Prep Redzone Iowa | Games of the Week | 8th Edition

Take a look below at the game preview summaries for Iowa’s top matchups across all classifications. Week 8 will answer plenty of questions that still remain about who are the legitimate contenders and what the playoff fields will realistically look like. Who will come out on top in Prep Redzone Iowa’s games of the week? Ankeny at Waukee Northwest The Wolves are riding a four game winning streak after being put through the wringer in the first part of the season. They are clicking lately and looking very strong; they have a big opportunity in week 8 to come away with a win against a top program and prove they can do some damage in the playoffs. Ankeny, on the other hand, has an opportunity to knock off a team that has earned plenty of respect and show they should be regarded as the team to beat. Wolves’ Quarterback Carson Renken and his weapons Tanner Spyksma, [player_tooltip player_id="24008" first="Hayden" last="Huntley"], Brady Grisham, and Jadon Engstrom are a talented bunch who have averaged nearly 40 points per game during their winning streak. The Ankeny defense, though, is loaded from top to bottom and will thoroughly test the Wolves who only scored 17 combined points earlier this year against Dowling and Southeast Polk. The Wolves will need an error free, efficient passing game with the likes of [player_tooltip player_id="23955" first="Ryan" last="Crandall"], [player_tooltip player_id="152914" first="Ben" last="Sandvig"], and [player_tooltip player_id="23989" first="Will" last="Cornwell"] patrolling the secondary. They will also need exceptional blocking to move the ball against a front seven that includes [player_tooltip player_id="100844" first="Jackson" last="Penningroth"], [player_tooltip player_id="100843" first="Tamden" last="Webb-Tate"], [player_tooltip player_id="23957" first="Braden" last="Simonsen"], Sean Gavin, and Nick Eaton. It will be just as challenging for Waukee Northwest on the other side of this matchup. [player_tooltip player_id="100041" first="Benjamin" last="Reiland"], Griffin Gammell, and Chase Lamb have been outstanding at the heart of the Wolves’ defense. Ankeny is a handful on offense, though, with all their weapons. [player_tooltip player_id="23967" first="Colin" last="Kadolph"] is looking for the 5A rushing crown, [player_tooltip player_id="104081" first="JJ" last="Kohl"] is without a doubt the real deal, and Brady McCullough has been virtually unguardable. The Wolves have their work cut out for them if they want to take the next step and become a true 5A contender. Prep Redzone Iowa’s Pick: Ankeny   Bondurant-Farrar at Indianola The 7-0 Bluejays travel this week to take on the 6-1 Indians in a 4A showdown that features two teams who will be among the top seeds in the playoff bracket just a couple of weeks from now. There will be a lot of stakeholders across Iowa keeping an eye on this one as the regular season winds down. Though undefeated, Bodurant-Farrar hasn’t experienced quite the same strength of schedule their adversary has. Indianola dropped a disappointing one to Norwalk, but has defeated Lewis Central and Ankeny Centennial; they are battle tested. The Bluejays’ best win to date came a month ago against Pella. This contest will feature two offenses that are loaded with talent and two defenses who might be on their heels trying to find answers. Quarterback [player_tooltip player_id="104085" first="Colby" last="Collison"] and Running Back [player_tooltip player_id="156487" first="Titus" last="Cram"] have been an unstoppable duo so far this year. The formula of Cram pounding the rock to soften up coverage and Collison efficiently picking it apart has worked like a charm. Statistically speaking the Bluejays have been the most efficient offense in 4A so far averaging 43 points a contest. Bennett Brueck, [player_tooltip player_id="147958" first="Kael" last="Kolarik"], and Drew Kingery and the rest of the Indians’ offense aren’t far behind at 40 points per game and will without a doubt test the Bluejays like no other team has. Cameron Meislahn and [player_tooltip player_id="152902" first="John" last="Powers"] are an outstanding Linebacker tandem, maybe the best in 4A, and they can prove it in week 8. Maintaining their standard of play will be a hard task. The same can be said for the Indians defense. Carter Erickson and [player_tooltip player_id="148784" first="Walker" last="Whalen"] are a couple of the best around, but stifling the Bluejays’ attack just might not be possible. Prep Redzone Iowa’s Pick: Indianola   Nevada at Humboldt There will be no shortage of offensive weapons as two teams, the Nevada Cubs and Humboldt Wildcats, square off in what should be a week 8 barn burner. Humboldt’s Quarterback [player_tooltip player_id="148361" first="Caden" last="Matson"] leads all of 3A in total touchdowns with 32. He is second in the class in both passing yards and passing touchdowns. He has been a model of dynamic play all year turning in one electric performance after another. Nevada’s James Edwards is in that same category. He is second in 3A in total touchdowns with 26, second in rushing touchdowns with 16, and fifth in rushing yards with 826. The Quarterback duel in this contest is elite. Matson and Edwards have some of the most dangerous skill players in Iowa around them. Three top five Wide Receivers in 3A will be featured in this game; expect a ton of points to be scored. Humboldt’s Will Orness, 707 yards and 12 touchdowns, is an outstanding possession receiver and Jacob Heier who is a great downfield target, 609 yards and 8 touchdowns, have been unstoppable. Nevada’s Caeden DaSilva has totalled 604 yards and 8 touchdowns; he is one of the best vertical threats around. Both programs also have Sophomore Running Backs who are making names for themselves. Cason Stevenson of Nevada and Lance Coon of Humboldt have given these high-flying offenses an extra dimension and even more for opposing defenses to have to worry about. Don’t forget about Tight End [player_tooltip player_id="104763" first="Carson" last="Rhodes"], a top recruit out of Nevada, either. This isn’t to say there is a shortage of talent on defense. Humboldt’s Tanner McKimmey and [player_tooltip player_id="153180" first="Nolan" last="Lammers"] are capable of big performances. Nevada’s Connor Schnettgoecke and Cael Franzen are, too. Their ability to manufacture turnovers could make the difference. Prep Redzone Iowa’s Pick: Humboldt   Greene County at Clarke The 6-1 Greene County Rams will look to stay hot and keep their winning streak alive in week 8 when they pay a visit to the 5-2 Clarke Indians. Since their close week 1 loss the Rams have been on a tear defeating their opponents by almost 40 points per game. A big reason for that has been the play of Rams’ Quarterback [player_tooltip player_id="98647" first="Bryce" last="Stalder"] who has accounted for 24 total touchdowns and over 1,500 total yards. Stalder leads a balanced attack and the Rams do an impressive job of allocating carries and sharing targets to a number of players. He leads the team in rushing, but is just one of five ball carriers to have taken at least 20 carries. The Rams have depth and ability and they know how to use it. Among those playmakers is one of the most electric you will find on offense, defense, and special teams in Iowa: [player_tooltip player_id="148877" first="Jackson" last="Morton"]. The 6’1 athlete does it all and Greene County has found plenty of ways to maximize his abilities; he has 549 yards of offense, 11 total touchdowns, and 31 tackles on the year. He commands a lot of attention on offense and rightfully so. Morton is part of a defensive unit that has forced 21 turnovers this year and only allows 5 points per game. This team has the right kind of recipe for a long playoff run. Morton is joined on that defense by [player_tooltip player_id="152927" first="Richard" last="Daugherty"] and [player_tooltip player_id="148831" first="Bradyn" last="Smith"] who have been nothing short of a shut down unit. Clarke has some talent of their own in the form of players like Lineman [player_tooltip player_id="23943" first="Spruceton" last="Buddenhagen"] and Receiver and Defensive Back Kamis Bulis. The Indians feature a lot of athleticism across the board that has led to their success. A signature win would all but guarantee a spot in the 2A playoffs, while a loss could leave them in an unpredictable scenario. Prep Redzone Iowa’s Pick: Greene County   ACGC at Van Meter It would appear that, to at least anyone who took a look at the schedules before the season started, that the ACGC Chargers and Van Meter Bulldogs have been on a collision course since week 1. Both teams are undefeated and have collected impressive wins over larger schools and destroyed everyone else in their path. ACGC’s week 1 win over Greene County and Van Meter’s week 3 win over Winterset were signature victories and a couple of the more impressive wins Iowa has witnessed this year. Both teams feature outstanding lead backs; [player_tooltip player_id="23999" first="Dalten" last="Van Pelt"] of Van Meter and [player_tooltip player_id="100846" first="Gavin" last="Cornelison"] of ACGC. Van Pelt has totalled 909 yards from scrimmage and found the end zone 18 times. Cornelison has rushed for 1,227 and 23 scores. This game will feature a very heavy dose of running the football that will require a lot of toughness and discipline to slow down. Van Pelt shares carries with Quarterback [player_tooltip player_id="148359" first="Jack" last="Pettit"], who is also a very efficient passer and adds an element that ACGC doesn’t necessarily have. [player_tooltip player_id="148747" first="Chris" last="Schreck"] and Gannon Archer are impressive athletes and reliable targets for Pettit when the Bulldogs decide to open it up. Cornelison shares the Chargers’ Wing T backfield with Quarterback Brock Littler and Wings Cayden Jensen and [player_tooltip player_id="98714" first="Charlie" last="Crawford"]; together they have rushed for over 2,500 yards. Van Meter defenders [player_tooltip player_id="148775" first="Casey" last="Trudo"], [player_tooltip player_id="105166" first="Ben" last="Gilliland"], Lincoln Olsen, and [player_tooltip player_id="147983" first="Reese" last="Moore"] are tough and they will need to be. It isn’t always possible to scheme against an offense like ACGC’s; sometimes it just comes down to being more physical and winning one on one’s. Similarly, are the Chargers built to defend Van Meter’s Spread? Cornelison, Jensen, and other standouts like Reid Rumelhart will make it interesting. Prep Redzone Iowa’s Pick: Van Meter   North Butler at West Hancock It is hard to lose a football game when you give up an average of less than a touchdown per contest. That is the case for the undefeated North Butler Bearcats and the undefeated West Hancock Eagles who have given up less than 100 total points on the season combined. [player_tooltip player_id="148774" first="Chet" last="Buss"], more often than not, wrecks everything at the line of scrimmage before the play even has a chance of developing and that is where it stops. He has 51.5 Tackles, 3 Sacks, and 14 TFL on the year; all that from the Defensive Line. On the chance he doesn’t get to the ball there are impressive players like Tanner Arjes there to clean it up. Teams have had some success moving the ball here and there, but the Bearcats just don’t break and find ways to end drives. [player_tooltip player_id="148884" first="Kane" last="Zuehl"], [player_tooltip player_id="152790" first="Rylan" last="Barnes"], and the rest of the West Hancock defense has been just as dominant. Not a single team they have played through seven weeks has been able to crack 200 total yards of offense; the Eagles make quick work of their opponents and get the ball back in the hands of their offense as often as possible. Expect these defenses to be ready, too, as both programs take a run heavy approach on offense. This contest has the makings to be a stalemate; tune in if you love defense. This will come down to whose Offensive Line can step up because each team has plenty of skill and ability in their backfield. Both programs have rushed for over 2,000 yards on the season and only thrown for about 250. The Logan Leerar led Eagles like to pound the rock out of a Double Tight or X Open Wing T look. Corbin Lewis and the Bearcats offense run some Wing T Open out of Gun and Doubles. Who will be able to break through first? Prep Redzone Iowa’s Pick: West Hancock   Easton Valley at Kee The colossal 8-player contests just keep on coming week after week; the Regular season concludes with the Kee Kee Hawks hosting the Easton Valley River Hawks. Both programs are undefeated and looking to maintain their perfect record to earn the best possible playoff seed in an extremely competitive 2021 field. Easton Valley’s biggest win so far came right off the bat in week 1 in a blowout victory over Don Bosco, a team many were high on heading into the year. That set the tone for the River Hawks’ season and they have stacked huge wins week after week on their way to 7-0. They currently lead all of 8-player football with an average margin of victory of 55 points; nobody has even come close to keeping things competitive. Quarterback [player_tooltip player_id="147447" first="Conor" last="Gruver"] is a big reason for that success. He is one of 8-player’s true passing Quarterbacks and he certainly can sling it; he has thrown 29 touchdowns to just 3 interceptions. Gruver distributes the ball pretty evenly to [player_tooltip player_id="152847" first="Carson" last="Fuegen"] and [player_tooltip player_id="152876" first="Hayden" last="Felkey"]. He has even found his brother, Aidan Gruver four times for touchdowns. Their attack is balanced and keeps defenses on their toes. Running Backs Charlie Simpson and Andin Farrell split carries and have combined for nearly 1,000 yards on the season. The River Hawks have only given up 62 points all season, which is outstanding regardless of classification, but especially excellent in the 8-player world. Kee will make this competitive and put both teams in unfamiliar territory. Kee Hawk [player_tooltip player_id="147448" first="Damon" last="Weber"] is an outstanding athlete playing Quarterback and Safety. Dalton Dibert is one impressive Wide Receiver and Corner. The duo can and will need to account for a lot of production on both sides of the ball to come out on top. Prep Redzone Iowa’s Pick: Easton Valley