Prep Redzone Iowa | Games of the Week | Special Edition

It is still the regular season for classes 3A-5A. Take a look at some of the top matchups that will feature the best competition and most playoff implications. There is still a lot on the line in week 9 as teams fight to earn the best possible seed and clearest path to the ultimate goal. Cedar Falls vs Dubuque Senior Cedar Falls comes in at #11 and Dubuque Senior comes in at #12 in the current playoff projections. While it doesn’t seem likely the winner will be able to gain much upward movement as far as the bracket goes there is still a lot on the line. Both programs have played really good football at times, are highly competitive with the best in the classification, and are right on the cusp of making something impressive happen. It will likely be a much harder road for whoever loses this one in terms of who they could draw in the first round next week. Both programs, 5-3, feature a lot of talent on offense; Quarterbacks [player_tooltip player_id="98642" first="Jack" last="Gilligan"] and [player_tooltip player_id="147542" first="Hunter" last="Jacobson"] have a lot to work with. Gilligan, who has over 2,000 total yards and 21 touchdowns so far, has a stable of Wide Receivers in [player_tooltip player_id="23985" first="Hayden" last="Francois"], [player_tooltip player_id="104721" first="Walker" last="Tart"], and Landon Sauser. It will be a tall order trying to account for all three at all times and they are expected to make some big plays as they have all year. [player_tooltip player_id="23966" first="Trey" last="Campbell"], [player_tooltip player_id="140259" first="Caeden" last="Janssen"], and [player_tooltip player_id="99200" first="Aiden" last="Sorensen"] are just as capable and difficult to defend; Jacobson, an impressive dual-threat, could be the source of just as many fireworks with these three. Each team takes a committee approach to running the football and being able to establish a balanced attack could be key. Jack Aitchsion and [player_tooltip player_id="148893" first="Tommy" last="Williams"] have been effective on the ground for the Rams while Jacob Kieler and Carter Ernst have handled their backfield responsibilities well for the Tigers. Any of these guys could go off when running behind the outstanding blocking of players like [player_tooltip player_id="99899" first="Tanner" last="Buol"] and Mason Sorensen of Dubuque Senior or [player_tooltip player_id="119119" first="John" last="Henry Hines"] of Cedar Falls. Both defenses will certainly have their hands full, but have elite players that can come up big in key situations. [player_tooltip player_id="23980" first="Ryley" last="Barnett"] and [player_tooltip player_id="148853" first="Jordan" last="Hoeppner"] are one of the best Linebacker duos in the state. Drew Campbell and Jaden King have been hard to handle up front. Caleb Raisty and Nolan North have done well securing the back end. Defensive Back Ray Schlosser and Defensive Tackle Jalyn Mingo have had big seasons and will look to shut it down for the Rams. Prep Redzone Iowa’s Pick: Dubuque Senior   Linn-Mar vs Prairie The #4 projected Prairie Hawks and #5 projected Linn-Mar Lions will meet Friday night in a highly touted regular season finale and, one thing is certain, someone will kick off round 1 next week with a lower seed. The advantages a top 4 seed provides are plentiful and there is a lot on the line. Prairie, 6-2, came up with signature wins against Pleasant Valley and Dubuque Senior. Their losses came to Southeast Polk and Cedar Falls by a combined 4 points and the narrowest of margins. Linn-Mar, 7-1, collected their biggest win of the year in week 3 against Pleasant Valley, also lost to Southeast Polk, and has pretty much crushed the rest of their schedule. It is a safe bet that both wll to try and swing first by establishing their run game. Prairie’s Makelle Taylor, 983 yards and 14 touchdowns, and Linn-Mar’s Carter Henderson, 1,027 yards and 14 touchdowns, have been two of the best in 5A. Offensive Lines on each side led by Prairie’s [player_tooltip player_id="190445" first="Cael" last="DeFlieger"] and Linn-Mar’s [player_tooltip player_id="100044" first="Luke" last="Gaffney"] have absolutely had their way with defenses. Both the Hawks and Lions favor the run, but have efficient and effective Quarterbacks to air it out when they need to. Brandon VIcko is coming off a big performance and has one of the most capable targets, [player_tooltip player_id="23945" first="Gabe" last="Burkle"], in Iowa to throw to. [player_tooltip player_id="98656" first="McKade" last="Jelinek"] and his favorite target, [player_tooltip player_id="148740" first="Cam" last="Guenther"], are a very formidable duo. The individual statistics tell a similar story; the Lions have had a little more success finishing drives and getting stops, but Prairie’s strength of schedule is notably harder. Linn-Mar has a star studded defense that features the aforementioned [player_tooltip player_id="148740" first="Cam" last="Guenther"] and [player_tooltip player_id="100044" first="Luke" last="Gaffney"], but also includes [player_tooltip player_id="23960" first="Clayton" last="Muszynski"], [player_tooltip player_id="148832" first="Mac" last="Watts"], Sage Holmes, and [player_tooltip player_id="132270" first="Keaton" last="Roskop"]. Together they have only allowed 11 points per game and have forced 27 turnovers. The Lions may have the upper hand here, but it will be hard for them to get it going against Maguire Jones and the Prairie defense. They are much better than many of the defenses the Lions have seen. Prep Redzone Iowa’s Pick: Linn-Mar   Winterset vs Lewis Central The 4A regular season wraps up with a gigantic matchup that features two of Iowa’s most legitimate contenders. If the season ended today Winterset, 7-1, would be the #5 seed and Lewis Central, 6-2, would be the #7 seed. Winterset dropped a contest to Van Meter early on and Lewis Central lost a couple of nail biters to Harlan and Indianola. All evidence suggests that both programs are in line to make some noise and the result of this matchup could be the source of a big playoff seeding shakeup. Things picked up for the Huskies when they took it to ADM in a bounce-back win; [player_tooltip player_id="24007" first="Dawson" last="Forgy"] went off and hasn’t slowed down or let up since. Winterset runs the ball 75% of the time and they really know how to play to their strengths. Forgy has rushed for 1,462 yards, averages 11.4 yards per carry, and has scored 21 touchdowns. Their Offensive Line, anchored by [player_tooltip player_id="152817" first="Beau" last="Knobloch"], has paved the way all year. They will face their toughest challenge to date by far when they line up against a Titan’s front seven that includes top players like [player_tooltip player_id="23948" first="Hunter" last="Deyo"], [player_tooltip player_id="100841" first="Wyatt" last="Hatcher"], [player_tooltip player_id="100842" first="Nick" last="Miller"], Payton Ludington, and Ethan LeMaster. If they are able to slow down Forgy and the Huskies have to shift their run-pass ratio they will be in good shape. Caden Kleemeier has been reliable when dropping back, but Winterset hasn’t exactly lit it up through the air. Tight End [player_tooltip player_id="100035" first="Nathan" last="Avery"] and Wide Receiver Levi Gurwell might be in line for some extra targets this week. The Titans, on the other hand, are very balanced in their offensive approach and can beat you in more than one way. [player_tooltip player_id="104113" first="Jonathan" last="Humpal"] and Eli Sunderman each average over 6 yards per carry and can shoulder the load. Junior [player_tooltip player_id="104088" first="Braylon" last="Kammrad"] is averaging 200 yards and a couple of scores through the air each week; he spreads it around pretty evenly to Wide Receiver Lucci Fiddone, Tight End [player_tooltip player_id="99196" first="Brayden" last="Loftin"], and every-down Back [player_tooltip player_id="104113" first="Jonathan" last="Humpal"]. Winterset Linebacker, one of Iowa’s best, [player_tooltip player_id="148842" first="Blake" last="Bellamy"] and the Husky defense will need some answers for the different ways the Titans attack. Prep Redzone Iowa’s Pick: Lewis Central   Bondurant-Farrar vs Norwalk Another week 9 matchup that features two teams at the top of the standings in their class are the 7-1 Bondurant-Farrar Bluejays and the 6-2 Norwalk Warriors. The Bluejays lost a close one to Indianola last week and struggled to get anything going on offense. The Indianola defense was the best they had seen to date and the Warriors have a defense of a similar caliber. Will the Bluejays be able to learn from last week and find the answers they need to hang some points on the board? Their defense is certainly capable of keeping it a close contest no matter what. The run-heavy Bondurant-Farrar offense has one of Iowa’s best ball carriers in Sophomore Running Back [player_tooltip player_id="156487" first="Titus" last="Cram"]. He just plays at a different speed and as soon as some space opens up, especially in the Bluejays 12 personnel sets, he is almost impossible to catch. Cram averages over 8 yards per carry and has already eclipsed the 1,000 yard mark. Offensive Linemen like Sophomores Dalton House and Hudson Vroegh have done a terrific job opening up lanes for Cram to run through. Quarterback [player_tooltip player_id="104085" first="Colby" last="Collison"] has capitalized on the success his offense has rushing the ball to open things up through the air. The Cameron Meislahn and [player_tooltip player_id="152902" first="John" last="Powers"] led Bluejay defense has limited everyone and also includes impressive young players like Noah Winger. Both teams are young and trending up. Norwalk would be a big win for the Bluejays and give them plenty of confidence heading into the playoffs; this will be no easy task. Quarterback [player_tooltip player_id="152538" first="Landon" last="Hochstein"] is one of the best 2023’s in the state and all three of his top targets are back next year too: [player_tooltip player_id="104724" first="Dillon" last="Ranck"], Braeden Carlson, and Keilor Rodman. As great as Norwalk has been through the air, they have really struggled to find success on the ground, and that could really help the Bluejays defense dial in. Warrior’s Defensive Lineman [player_tooltip player_id="105142" first="Maddux" last="Borcherding Johnson"], Defensive Back Justus Williams, and Linebacker [player_tooltip player_id="158171" first="Brayden" last="Pearson"] fortify each level of their unit. They play a physical brand of defense and could be what makes the difference in this game. Prep Redzone Iowa’s Pick: Norwalk   Humboldt vs Algona Humboldt, an undisputed top team right now in 3A is coming off a big win over Nevada, their slimmest margin of victory this season. It could be the perfect time for someone to steal a win. Algona has what it takes to be that team; it would provide quite the unexpected jumble to the 3A bracket. The 5-3 Bulldogs have the big game experience and weapons needed to pull off a stunner. Quarterback [player_tooltip player_id="23975" first="Tyler" last="Manske"] is quite the talent and has proven he can move the ball and score points against top competition; he has thrown for 1,598 yards and 19 touchdowns through 8 games. His top target Trevon Smith is one of the premier athletes in 3A and is a threat to take it to the house at any time. He has 882 total yards and has found paydirt 14 times already. Manske and Smith are an impressive one-two punch. If the Bulldogs can establish, or at least commit to the run and prevent Humboldt from keying on Manske and Smith in the passing game they should find success. [player_tooltip player_id="148458" first="Jaxon" last="Woodyard"], a standout two-way Lineman for the Bulldogs, and the rest of the line will need to create time for Manske and Smith to operate. Tanner McKimmey and [player_tooltip player_id="153180" first="Nolan" last="Lammers"] have been lights out for Humboldt all year and will look to eliminate any hopes Algona has of an upset early on. The Humboldt offense, on the other side of the coin, has been virtually unstoppable. Quarterback [player_tooltip player_id="148361" first="Caden" last="Matson"] has been one of the best, most dynamic playmakers in the entire state and has played excellent, mistake free football. Could the Bulldogs defense force him to slip up and manufacture some turnovers? Matson has thrown for 1,742 yards, rushed for 1,128 yards, and has 34 total touchdowns through eight games: video game numbers. He has been on another level and has plenty of weapons around him. Figuring out how to stop Matson when he gets to throw to Jacob Heier and Will Orness is unfair. Algona Freshman Alex Manske and the previously mentioned [player_tooltip player_id="148458" first="Jaxon" last="Woodyard"] will need to apply pressure and be opportunistic; it could happen. Forcing turnovers, limiting possessions, and special teams play will all play a big role if Algona can manage the upset. Prep Redzone Iowa’s Pick: Humboldt