What To Watch For | 3A-5A Quarterfinals

Different styles of play, previous meetings, individual strengths, past struggles, and so much more all factor into the big picture of a game and its outcome. Take a look at some of the matchups within the games that you need to keep an eye on. Interesting story lines fill these Quarterfinals contests. Here are ten headlines you need to watch for. 1) Jaxon Smolik Jaxon Smolik 6'2" | 205 lbs | QB Dowling Catholic | 2023 State IA vs Southeast Polk’s Secondary The hype that surrounded Dowling Catholic and Southeast Polk’s week 1 matchup is building back up to the same heights. Smolik went down early in that contest with a collarbone injury, though, leaving the state of Iowa wondering just how good the Maroons could be. Despite that, they only lost by a score on a hail mary pass as time expired. Smolik is back and looks every bit as talented as advertised. Since returning to the lineup Smolik is 55/77 for 664 yards and 6 touchdowns. Several players including , , and have seen an upswing in production in Smolik’s three games. Will , Jace Aguiniga, and Joel Hackbarth be able to slow down the resurgence of Dowling’s passing attack? This could prove to be the difference in the game. 2) Pleasant Valley’s Option Attack vs Valley’s Front 7 There likely isn’t another Offensive Line in Iowa that can block for the run the way , , Ryan Saddler Jr., and company do. In the past month they have paved the way for their backfield to rush for 308 yards against City High, 362 yards against Dubuque Senior, and 459 yards against Cedar Falls. They are getting the job done in dominant fashion. The Spartans’ backfield features an abundance of talent. , , Tyge Lyon, , and are highly capable ball carriers who have benefited greatly from such outstanding blocking. Valley’s front, led by Linebackers and Caden Hutch, has been strong against the run all year. They have yet to face a team with the personnel and scheme of the Spartans, though. 3) Lewis Central’s Second Chances There is always a big hurdle along a team’s quest to achieve their ultimate goal; the Titans are certainly talented and experienced enough to reach it. For Lewis Central it is prevailing against an opponent they had previously lost to. Last year it was Harlan; this time around they can make it happen against Indianola. The Titans’ defense performed well in their first meeting, but really struggled to get anything going on offense. had an off night completing only 18 of 37 passes. was out of sorts, too, averaging just 3 yards per carry. Expect them to return to their baseline and show out in this one. Hitting the high-percentage passes to open up the ground game and sustain drives will be key to get past their rematch stumbling block against a talented Indianola defense. 4) Caden Matson Caden Matson 6'0" | 185 lbs | QB Humboldt | 2022 State IA vs Marcus Beatty Marcus Beatty 5'10" | 200 lbs | RB Independence | 2022 State IA : A Clash of Style Humboldt loves to spread it out, air it out, and let Matson make plays when routes don’t develop. Independence prefers to load it up with 11 personnel sets, let blocking take over, and let Beatty get downhill. Their recipes are very different, but both have been formidable. These programs have styles and identities that are very apparent; they have developed, built, and established themselves through 10 weeks and it would be a big surprise to see them do anything different. Independence has comparable defensive personnel to Nevada, who held the Wildcats to a season low 19 points. Independence can learn a lot from that film. The Mustangs only struggled to establish the run once this year against West Delaware. Like West Delaware, Humboldt has excellent Linebackers. The matchup is intriguing. 5) Warriors vs Nighthawks: Rematch, Quarterback Duel, Slugfest Sergeant Bluff-Luton and Boyden-Hull/Rock Valley met recently in week 7 and it was never really close. The Nighthawks led 28-3 at halftime and the Warriors struggled to turn the tides and ever put themselves within reach. This marked the only occasion in the regular season that Warriors Quarterback struggled to be efficient and post big numbers. The Nighthawks have themselves one heck of a Quarterback, too, in Division 1 Basketball commit Tanner Te Slaa. This game is also headlined by star Linebackers and Running Backs and . The Warriors will look for answers and adjustments; the Nighthawks will look to repeat. It is exceedingly difficult to beat anyone twice in a season; expect this to be tight for four quarters regardless of the outcome. 6) Ankeny’s Pressure vs Prairie’s Balanced Attack As a team Ankeny has recorded 24 sacks and 105 TFL; their scheme is aggressive and they know how to execute. , Nick Eaton, Sean Gavin, , and are explosive athletes who know how to frustrate an offense with impeccable technique. The versatility of their blitzing, games, and alignments have caused big matchup problems for most of their opponents. Excellent coverage buys them extra time and keeps them in attack mode every down. Prairie will need to get Makelle Taylor going early. When he is having a day on the ground, Quarterback Brandn VIcko is able to get it going through the air. Prairie has been in tight, competitive games with Pleasant Valley and Southeast Polk. Finding solutions to Ankeny’s pressure will keep a win in sight. 7) City High’s Quarterback Carousel The Little Hawks have rolled with the hot hand at Quarterback all year and, for the most part, it has worked just fine. They have plenty of talent at the other skill positions and a very stout Offensive Line. They have a stable of backs including Darren Richardson and a number of Wide Receivers who have all contributed at key moments. At what point, though, do you worry about the lack of game reps and experience? Drew Larson appears to be the guy lately, but Quinton Tran has seen almost as much work. A sign of a great team is executing regardless of who is on the field, but Kennedy, much like Pleasant Valley did last month, could prove to be too much for these young gunslingers. The Cougars are loaded at each level of the defense; Ryker Stelling, Jeron Senters, and Andrew Meyers solidify the unit. 8) The Bluejays are Back Bondurant-Farrar has a chance on Friday to record a double digit win season for the second time in a decade. Standing in the way are the Go-Hawks of Waverly-Shell Rock. The Bluejays have yet to face a team that plays the way Waverly does; their closed formation, triple-option attack features dangerous ball carriers in and and a Quarterback in Grant Halverson who can sling it. The Bluejays, who have a tough defense that only gives up 12 points a game, will have to settle in quickly and be more disciplined than ever. They may also have to lean heavily on Quarterback to generate extra offense. became one of the best Running Backs in Iowa this season, but Waverly has kept teams like Waukon, West Delaware, and Webster City under 100 total rushing yards. 9) Not a trap game for Winterset; Decorah is for real The Huskies likely took one look at the playoff bracket and figured they would be squaring off with North Scott in the quarterfinals. There’s a chance they breathed a sigh of relief when Decorah pulled off an upset that few saw coming and thought their chances of getting to the Dome became a lot higher. Decorah, though, is not a lesser team and this is not a trap game. When the Vikings and Huskies square off it will be a contest between two teams who deserve to be where they are. Winterset will no doubt be looking to give a heavy dose of carries behind an Offensive Line anchored by big . and the Vikings defense have a tall order ahead of them, but so does and the Huskies defense who will be tasked with slowing down Quarterback . 10) The Harlan Air Raid vs Nevada’s Secondary Nevada has had success against a couple of the better passing offenses like Humboldt and Algona, but nobody is on Harlan’s level when it comes to throwing the football. has thrown for 2,498 yards, which is good for 3rd in the entire state, and would likely be in 1st if they hadn’t throttled it down in so many blowout victories. Sergeant Bluff-Luton kept it close for a half and Lewis Central is the only team to have pushed them for four quarters. Nevada will have to find ways to defend the likes of , , , and Jacob Birch better than anyone else has to this point. Cubs’ Defensive Back Seth Brown has picked off 6 passes this year and Defensive End Connor Schnettgoecke has gotten a ton of pressure on Quarterbacks. They will have to be at their best.