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Top stars, best performances in Iowa high school football

This week's top Iowa prep football performances
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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, East’s senior quarterback, threw eight touchdown passes in a game for the second consecutive week. Ritchie completed 17 of 20 for 295 yards and eight scores in a 62-14 win over Sioux City West in a regular season finale and the Black Raiders secured a Class 5A playoff berth.

Ryan Brosius, Dubuque Wahlert

The senior running back put on quite a show in the Golden Eagles’ 62-0 win over West Liberty in a Class 2A first-round playoff game. Brosius rushed for three touchdowns, caught two scoring passes and returned an interception 106 yards for a touchdown.

Preston Ries, Monticello

Monticello’s junior quarterback accounted for seven touchdowns during a 42-0 win over Central Lee in a first-round Class 2A playoff game. Ries ran for four TDs and passed for three more.

Grant Glausser, Western Dubuque

Glausser rushed for a school-record 339 yards and three touchdowns on 24 carries, leading Western Dubuque to a 36-26 win over Mason City in a regular season finale. Glausser went over 200 yards for the fourth time this season and Western Dubuque reached the playoffs for the first time since winning a state championship in 2019.

Will Ward, West Delaware

The senior carried 27 times for 251 yards and two touchdowns and added a receiving touchdown in a 35-0 victory over Charles City to close out the regular season.

Kaden Amigon, Columbus

Columbus, making just its second playoff appearance in the last 25 years, opened Class A play with a 62-14 rout of Maquoketa Valley. Amigon, a junior, rushed for 257 yards and four touchdowns.

Jaxon Smolik, W.D.M. Dowling

The Penn State recruit played only three quarters, but threw touchdown passes to three different receivers as the top-ranked Maroons beat Waukee 43-7 in their final regular season game.

Javion Jondle, Fort Dodge

Although the Dodgers lost to Le Mars 44-7 in their regular season finale, Jondle eclipsed 2,000 receiving yards for his career. He caught scoring passes of 63 and 55 yards.

Carter Henderson, Linn-Mar

Henderson carried 24 times for 119 yards and three touchdowns as Linn-Mar clinched a Class 5A playoff berth with a 28-13 win over Cedar Rapids Prairie.

Graham Beckman, Iowa City Liberty

A week after leaving a game against Burlington because of an injury, the junior quarterback returned to star for the Lightning in a 42-7 win over Clinton. Beckman completed 14 of 18 passes for 269 yards and four touchdowns.

Michael Cunningham, Cedar Rapids Xavier

The senior running back racked up 170 yards while playing just one half in the Saints’ 52-6 win over Oskaloosa in a regular season finale. Cunningham carried only seven times, but dashed for touchdowns of 63 and 86 yards as Xavier wrapped up an unbeaten regular season.

Mitchell Johnson, Independence

Johnson rushed for two touchdowns and passed for another as Independence closed the regular season with a 38-13 win over Center Point-Urbana. Johnson completed 9 of 17 passes for 140 yards, hitting Brady Kurt for a TD. Kurt had five catches for 102 yards.

Joey Rhomberg, Mount Vernon

The junior quarterback completed 23 of 28 passes for 248 yards and three touchdowns as the Mustangs finished off an unbeaten regular season with their ninth win, 55-6 over Vinton-Shellsburg.

McCrae Hagarty, Waverly-Shell Rock

The Go-Hawks completed their first unbeaten regular season since 1990 with a 32-13 win over Decorah. Hagerty had 227 rushing yards on 27 carries, scoring on runs of 71, 19 and 11 yards.

Caden McDermott, Pleasant Valley

McDermott, the quarterback, carried 17 times for 153 yards and a touchdown as Pleasant Valley ended the regular season at 9-0 with a 35-14 win over Iowa City West. Pleasant Valley, the lone unbeaten team in Class 5A, racked up a season-high 475 rushing yards.

Tucker Avis, Davenport West

Avis, who missed the past three games because of a foot injury, rushed for 115 yards and a touchdown for the Falcons, who beat Muscatine 35-13 for their seventh win and first playoff berth since 1999. West had not posted seven victories in a season in the last 25 seasons and bounced back from a pair of one-sided losses in its last two outings.

Ty Cozad, Muscatine

The junior had 234 rushing yards on 37 carries in the loss to Davenport West. Cozad finished his junior campaign with over 2,000 rushing yards.

Kyler Gerardy, Davenport Assumption

The junior quarterback passed for three touchdowns and ran for two more in the first half of a 49-10 win over Mount Pleasant. The Lancers (7-2) reached seven wins for the sixth consecutive season.

Jonathan Humpal, Lewis Central

The defending Class 4A state champions ended the regular season at 9-0 with a 42-15 win over Winterset. Humpal, a senior, rushed for 79 yards (eight carries) and two touchdowns while adding a receiving score.

Teagon Kasperbauer, Harlan

Kasperbauer completed 11 of 14 passes for 286 yards and five touchdowns as the defending Class 3A state champion Cyclones closed the regular season with a 49-0 shutout of Knoxville. Harlan (8-1) won its last eight games after a season-opening setback to Lewis Central.

Kooper Ebel, Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn

The Iowa State recruit had 32 carries for 307 yards and five touchdowns and also threw for a score as the Hawks outscored North Union 46-31 in a first-round Class A playoff game.

Graham Eben, Central Lyon/George-Little Rock

Eben had 130 rushing yards on 13 carries and scored three touchdowns as the unbeaten Lions belted Iowa Falls-Alden 57-0 in an opening-round Class 2A playoff game.

Keaton Bonderson, Le Mars Gehlen

Three of the senior’s four receptions (90 yards) went for touchdowns as the Jays opened Class A playoff action with a 40-22 win over Tri-Center. Bonderson also had five tackles on defense.

Dylan Wiggins, West Sioux

Wiggins was 10-for-11 for 166 passing yards and four touchdowns as the Falcons began Class 1A playoff action with a 58-0 win over East Sac County. West Sioux is 8-1 with its only loss to Central Lyon/George-Little Rock.

Walker Rife, West Harrison

Rife scored two touchdowns and had a key interception as the Hawkeyes clipped Bedford 29-27 in an 8-man playoff game for the school’s first-ever playoff victory.