What To Watch For | 3A-5A Semifinals | PRZ Iowa

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 details heading into the games that you need to keep an eye on. Interesting story lines fill these Semifinals contests. Here are ten headlines you need to pay attention to. Thursday 1) The Age Old Debate: Waverly’s Triple vs. Lewis Central’s Spread It is always interesting to have a clash of two such different styles of offense meet this late in the season. For Waverly Shell-Rock and Lewis Central it is going to come down to what has stood the test of time against what the game has evolved to; both offenses have had plenty of success. Waverly has rushed for 652 yards through the first two rounds of their postseason against formidable defenses in Cedar Rapids Washington and Bondurant-Farrar. [player_tooltip player_id="152755" first="McCrae" last="Hagarty"] and [player_tooltip player_id="152913" first="Asa" last="Newsom"] have each taken turns posting big games. Lewis Central also has plenty of firepower with [player_tooltip player_id="104088" first="Braylon" last="Kammrad"] at the helm surrounded by the likes of [player_tooltip player_id="104113" first="Jonathan" last="Humpal"], [player_tooltip player_id="99196" first="Brayden" last="Loftin"], and Luci Fidone. Such matchups tend to favor the triple; the Go-Hawks defense has seen plenty of spread. Expect a close one. 2) Strength vs. Strength: Winterset and Xavier’s Battle for the Line of Scrimmage Winterset has one of the best ball carriers, [player_tooltip player_id="24007" first="Dawson" last="Forgy"], and Offensive Lines, led by [player_tooltip player_id="152817" first="Beau" last="Knobloch"], in Iowa. Xavier has one of the best Defenses in Iowa, specifically their front seven, that includes Thomas Sundell, [player_tooltip player_id="118823" first="Grant" last="Reasner"], Andrew Kram, and Christian Stanek. This promises to be an incredibly physical, smash mouth contest. Winterset has plenty of two and three back packages that get linemen downhill with plenty of lead blockers. Xavier’s Under front has already stuffed some of the best rushing attacks in the state such as Webster City, Burlington, and Clear Creek-Amana. Look for the Huskies to find creative ways within their scheme to attack the aggressive style of defense the Saints play. This is a semifinal matchup that could legitimately come down to inches. 3) Perennial Powerhouse vs. A Program on the Rise Xavier has as many State Championships as Winterset has playoff appearances in the last five years. They went back to back in 2017 and 2018 and those titles were bookended by several deep playoff runs. Winterset returned to the playoffs last year for the first time since 2014 and are now, in 2021, finding themselves in new territory. Xavier knows what it is all about to take a trip to the dome and that big game experience could be very valuable. Heavy, though, is the head that wears the crown and the hungry Huskies could take advantage in a matchup where Xavier may be favored by reputation alone. With high expectations comes plenty of pressure. The factors outside of the X’s and O’s aren’t always considered by those outside of the programs, but this is one where environment could play a key role. Friday 4) A Quarterback Duel: Kohl vs Morrow Last time these two teams met Quarterbacks [player_tooltip player_id="104081" first="JJ" last="Kohl"] and [player_tooltip player_id="148360" first="Mason" last="Morrow"] had big days. Kohl was 18/30 for 331 yards and 4 touchdowns. Morrow passed for 247 yards and 4 touchdowns completing 15 of his 28 attempts. Both teams had it going, through the air and on the ground, and it was as back and forth of a contest as you could imagine. Kohl and the Hawks hit on a lot of downfield routes from the pocket out of Doubles. Morrow, with a little more mobility and elusiveness in the backfield, and the Tigers were able to take short to intermediate routes for big gains and extend plays. One would have to imagine there will be some new wrinkles to each team’s game plan and how they will try to attack each other through the air based on what worked when they squared off the first time and how they’ve evolved on film since. 5) Rematch: Can the Ankeny Pass Rush Stay Hot? When Valley and Ankeny duked it out back in week 6 the Hawks didn’t record a single Sack. There were a number of occasions where they established some pressure and forced Valley to scramble or get rid of the ball, but coverage and the rush weren’t exactly complimentary or in sync. This resulted in 38 points, the most allowed on the season; Ankeny hasn’t let anyone else put up more than 14 all year. Last week the Hawks recorded 9 Sacks against Prairie. The week before they got 3 against Waukee Northwest on just 23 dropbacks. The week before that against Lincoln they had 13 opportunities to get to the Quarterback and got home twice. The trend is clear. Ankeny has dialed up the pressure and they are very good at it. They have gotten extra time to get there lately with help from the back end, too. 6) Different Paths: City High’s Big Turnaround and Southeast Polk’s Big Expectations Southeast Polk, last year’s state runner up, returned a ton of talent in 2021 and many pegged them as a preseason favorite to take the first 5A title. Their only loss this year came to Ankeny in week 4; they must be as motivated as possible to win and hope Ankeny gets it done on the other side of the bracket. They have as much talent as anyone and lots of big game experience. On the other side of the coin is Iowa City High who had only managed to win two games each of their last four seasons; there can’t be very many people out there who predicted this kind of turnaround. They are a throwback kind of football team that plays outstanding defense and pounds the ball behind one of Iowa’s best Offensive Lines. Will the Rams meet expectations or will the Little Hawks continue this unforeseeable ride? 7) City High’s Platooning Quarterbacks vs Veteran Dailey [player_tooltip player_id="23947" first="Jaxon" last="Dailey"] has thrown for 1,661 yards and 19 touchdowns on 114/191 passing so far this year. City High’s Drew Larson and Quinton Tran have combined to complete 137/200 passes for 2,106 yards and 25 touchdowns. Southeast Polk isn’t afraid to air it out; they take plenty of shots. City High attempts more short to intermediate, high percentage throws and screens. Both approaches have been effective throughout the 2021 season. It looked like Larson was in line to take the job, but Tran wound up being the hot hand in the Quarterfinals. Platooning is the approach at this point. It has gotten them this far, so there is no reason to fix what isn’t broken, but what happens if the Rams neutralize the Little Hawks’ Offensive Line and bottle up Darren Richardson? Having the veteran field general could be the difference. Saturday 8) Harlan and Humboldt Air Strike; Weapons Galore [player_tooltip player_id="104082" first="Teagon" last="Kasperbauer"] and [player_tooltip player_id="148361" first="Caden" last="Matson"], on top of being exceptionally skilled individuals, have all the weapons a Quarterback could ever ask for. It isn’t possible to complete all of the passes they have for all the yards and touchdowns they have thrown without capable blockers, skilled receivers, and the balance of a run game. They’ve both put up video game stats with the help of their teammates. [player_tooltip player_id="99142" first="Connor" last="Frame"], [player_tooltip player_id="104715" first="Aidan" last="Hall"], [player_tooltip player_id="148723" first="Joey" last="Moser"], and Jacob Birch have all produced and give Kasperbauer excellent options to go to each down. He also has a stable of ball carriers that keep the pressure off. Will Orness and Jacob Heier have made some acrobatic catches this year and demand so much attention, which makes it possible for Matson to run as often as he does behind the excellent blocking of Linemen like [player_tooltip player_id="24018" first="Ben" last="Kuehnast"]. 9) A Team Approach: Solon and BHRV Share the Wealth There are several players from each team, on each side of the ball, who could step up and be the difference maker when Solon and Boyden-Hull/Rock Valley meet. Each program has their household names. [player_tooltip player_id="148854" first="Landyn" last="Van Kekerix"] and Tanner Te Slaa have been dominant playmakers for the Nighthawks and [player_tooltip player_id="104084" first="Blake" last="Timmons"] has been one of the better dual-threat Quarterbacks for the Spartans in 3A football, but the depth each team boasts on top of that is impressive. Solon has ten players who have caught a touchdown pass on an offense that features 1,000 yard rusher [player_tooltip player_id="135285" first="Sean" last="Stahle"]. The Nighthawks have four players who have taken at least 50 carries and four that have caught at least 15 passes. The Spartan defense has 11 players with more than 20 tackles; the Nighthawks have 8. There will be ability all over the field. 10) 2020 Semifinals Rematch Collision Course Both Harlan and Boyden-Hull/Rock Valley have been on a tear this year. They met in last year’s 3A Semifinals; Harlan won 44-7. It was a tight contest through the first half until the Cyclones blew the game open to reach the state championship and finish the season as the runner up. It feels like there is a little fate involved here and they’ve been on a collision course ever since. Both teams are 11-0, have achieved an average margin of victory of at least 35 points, and have simply run over some of the top contenders out there. The Cyclones knocked off Lewis Central, Nevada, and ADM. The Nighthawks took down Central Lyon/George-Little Rock, Algona, and Sioux Center. They’ve each defeated Sergeant Bluff-Luton (BHRV twice). Destiny awaits both programs if they can get by their worthy Semifinals opponents.