, could certainly get in the way of what OABCIG will try to do offensively. [player_tooltip player_id="23944" first="Aaron" last="Graves"] and [player_tooltip player_id="24029" first="Justin" last="Loseke"] are quite the tandem. Prep Redzone Iowa’s Pick: OABCIG Aplington-Parkersburg at Denver The 3-0 Denver Cyclones have earned the spotlight with impressive play through three weeks. They will host the 2-1 Aplington-Parkersburg Falcons who are fresh off of back to back wins after dropping a close contest in game one. The Cyclones are rushing for just under 300 yards per game and [player_tooltip player_id="152688" first="Ethan" last="Schoville"] is chipping in more than half that total. He is a hard-nosed, tough runner who is exceptionally difficult to tackle. Schoville gets to daylight often and does so the hard way. Quarterback Tye Bradley has done well through the air so far, preventing teams from loading up the box to try and stop Schoville. He has thrown for 441 yards finding top targets Caylor Hoffer and Zander Norman for 5 touchdowns. The Cyclones have been more than capable to this point at capitalizing on passes as a well-established run first team. Expect to see a heavy dose of carries in this one as Aplington-Parkersburg has a very similar approach. Falcons’ workhorse Aidan Junker has 453 yards on 77 carries and his consistent, early down success is what makes everything else click. Sophomore Quarterback Gavin Thomas has been able to rely on that, but the Cyclones defense is the best unit they’ve seen and he may have to step up for the Falcons to pull off the upset. Denver has only surrendered 6 points this year and has been nothing short of lights out. [player_tooltip player_id="148779" first="Braden" last="Powers"] looks like one of the top Ends in the state. He along with Nathan Olmstead, Kolby Mcpherson, and Luke Koepke have orchestrated arguably the best defensive output through the first third of the regular season in 1A. Prep Redzone Iowa’s Pick: Denver Logan-Magnolia at Tri-Center Logan-Magnolia is sitting at 2-1 and near the top of the class A rankings; they will travel to Tri-Center here in week 3 to try and pick up a big road win against the Trojans. Despite their one loss the Panthers are off to an impressive start this season having collected decisive wins over Kuemper Catholic and Westwood. Their lone loss came in week 2 by a very narrow margin to Woodbury Central who is another top contender in the classification. Tri-Center’s only loss came to 1A powerhouse Underwood. Logan-Magnolia’s triple option offense has been quite successful so far on the year: Fullback [player_tooltip player_id="147972" first="Gavin" last="Maguire"] leads the team with 369 yards and 8 touchdowns, Wing Brody West has 234 yards and 3 touchdowns, Quarterback Carter Edney has 119 yards, and Tailback Dylan Oviatt has 109 yards and 2 touchdowns. Together they have averaged nearly 300 rushing yards per game and 6 yards per carry. An offense like that will only get better and better each week as they build rapport and perfect their reads. The Panther defense, led by Rex Johnson and [player_tooltip player_id="148848" first="Jordan" last="Kerger"], is capable of being just as punishing. The Trojans will need to be prepared for a very physical contest if they want to get the win in front of their home crowd this Friday. Brecken Freeberg is one of the best backs in Iowa regardless of classification; he will have to, and is certainly capable of, putting the team on his back. He has 462 total yards and 8 touchdowns through three games. Keep an eye on Defensive End Jaxon Johnson as the Trojans try to stuff the run. Prep Redzone Iowa’s Pick: Logan-Magnolia Gladbrook-Reinbeck at Tripoli In this week’s top 8-player matchup the Tripoli Panthers will try to bounce back from a week 3 loss to Janesville as they host the 3-0 Gladbrook Reinbeck Rebels who are looking like one of the hottest teams in the classification. They have put some serious points on the board, 162 to be exact, but have more impressively only allowed 19 and that includes a week 1 shutout of North Iowa. The Rebels are balanced in their attack, but are so effective when they throw, completing over 60% of their passes for over 18 yards per reception. Top targets Luke Riffey and Caleb Egesdal have a nose for the ball combining for 25 catches so far on the year; Ethan Gienger has a nose for the endzone converting four of his seven catches for touchdowns. The Rebels defense, led by Drake Blakesley and Tristen Sanford-Anders, are currently holding opponents under 200 yards of total offense per game. Gladbrook-Reinbeck has some serious weapons all over the field and that is enough to overwhelm most of the teams in the 8-player classifications. Tripoli will need a big night from star players Rowan Carlson and Bryce Schroeder, who are key for the Panthers on both sides of the ball. The trademark of 8-player contests is typically offensive fireworks, but will they occur on both sides of the ball or will it be a one-sided affair? Tripoli has the athletes to make this competitive, but Gladbrook-Reinbeck is looking like they could be the cream of the crop. The Rebels can make a real statement here in week 4. Prep Redzone Iowa’s Pick: Gladbrook-Reinbeck