Iowa City-area football: Week 2 capsules and predictions
Iowa City Press-Citizen sports reporters Matthew Bain and Dargan Southard offer their predictions for how area prep football teams will fare in Week 2. And, of course, we're keeping score.
Through one week ...
Matt: 4-4
Dargan: 5-3
Class 4A
No. 2 Iowa City West (1-0) vs. Muscatine (0-1)
Muscatine lost 50-6 last week to Cedar Rapids Kennedy. Gone are Alphonso Soko and Luke Wichers, who made the Muskies’ 2016 offense scary. Meanwhile, No. 2 Iowa City West stormed back to beat then-No. 6 Southeast Polk 37-27. Evan Flitz leads Class 4A with 363 passing yards and Traevis Buchanan leads 4A with 137 receiving yards.
Matt’s prediction: West 49, Muscatine 14
Dargan’s prediction: West 42, Muscatine 13
City High (1-0) vs. No. 10 Pleasant Valley (1-0)
The Little Hawks picked up a nice win over the Linn-Mar to start the season, but Pleasant Valley appears to be a solid step up in competition. The Spartans throttled Cedar Rapids Jefferson 41-20 last week and ran for nearly 300 yards in doing so. The City offense should be able to move the ball against Pleasant Valley, but its defense will have to be extra-disciplined against a strong Spartan attack.
Matt’s prediction: Pleasant Valley 28, City 17
Dargan’s prediction: Pleasant Valley 24, City 21
Class 3A
No. 1 Solon (1-0) vs. Class 1A No. 1 Regina (0-1)
The Spartans shut out Drew Adams and Mount Vernon 19-0 on the road last week. Their offense showed plenty of room for improvement, but their defense might be even better than anticipated. Regina, meanwhile, had trouble establishing any offensive consistency in its 23-6 loss to Cedar Rapids Xavier in Week 1. Isaac Vollstedt did his usual thing (18 carries, 160 yards), but the Regals had trouble keeping drives alive inside enemy territory. Expect Regina to look more Regina-like this week in what should be another dandy in this storied rivalry. The Regals haven't lost back-to-back games in ... well, a long time.
Matt’s prediction: Solon 24, Regina 21
Dargan’s prediction: Regina 27, Solon 26
Clear Creek Amana (0-1) at Independence (0-2)
The Clippers’ new-look offense didn't exactly thrive in a 14-7 Week 1 loss. Ethan Postler went 14-for-25 for 91 yards. Matt Brimeyer looked in midseason form with 82 yards on 12 carries. Their young defense held Mount Pleasant to 296 yards. Independence was shut out six times last year and it’s been outscored 77-27 to start this year.
Matt’s prediction: CCA 13, Independence 10
Dargan’s prediction: CCA 21, Independence 17
Class 2A
West Liberty (0-1) vs. 1A Highland (1-0)
The Comets won’t commit four turnovers and 11 penalties for 115 yards every week … right? If those numbers aren’t as ugly, West Liberty will contend in every game. Joe Kelly eclipsed 200 yards last week against West Branch. Highland, meanwhile, is coming off a bye week after a 36-14 win over North Mahaska in Week 0. Junior quarterback Trey Lasek accounted for 362 total yards and four touchdowns
Matt’s prediction: West Liberty 27, Highland 17
Dargan’s prediction: West Liberty 31, Highland 20
Mid-Prairie (1-0) vs. 3A Washington (1-0)
The Golden Hawks kicked things off well with a 42-12 blowout of Louisa-Muscatine in Week 1. Keaton Duwa showed his potential as the lead back, rushing for 68 yards and three touchdowns, while three different receivers also caught scores. Washington, though, will be a different challenge. The Demons knocked off Mid-Prairie 49-14 last season and upended Albia 64-7 to start 2017. This could be a high-scoring affair.
Matt’s prediction: Washington 45, Mid-Prairie 20
Dargan’s prediction: Washington 42, Mid-Prairie 30
Class 1A
No. 1 Regina (0-1) at 3A No. 1 Solon (1-0)
(See earlier capsule.)
Matt’s prediction: Solon 24, Regina 21
Dargan’s prediction: Regina 27, Solon 26
No. 9 West Branch (1-0) at 3A West Burlington/Notre Dame (0-1)
The Bears were impressive in their 35-20 win over West Liberty. Beau Cornwell tossed four touchdowns, Tanner Lukavsky rushed for 119 yards and Jacob Barnhart looked like a Division I prospect on the line. West Burlington/Notre Dame won this contest 27-18 last year. It returns starting quarterback Drake Day, and it plays two classes higher than West Branch.
Matt’s prediction: WB/ND 31, West Branch 24
Dargan’s prediction: West Branch 28, WB/ND 27
8-player
No. 10 Lone Tree (2-0) vs. HLV Victor (1-1)
Lone Tree kept up its 8-player destruction with a 67-0 win over Tri-County Thornburg last week. Five different players had rushing touchdowns as the Lions' offense continued to show no dropoff from last season's 8-1 squad. Expect another high-scoring affair against an HLV Victor team that's averaging 43.5 point per game through two weeks.
Matt’s prediction: Lone Tree 55, HLV Victor 43
Dargan’s prediction: Lone Tree 62, HLV Victor 45
Matthew Bain covers preps, recruiting and the Hawkeyes for the Iowa City Press-Citizen, The Des Moines Register and HawkCentral. Contact him at mbain@gannett.com and follow him on Twitter at @MatthewBain_.
Dargan Southard covers preps, recruiting, Iowa and UNI athletics for the Iowa City Press-Citizen, The Des Moines Register and HawkCentral.com. Email him at msouthard@gannett.com or follow him on Twitter at @Dargan_Southard.