Ryan Murken
Your Prep Sports
The prep football season is two thirds of the way over.
Week six featured wins for six of seven Your Prep Sports area teams with Regina, West Branch, Solon and Liberty High all earning district wins.
City High and West High each posted big wins on Friday a week after battling for the Boot.
What stood out and who impressed on Friday night?
We get to it here.
What Stood Out?
Bounce Back for West High
Following a 49-0 loss to rival City High last week and with a gauntlet of 4A powers waiting down the stretch West High need a quick bounce back on Friday.
The Trojans got just that in their second trip this month to Brady Street Stadium in Davenport.
Jack Wallace passed for 215 yards and threw two touchdowns to Christian Janis and Santana Miller and Davontae Morris each rushed for a pair of touchdowns as West High rolled to a 62-7 win over Davenport Central.
This was a game West High had to have.
The Trojans have two more trips to the Quad Cities to face Bettendorf (1-5) and top-ranked Pleasant Valley (6-0) sandwiched around a home game against seventh-ranked Cedar Rapids Prairie (5-1) to close the regular season.
With those games looming West High needed to get back on track quickly and did so on Friday night.
Shutout Streaks
City High and Solon both have offenses capable of putting up points.
The past two weeks both teams have showed they can dominant games with defense.
City High (4-2) posted its second consecutive shutout and third in three games with a 55-0 win over Davenport North on Friday.
Solon (4-2) recorded its second straight shutout and third of the season with a 44-0 blanking of Washington on Friday.
Both teams are headed for the postseason in a few weeks and both possess defenses capable of coming up big.
That always means something but it means more in the playoffs.
West Branch Makes Another Statement
West Branch raised some eyebrows with a 35-13 win over previously unbeaten Mediapolis last week.
People noticed as the Bears moved into the top spot in this weeks Class 1A Associated Press poll.
Anyone that hasn’t taken notice of what the Bears have done this season may have on Friday night.
West Branch bolted to a 27-0 halftime lead and dominated third-ranked and previously unbeaten Durant in a 49-13 win over the Wildcats in Durant.
The Bears finished with a 464-170 edge in total yards and averaged 7.4 yards per play while improving to 6-0 on the season and 3-0 in Class 1A, District 5 play.
West Branch has scored at least 34 points in every game and outscored opponents 324 to 59 this season.
Liberty High Offense
The only thing to appear on the Rapid Reaction ‘What Stood Out’ list more this season than the Liberty High offense is West High senior receiver Christian Janis.
On the road in Mount Pleasant in a possible let down spot following a massive 20-16 win over North Scott last week the Lightning bolted to a 33-0 lead after one quarter, led 47-0 at halftime and cruised to a 68-6 win over the Panthers.
Graham Beckman continued his impressive season tossing six first-half touchdown passes in the win.
Beckman has 18 touchdown passes and just two interceptions with three regular season games remaining.
Who Stepped up?
Andy Henson
Henson has a career filled with impressive performances including a six-touchdown effort two weeks ago.
The West Branch senior linebacker/running back may not have ever been better than he was on Friday.
Henson rushed for 219 yards and four touchdowns and had 8.5 tackles with three for loss and a sack in a 49-13 win at Durant.
What’s Next
Three Games to Watch Next Week
Regina (4-2) at West Branch (6-0) – The series between the two long-time rivals and Class 1A powers resumes next Friday at the Little Rose Bowl with series district title and playoff implications on the line.
Fort Madison (6-0) at Liberty High (5-1) – Liberty High has a chance to put a strangle hold on the 4A, District 3 race when it hosts surprise unbeaten Fort Madison.
Pleasant Valley (6-0) at City High (4-2) – The Little Hawks will look to avenge its lone regular season loss from a year ago when it welcomes top-ranked Pleasant Valley to Frank Bates Field.
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