Top stars, best performances in Iowa high school football in Week 8
By Barry Poe
Here are some stars from the past week's high school football games across Iowa.
If you know of a top performance we should include, please let us know.
Cole Ritchie, Sioux City East
Ritchie passed for a school-record eight touchdowns in the Black Raiders’ 60-28 win over Des Moines Roosevelt Thursday night. Ritchie, who is second in the state in passing with 2,200 yards, had 320 on the night, while Kelynn Jacobsen had 169 receiving yards and four touchdowns.
C.J. Phillip, W.D.M. Dowling
The junior carried 17 times for 170 yards and two touchdowns as the Maroons – No. 1 in SBLive’s rankings – won their seventh straight game, 35-3 over West Des Moines Valley. Jaxon Smolik passed for 188 yards and two scores for 7-1 Dowling.
J.J. Kohl, Ankeny
The senior quarterback, who is headed to Iowa State University, passed for one touchdown and ran for another as the second-ranked Hawks beat Waukee Northwest 31-7. It was the fifth straight win for Ankeny (7-1) since its only loss to defending 5A state champion Southeast Polk.
Abu Sama, Southeast Polk
Speaking of Southeast Polk, the defending champs ran their record to 7-1 with a 42-16 victory over Ankeny Centennial. Sama rushed for three touchdowns and the Rams bolted to a 28-10 lead after three quarters.
Tyge Lyon, Pleasant Valley
Lyon carried only five times, but gained 116 yards and scored on runs of 43 and 38 yards as the Spartans, ranked No. 1 in Class 5A by Associated Press, rolled to a 49-7 win over Dubuque Senior. Pleasant Valley (8-0) remains the only unbeaten team in 5A with one regular season game remaining.
Ronan Thomas, Cedar Rapids Xavier
The junior quarterback passed for four touchdowns and ran for another and the Saints defense didn’t allow a touchdown for the fifth straight game in a 42-3 win over Newton. Thomas completed 9 of 10 passes for 164 yards and Xavier (8-0) won the Class 4A District 4 title.
McCrae Hagarty, Waverly-Shell Rock
The senior running back – who committed to Iowa State for wrestling Friday morning – rushed for 233 yards and four touchdowns, leading the undefeated (8-0) Go-Hawks to a 35-14 win over Western Dubuque. Asa Newsom added 134 yards and a touchdown as W-SR pulled away from a 7-7 halftime tie.
Braylon Kammrad, Lewis Central
The Titans’ outstanding quarterback ran for two touchdowns and passed for another in the first half of Lewis Central’s 41-0 shutout of Dallas Center-Grimes. Defending Class 4A state champion Lewis Central (8-0) can wrap up a district title with a win over Winterset in a regular season finale next Friday.
Graham Eben, Central Lyon/George-Little Rock
Eben, a junior and the son of Coach Curtis Eben, had 102 rushing yards and returned a punt for a score as the Lions, ranked No. 2 in Class 2A by Associated Press and No. 9 by SBLive, completed an unbeaten regular season with a 62-6 rout of Okoboji. Iowa recruit Zach Lutmer passed for one touchdown, ran for another and intercepted a pass for the 8-0 Lions.
Bodie Higgins, Spirit Lake
The sophomore rushed for 99 yards and two touchdowns as the No. 13 (SBLive) Indians wrapped up an unbeaten regular season with a 24-6 win over Southeast Valley.
Cody Nichols, Iowa City Liberty
The junior, filling in for injured quarterback Graham Beckman, rushed for 80 yards and threw for 69 in the second half as the Lightning clipped Burlington 29-28 to win their first-ever district title. Nichols, who had touched the ball only three times the entire season, threw a 52-yarder to Wyatt Williams for the winning touchdown with 26 seconds remaining.
Kyler Gerardy, North Scott
The Lancers’ quarterback rushed for four touchdowns in a 49-14 win over Fort Madison. Gerardy raced 67 yards to paydirt on the first play from scrimmage and added a 66-yarder before the first quarter ended for No. 18 North Scott, now 6-2 overall.
Will Nuss, Johnston
The sophomore threw four touchdown passes – three to Jacob Simpson – as the Dragons upended No. 22 Cedar Rapids Kennedy 28-7. Nuss completed 14 of 25 passes for 201 yards.
Tye Hughes, West Branch
Hughes passed for 245 yards and two touchdowns – completing 10 of 13 – and the No. 23 Bears wrapped up an unbeaten regular season with a 54-7 romp past Wilton. Andy Henson scored four times and went over 1,000 rushing yards for the season as West Branch claimed its 20th district title since 1992.
Carter Henderson, Linn-Mar
The 200-pound senior rushed for 116 yards, scoring on runs of 11, 29 and 42 yards, as the Lions raced to a 51-0 halftime lead and went on to demolish Davenport Central 72-0. The 72 points was the most ever in one game for Linn-Mar, which needs a win in a regular season finale to make the playoffs.
Makelle Taylor, Cedar Rapids Prairie
Taylor tied a school record with five touchdowns as Prairie outscored Iowa City West 49-28. Taylor carried 27 times for 149 yards and added 66 receiving yards for the 6-2 Hawks.
Mitchell Johnson, Independence
Johnson passed for 206 yards, including a game-winning 2-yard TD toss to Josh Beatty, and the Mustangs edged West Delaware 21-20 to move to 8-1 overall and 4-0 in the district with one game left in the regular season. Johnson was 16-for-25 through the air and added 99 rushing yards.
Blake Timmons, Solon
The senior rushed for three touchdowns and passed for another, leading the Spartans to a 51-7 win over Grinnell. Timmons had 174 rushing yards and Solon clinched Class 3A District 5 title.
Preston Ries, Monticello
The Monticello quarterback had a monster performance in a 58-28 win over Northeast. Ries rushed for 257 yards and four touchdowns and passed for 163 yards and four more scores as the Panthers wrapped up the Class 2A District 5 title.
Mason Knipp, Waterloo Columbus
The junior two-way lineman had several pressures and tackles for losses and paved the way for the Sailors’ running game in a 35-7 win over Sumner-Fredericksburg that clinched a home playoff game. Knipp had a strip sack in the third quarter that Carson Hartz returned for a 30-yard touchdown.
Ryland Cornell, East Buchanan
Cornell rushed for 194 yards and two touchdowns in a 69-13 win over South Winneshiek for Class A No. 8 East Buchanan. The victorious Bucs amassed 445 yards on the ground.
Henry Ryan, Mount Vernon
Ryan rushed for four touchdowns as unbeaten Mount Vernon blanked Central DeWitt 47-0. Ryan scored three of his touchdowns in the first half as 8-0 Mount Vernon raced to a 33-0 lead.
Max Burt, Mason City Newman
The dual threat quarterback finished with 271 total yards and six touchdowns in a 49-27 win over North Union. The Knights (7-1) earned a home playoff game with the victory.
Ben Kueter, Iowa City High
The University of Iowa recruit scored his team’s first six touchdowns – three rushing, two receiving and a kick return – in the Little Hawks’ 55-6 win over Davenport West. Kueter, who will play football and wrestle at Iowa, had 110 yards and three touchdowns on just seven carries.
Dylan Wiggins, West Sioux
The senior quarterback completed 8 of 10 passes for 161 yards and four touchdowns as the 7-1 Falcons closed the regular season with a 68-0 win over Sioux Central. Carter Bultman rushed for 202 yards and four touchdowns on only seven carries.
