Regina Challenged By Best in 2A at Home Meet

Regina's Molly Blondin runs at the Bob Brown Classic.

By Ryan Murken
Your Prep Sports

IOWA CITY – Moving up from Class 1A to Class 2A the Regina girls cross country team didn’t have to wait long to see how they stacked up against the best in 2A.

Regina got a first hand look at the top team in 2A on Thursday at the Bob Brown Classic.

Class 2A top-ranked Monticello had the top two individual finishers and had three runners finish in the top nine while cruising to the team title in a field that featured three ranked teams at Kickers Soccer Field.
Regina placed sixth at its home meet behind the Panthers and a pair of ranked Class 3A teams.

“We talked about this is just step one, step one of a lot of steps,” Regina coach Chad Swope said. “It’s a challenge moving up to 2A but they are ready for it. Now we know what we have to work on.”

Monticello finished with 53 points followed by Class 3A No. 11 Marion wuth 69 and 3A No. 14 Mount Vernon-Lisbon with 71.

Solon had three runners in the top 30 and finished fourth with 126 points while Regina finished sixth led by sophomore Molly Blondin who placed 23rd 22:11.16.

“We learned that we can stick with the tougher competition today,” Blondin said. “We saw we are a capable of a lot more than we think we are.”

Solon's Erin Kerkhoff and Sophie Nicol compete at the Bob Brown Classic on Thursday.

Blondin led a balanced Regina performance that saw the top five Regal finishers place between 23 and 41.

Natalie Shank (23:16.48) finished 35th, Nourah Abusada (23:23.76) was 37th while Molly Vittetoe and Elizabeth Klesner finished 40th and 41st.

“They raced really well,” Swope said. “We had amazing time drops, they just really competed.”

Solon got top-15 finishes from both Erin Kerkhoff and Sophie Nicol on its way to a fourth place team finish.

The Spartans placed 18th out of 20 teams at the Cedar Rapids Prairie Invitational on Saturday but showed progress in Thursday behind Kerkhoff and Nicol.

“That’s kind of why we decided to go to Prairie is it’s your first meet and that’s overwhelming anyway and they come here and they see they can do it and they feel much better about themselves,” Solon coach Emy Williams. “Also it’s a much better day, not as humid as it was on Saturday so that helped too.”

Kerkhoff finished in 21:31.04 to place 13th while here teammate Nicol was less than a second off her pace at 21:32.01.

“I think our times were much better than they were last weekend but we just raced today,” Williams said. “I feel like on Saturday we were just kind of out there figuring out a 5K but today I felt like kids were out there racing.”

Clear Creek Amana sophomore Kaylie Barker led the Clippers placing 11th in a time of 21:10.47.

Paige Holub of Monticello won the individual tile in 19:59.96 while teammate Jordyn Patterson was second in 20:16.43.

Girls Results
Team Scores – 1. Monticello 53; 2. Marion 69; 3. Mount Vernon-Lisbon 71; 4. Solon 126; 5. Anamosa 140; 6. Regina 176; 7. Tipton 184; 8. Wilton 188; 9. Durant 234; 10. Clear Creek Amana 240.

Individual results – 1. Paige Holub (MON) 19:59.96; 2. Jordyn Patterson (MON) 20:16.43; 3. Emma Duncan (ANA) 20:20.02; 4. Hallie Kelphart (MAR) 20:24.55; 5. Faith Anton (MV-L) 20:56.29; 6. Kaylee Ford (WIL) 20:58.6; 7. Corrina Dittmer (MAR) 21:00.33; 8. Ellie Berry (DUR) 21:05.02; 9. Keeley Anderson (MON) 21:05.67; 10. Maggie Davis (MV-L) 21:08.39.

Solon – 13. Erin Kerkhoff 21:31.04; 14. Sophie Nicol 21:32.01; 29. Ella Duster 22:25.43; 34. Aira Foster 23:13.38; 36. Nicole Shafer 23:17.03.

Regina – 23. Molly Blondin 22:11.16; 35. Natalie Shank 23:16.48; 37. Nourah Abusada 23:23.76; 40. Molly Vittetoe 23:25.31; 41. Elizabeth Klesner 23:28.16.

Clear Creek Amana – 11. Kaylie Barker 21:10.47; 53. Ally Loren 24:51.52; 54. Olivia Fairholm 24:59.74; 58. Emilie Harder 25:46.56; 64. Danielle Wnek 27:03.98.

Clear Creek Amana Boys Place Third at Bob Brown Classic

Clear Creek Amana's Luke Wingert and Nick O'Connor run at the Bob Brown Classic on Thursday.

By Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

IOWA CITY – Ben Robison is a lot more interested in places, times and final results in October than he is on the first day of September.

That didn’t stop the Clear Creek Amana coach from being excited about the performance his team turned in on Thursday.

Clear Creek Amana put a pair of runners in the top 25 and finished third at the Bob Brown Cross Country Classic at Kickers Soccer Field in Iowa City.

“We are just trying to keep things in the perspective right now that we are trying to be good in October,” Robison said. “We’ve trained through the last two meets and they aren’t going to feel good coming into this and that’s a hard mindset to get into but they have done a really good job.”

Wyatt Sedlacek placed 12th in 17:23.47 and freshman Nick O’Connor finished 21st in 17:52.7 as the Clippers finished third in the team race behind a pair of ranked WAMAC opponents.

Class 3A top-ranked Mount Vernon-Lisbon put  five runners in the top seven and cruised to the team title with 25 points.

Led by individual champion Jeremey Fopma (16:05.32) and runner-up Myles Bach (16:52.9) Marion finished second with 63.

Clear Creek Amana was third with 118 points while Regina was eighth with 208 points and Solon was ninth with 228 points.

“We had a great game plan coming into today and they executed it perfect,” Robison said. “I think tonight was a really good night for us.”

All five Clear Creek Amana runners finished in the top 31 as the Clippers finished 18 points in front of fourth place Calamus-Wheatland.

Regina junior Nate Green runs at the Bob Brown Classic.

Luke Wingert finished 26th and sophomore Cole Liebe was 28th for Clear Creek Amana.

Jack Wingert placed 31st to round out the Clipper scorers.

“We were supposed to pack together for the first mile and then go has hard as we could,” O’Connor said. “I was extremely happy with how it went.”

After opening the season with a 16th place finish at the 20-team Cedar Rapids Prairie Invitational on Saturday the Clippers showed sizeable growth Thursday.

O’Connor took more than minute off his time from Saturday in the second meet of his career.

“I was actually more nervous this meet than I was on Saturday,” O’Connor said. “I have no idea why but it worked out.”

Nate Green finished 13th in 17:24.03 to pace Regina at its home meet on Thursday.

Junior Nathan Meyer was 22nd in 17:55.08 as Regina finished behind 2A No. 12 Tipton and 2A No. 10 Monticello.

“I think we saw it as a chance to see where we are at,” Green said. “We knew we were going to have great competition here and we wanted to see what we could do against them.”

Solon was led by senior Adam Smith who placed 29th in a time of 18:20.88.

Sophomore Jorel Justus added a 35th place finish for the Spartans who finished ninth in the 12-team meet.

Boys Results 
Team Scores – 1. Mount Vernon-Lisbon 25; 2. Marion 63; 3. Clear Creek Amana 118; 4. Calamus-Wheatland 136; 5. Anamosa 157; 6. Tipton 164; 7. Monticello 173; 8. Regina 208; 9. Solon 228; 10. Durant 246; 11. Wilton 292; 12. Columbus 350.

Individual results – 1. Jeremy Fopma (MAR) 16:05.32; 2. Myles Bach (MAR) 16:52.9; 3. Thatcher Krob (MV-L) 16:53.78; 4. Chase McLaughlin (MV-L) 16:58.85; 5. Jack Young (MV-L) 17:09.62; 6. Liam Conroy (MV-L) 17:10.10; 7. Garrett Herring (MV-L) 17:10.34; 8. Aaron Loes (MON) 17:13.84; 9. Daniel Miller (ANA) 17:14.26; 10. Zach Krogmann (MV-L) 17:19.63.

Solon – 29. Adam Smith 18:20.88; 35. Jorel Justus 18:42.59; 42. Carly Richey 18:54.13; 57. Luke Yetley 19:34.41; 65. Kenji Fisher 19:52.98.

Regina – 13. Nate Green 17:24.03; 22. Nathan Meyer 17:55.08; 48. Oliver Emery 19:14.84 55. Zach Kratz 19:28.24; 70. Robert Beck 20:00.35.

Clear Creek Amana – 12. Wyatt Sedlacek 17:23.47; 21. Nick O’Connor 17:52.7; 26. Luke Wingert 18:07.54; 28. Cole Liebe 18:17.62; 31. Jack Wingert 18:27.13.

5 Keys: Solon vs. Regina Edition

Solon senior quarterback Blayze Griffis

By Ryan Murken
Your Prep Sports

There are no strangers in a rivalry. The familiarity is part of what makes a rivalry like the one between Solon and Regina so special.

Through changes to schedules and districts and shifts in classes the two schools separated by less than 15 miles have continued to meet annual in most sports from junior high to varsity.

“We’ve got a great rivalry with Solon, we’ve been playing these guys since youth sports,” Regina senior Trae Rogers said. “We know them and they know us.”

The knowledge of the opponent has played a factor in back-to-back one possession games in the series.

Another down to the wire finish is expected when Solon (1-0) travels to Class 1A top-ranked Regina (0-1) on Friday.

What turns the tide in Friday’s showdown?

Here are five factors that should determine who walks away with a win on Friday.

Rush to Finish

Not surprisingly, in a game between programs that pride themselves on physicality and running the football the team that best establishes the run has historically held the upper hand.

The team with more rushing yards has won each of the last five games in the series.

Regina held a 170 to 98 edge in rushing yards in last year’s 21-13 win and Solon outgained Regina 195 to 123 on the ground in a 29-28 win in 2014.

The Regals outrushed Solon by an average of 113 yards per game in three consecutive wins of 24 points or more from 2011 to 2013.

“Regina is always a fun team to play and compete against because you know every game is going to be a dog fight,” Solon junior lineman Tyler Linderbaum said. “They play hard and they play physical so you have to be ready.”

Hanging on

It’s hardly a revelation to point to turnovers as a determining factor in a close game.

However, after last year’s season opener that featured a combined 11 turnovers you can bet both sides have placed an added emphasis of securing the ball this week.

Solon turned it over seven times in last year’s one-possession loss to Regina, losing four fumbles and tossing three interceptions.

The Spartans didn’t commit a turnover in a week one win against Mount Vernon while Regina committed three turnovers in a season-opening loss to Cedar Rapids Xavier.

“We can’t make mistakes against a team like Regina,” Solon coach Kevin Miller said. “You just can’t turn the football over you have to minimize your mistakes and you can’t give up big plays.

Bouncing Back

Regina finds itself in a unique situation on Friday - coming off of a loss.

The Regals lost for just the third time in seven seasons and 85 games last week, falling to Class 3A top-ranked Xavier 35-26.

Regina doesn’t have much experience following up a loss but has bounced back well needed.

Regina senior Trae Rogers

The Regals responded with a 31-14 win over Pella Christian following their only loss last year and downed Cascade 38-14 in week two in 2014 after dropping their season opener to Solon.

Regina hasn’t lost more than one game in a season since going 10-2 in 2009.

“The intensity has definitely picked up,” Rogers said. “We are more tuned in now and coaches are really on us about doing our jobs and sticking to what we have to do.”

Balancing it out

First and foremost, both teams want to run the ball and showed the ability to do that in week one.

Solon rushed for 132 yards against Mount Vernon thanks to a 111-yard performance from junior Kendrick Harris and Regina ran for 157 against a stout Xavier defensive front.

The team that can mix the run and the pass effectively will have an advantage on Friday.

Regina senior Tommy Rapp threw for 212 yards and a pair of touchdowns in his first career start in week one while Solon senior quarterback Blayze Griffis completed 14-of-23 passes for 170 yards and two scores against Mount Vernon.

“They are doing a lot of run-pass option stuff which really stresses your linebackers so we are going to have to be really sound in what we are doing and try to make to make them one-dimensional and stop the run and force them to throw,” Regina coach Marv Cook said. “Their quarterback is efficient; he can really move the ball around when he is in rhythm so it’s going to be a great challenge for us.”

Big Game, Big Plays

The stat that pops off the page from Regina’s loss to Xavier is the rushing totals.

Xavier tallied 386 yards on the ground with 291 coming from tailback Maliki Wilson.

Wilson gained better than half of those yards on three carries, touchdown runs of 68, 62 and 32 yards.

Regina isn’t panicking about the big plays.

“We just all need to work on doing our jobs,” Regina senior Mason Simpson said. “The things that they got big plays on were just our mental mistakes so we just need to do our jobs and we’ll be fine.”

Both offenses are more than capable of coming up with big plays.

Solon scored on a 40-yard pass and an 84-yard kick off return in week one and Regina had three scoring plays of longer than 47 yards against Xavier.

In last year’s meeting with Solon, 82 of Regina’s 300 yards of offense came on touchdown plays of 34 and 48 yards.

“When you play quality football teams the margin for error is minimal,” Miller said. “We have to prevent big plays and not turn the football over and just play stout defense and at the end of the day when opportunities present themselves to make plays we have to cash in.”

Solon, Regina Rivalry Among the Best in Iowa

Regina senior Mason Simpson

By Ryan Murken
Your Prep Sports

When the curtain raised on the prep football season last week Solon and Regina both found themselves on center stage

The season’s opening act brought matchups against rivals ranked in the top-three of their respective classes for both programs.

Week two brings the encore that everyone has been waiting for.

Class 1A top-ranked Regina (0-1) hosts Solon (1-0) at 7:30 p.m. Friday in the annual meeting of two powerhouse programs that has become one of the best rivalries in Iowa.

“This is a game that we look forward to every year, it’s a game you want to play in growing up,” Solon senior Trevor Nelson said. “It’s just two great programs playing each other.”

Few rivalries have been more competitive over the past decade.

Even fewer have featured two more successful programs than the showdown between Johnson County neighbors.

The two perennial powers have combined for a 228-27 record and 10 state titles over the past 10 seasons.

“There are those similarities in our programs and that’s part of why we always love playing Solon,” Regina senior Mason Simpson said. “They are a great program and that is what makes it a great rivalry between us.”

The series has been nearly even over the past decade.

The teams have split the last two meets with Solon winning 29-28 in 2014 and Regina earning a 21-13 victory in last year’s season opener.

Regina has won five of the last nine meetings dating back to 2008 including three straight home games in the series.

Solon senior Trevor Nelson

“To me it’s been one of the greatest rivalries across the state,” Regina coach Marv Cook said. “For the last 10 years it has really been competitive, it’s probably about 50-50 on who has won.”

Included in the last eight meetings are historic, streak-snapping wins for both sides.

Regina ended Solon’s 42-game winning streak with a 21-15 win at Solon in 2010.

The Spartans returned the favor four years later snapping Regina’s state-best 56-game run with a 29-28 overtime win in the 2014 season opener.

Over the last eight years the winner of the regular season meeting between the two teams has gone on to win a state title seven times.

Regina enters this season riding a six-year state title streak while Solon won four straight state titles from 2007 to 2010.

In 2010 both teams won titles as Solon won in 3A and Regina won in 2A.

“I know when we were playing them in 2007 and 2008 they were just incredible and the pace and pad level and physicality with which they played was amazing and so it forced us to pick up our game and our practice habits,” Cook said. “They helped us become the team we are in my opinion.”

The success between the two program has been similar and has come from similar styles.

“They are going to be physical, they are going to be tough, they are going to be well coached, they are going to be fundamentally sound,” Solon coach Kevin Miller said. “That’s what good football teams do.”

Oliver Martin Talks Recruiting

West High senior Oliver Martin

By Ryan Murken
Your Prep Sports
IOWA CITY – Sometime between now and the national signing day in February Oliver Martin plans to make a decision about his future.

Right now, the Iowa City West High senior receiver is more concerned with making plays on the football field than making a choice on a college.

After exploding onto the national recruiting scene this summer, Martin opened the season with an eight-catch, 156-yard performance in a 42-17 win over Southeast Polk.

On Tuesday Martin said he had no timetable to end what has turned into a whirlwind recruiting process for the 6-1, 195-pounder.

“I don’t have a definite date that I want to get it done by,” Martin said. “I just want to get to know the colleges more. The big thing is just talking to my mom and dad about it and try to make a decision about.”

Martin became one of the country’s most coveted wide receiver recruits during the summer.

He shined at the Opening regional in Chicago and later at the Opening Finals in Oregon.

Martin picked up offers from Iowa, Michigan, Michigan State, Notre Dame, BYU and Oregon among others following his strong summer that saw him climb into the top national top 100 by 247Sports.

The recruiting service ranks Martin as the 67th best player in the nation.

He backed up those rankings with his week one performance that also included a 17-yard touchdown pass and an interception.

“It was a long spring and summer leading into it, it felt like the summer went by kind of slow with so many workouts and stuff,” Martin said. “So it was definitely a good feeling to get back on the field again.”

Martin is still working through his future plans.

He said he plans to start taking visits soon and knows a few colleges he wants to take in games at but hasn’t finalized his visit list.

“I know there are some colleges that I want to go to on unofficial visits for sure,” Martin said. “I’m working on setting up my official visits. I’m just talking to my parents about it now.”

According to Martin the hometown Hawkeyes will factor into his decision.

“They are definitely in the mix,” Martin said of Iowa. “I’ve got it kind of narrowed down and Iowa is definitely in it. I know that Iowa is a great option and living here my whole life I know it’s a great tradition here.”

West High Faces Top-10 Road Test at Muscatine

By Ryan Murken
Your Prep Sports

IOWA CITY – Fresh off a six-win season and with eight starters back on each side of the ball many people viewed Muscatine as a possible sleeper in Class 4A this season.

It took all of one game for the Muskies to blow their cover as a potential underdog.

A 29-25 come from behind win over defending 4A runner-up Cedar Rapids Kennedy last Thursday bumped Muscatine into the 4A rankings and got the full attention of coaches around the state.

West High coach Garrett Hartwig, who takes his ninth-ranked Trojans to Community Field on Friday for a top-10 showdown with No. 10 Muscatine (1-0) is among the coaches that took notice.

“They are a very good team,” Hartwig said. “They have the potential to run us out of the stadium if we aren’t careful.”

Hartwig knows Muscatine well.

The third-year West High head coach spent a season teaching in the district and coaching junior high and helping on the varsity staff.

Hartwig didn’t need a season on the Muscatine coaching staff to know who the Muskies’ game plan will revolve around on Friday night.

Senior tailback Alphonso Soko (5-10, 185) showed why he is considered among the top playmakers in the state last week, accounting for 236 yards of offense and returning a punt 83 yards for a touchdown.

“I think he is the best player in the state aside from my own guys,” Hartwig said. “That’s my personal opinion there might be coaches in the state that take him over everybody. He’s fantastic.”

Soko rushed for 191 yards and a touchdown on 26 carries in the win over Kennedy and also caught two passes for 45 yards and a score.

Last season the University of South Dakota recruit ran for 1,161 yards and a school-record 18 touchdowns.

“We just want to contain him,” West High senior safety Devontae Lane said of Soko. “We can’t go into that game just focusing on one player because it’s not a one-man show, it’s 11 men on the field at once. He’s a really good athlete so we just have to play team defense. It’s going to be intense and a challenge for our defense.”

Friday will be a challenge in every way for West High (1-0) as Muskies have proven to be more than just the Soko show.

Senior quarterback Luke Wichers passed for 1,783 yards and 17 touchdowns a year ago with Drew Greenhaw catching 30 passes for 514 yards.

“Soko is going to get his touches, he is going to get his yards you can do some things to try to limit that from happening but what is scary is that his teammates know how to operate with him being the main man,” Hartwig said. “They complement him incredibly well. Their quarterback is good, they have another all-state receiver, their offensive line is gritty.”

West High flashed its own offensive muscle in week one rolling up 541 yards of total offense in a 42-17 win over Southeast Polk.

Junior Evan Flitz threw for 244 yards and three touchdowns in his first career start last week.

Senior receiver Oliver Martin caught eight passes for 156 yards a week ago and needs 53 yards on Friday to surpass Dondre Alexander for the most career receiving yards in West High history.

“I have a lot of confidence in Evan, I like him a lot as a quarterback,” Martin said. “I’ve always been confident in him. I’ve worked with him since my sophomore summer at quarterback, he did some 7-on-7 and he always threw a good ball and he’s been doing well in practice so I had all the confidence in him.”

City High, Pleasant Valley Meet in Top-10 Showdown

Scooter Hickman and Brock Hunger celebrate against Linn-Mar/Tork Mason for Your Prep Sports.

By Ryan Murken
Your Prep Sports

IOWA CITY – Playing middle linebacker is all about instinct. The best at the position use their instincts to navigate their way to the football.

When it comes to slowing Pleasant Valley and its patented triple option offense the key for City High middle linebacker Brock Hunger is fighting those instincts.

“It’s all about playing your assignment and not the ball and fighting that instinct to chase the ball,” Hunger said. “It’s really hard just taking your guy even if you see the ball going the other way but you have to stay on your man because they will run a lot at you.”

Hunger knows exactly the type of challenge that awaits seventh-ranked City High (1-0) in Friday’s 7:30 p.m. matchup with No. 6 Pleasant Valley (1-0) at Spartan Stadium in Bettendorf.

The 6-foot-1, 195-pound senior linebacker got a close-up look at the Spartans’ triple option attack in City High’s 13-7 playoff win last season.

Hunger knows what it will take to stage a repeat defensive performance on Friday.

“It’s just assignment football,” Hunger explained. “You can’t worry about where the ball is you just have to take your man and do your assignment.”

Knowing what it takes to stop the Pleasant Valley rushing attack and actually slowing the Spartans are two different things.

City High senior linebacker Brock Hunger

Senior quarterback Terry Saul, junior fullback Arthur Braden and senior running back CJ Carter are three of the biggest reasons why stopping the Pleasant Valley triple option proves so difficult.

The trio combined for nearly 2,500 rushing yards and scored 25 touchdowns a year ago.

Saul (5-10, 185) ran for 117 yards and Braden (5-10, 190) had 162 yards in a 31-7 win over Cedar Rapids Jefferson in week one.

“Their quarterback is very good at running that offense and finding the crease and that is the thing that concerns me,” City High coach Dan Sabers said. “The outside pitch doesn’t concern me as much but the quarterback and the fullback are the two guys that I think really make it go for them when it’s going.”

Slowing Pleasant Valley is no easy task but City High showed in the second round of the 4A playoffs last season it had the formula.

City High held Saul to a career-low -13 yards rushing while limiting the Spartans to 137 yards on the ground.

Only state runner-up Bettendorf did a better job limiting Pleasant Valley’s run game last season, allowing just 105 yards in a week three win.

City High held Braden, Saul and Carter to a combined 68 yards in the playoff win last year.

“I think even though it was a while back I think that helps us,” Sabers said of last year’s success against the Spartans. “Of course as coaches it helps us too because we prepared for it them and every team has what they do very well and things they don’t do so well.”

A big part of slowing the Spartans is playing assignments rather than the football.

In an attempt to emphasis assignment football this week the City High defense practiced without a ball for much of the week.

The only objective during those drills was doing your job.

“We haven’t had a ball for three days we’ve just been working on assignments,” Hunger said. “You can’t worry about where the ball goes.”

City High enters Friday as confident as it is well schooled on defense.

The Little Hawks are coming off a week-one performance in which they limited Linn-Mar to a pair of field goals, 225 yards of offense and forced three turnovers.

“I think this is a pretty confident group,” Sabers said of his defense. “ I think they can be pretty special before it’s all done.”

The City High front seven will be key if City High is to slow the Spartans for a second straight time.

Defensive linemen Charles Johnson, Jordain Buckland, Joey Schnoebelen and Scooter Hickman along with linebackers Hunger and Dillon Africa will be at the heart of a City High defensive plan.

“That defensive line showed up pretty well last week,” Sabers said. “Our linebackers are a little inexperienced but we have two great kids back there in Brock Hunger and Dillon Africa. Those guys are going to be big this week.”