4 Downs: Gazette staff tackles questions about Iowa high school football season

The Gazette’s Iowa high school football staff poses and answers questions about the current season. See how much Jeff Linder, Jeff Johnson, K.J. Pilcher and Nathan Ford can gain in 4 Downs:

1st & 10: What position has the deepest pool of talent in the Gazette area?

Jeff Linder: Not sure it’s a real position, and not sure it’s the deepest, but the most striking position, to me, is the dual-threat quarterback. You’ve got 8-Player veterans Beau Burns of BGM and Brady Boulton of Montezuma, plus rising-star sophomore Nolan Kriegel of Iowa Valley. Then there’s Brent Yonkovic of West Delaware. All four of these guys are double-quadruple-capable, meaning going over 1,000 yards in both rushing and passing.

Jeff Johnson: Off the top of my head, seems like there are a lot of very capable quarterbacks around this season. In town, you’ve got Vinny Gianforte at Cedar Rapids Kennedy and Kaleb Diers at Marion. Grady McGuire accounted for five touchdowns in Cedar Rapids Washington’s first game, Vernon Benda four for Cedar Rapids Jefferson. Then you’ve got talents like Brent Yonkovic at West Delaware, Jack Wallace at Iowa City West and Bobby Bacon at Iowa City High. Williamsburg’s Grant Hocker threw six TD passes in his team’s first game and Independence’s E.J. Miller had three.

K.J. Pilcher: Look no further than quarterback from 8-Player to Class 5A. Some are impressive passers, others run the ball well and a few do both superbly. The list is long, including established veterans like Cedar Rapids Kennedy’s Vincenzo Gianforte, Iowa City High’s Bobby Bacon, West Delaware’s Brent Yonkovic, BGM’s Beau Burns, Montezuma’s Brady Boulton and Iowa Valley’s Nolan Kriegel. Burns and Kriegel lit up the scoreboard in Week 0 and Burns continued his offensive outburst into Week 1. Add in players who will emerge this season as impact performers like Williamsburg’s Grant Hocker, Iowa City Regina’s Kyle Tracy and Independence’s E.J. Miller. The linebacker and wide receiver spots are loaded, too.

Nathan Ford: Here’s an overly specific answer: 8-Player quarterbacks from what KGRN-AM (when it used to have local reporters) called “the Poweshiek perimeter.” BGM’s Beau Burns, Iowa Valley’s Nolan Kriegel and Montezuma’s Brady Boulton are likely to rank near the top of the total touchdowns leaderboard throughout the season.

2nd & Long: What was the most notable performance in Week 1?

Jeff Linder: Williamsburg’s versatile big-play guy Rayce Heitman got off to a monster start, catching half of QB Grant Hocker’s six touchdown passes in the Raiders’ 55-10 romp over West Branch. Heitman caught five passes for 121 yards, and also accumulated 10 1/2 tackles (2 1/2 for loss).

Jeff Johnson: Northeast quarterback Gavin Kramer. Hands down. He threw for 155 yards and three touchdowns in his team’s win over Bellevue. He also rushed for 297 yards and six TDs. That’s a NINE-TOUCHDOWN game, folks. In 11-player football!

K.J. Pilcher: Jesup’s Ryan Treptow rushed for 200 yards and three touchdowns in the J-Hawks’ 20-13 victory over Class A No. 5 Wapsie Valley. The Warriors are known for physical play and stout defense. Treptow averaged 6.3 yards per carry and scored on a long of 32 yards. Treptow added 77 passing yards. He also was second on the team with 5.5 tackles. As for a team, Monroe PCM’s 54-14 win over Sigourney-Keota was an eye-popper, amassing more than 400 offensive yards with two 100-yard rushers.

Nathan Ford: Doesn’t matter what year it is, efficient “one-dimensional” offenses will always impress me. Ottumwa completed one pass for a whopping 7 yards … and scored 47 points in a 21-point win over Keokuk. Cameron Manary ran the ball 32 times for 325 yards and five touchdowns.

3rd & Short: What are the best Week 2 matchups?

Jeff Linder: When Williamsburg and Cedar Rapids Xavier collided last year, the Raiders parlayed a 21-20 Week 2 victory into what eventually became a 3A championship season. The rematch is Friday in Williamsburg. Iowa City Liberty has an opportunity to wrap up a mythical city championship when it travels to Bates Field and Iowa City High. Three others I like in the area: Solon at now-intriguing Clear Creek Amana, WACO at Iowa Valley, Decorah at West Delaware. Of course, the Class 5A 1-vs.-2 showdown at Valley Stadium is the biggest game statewide.

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Jeff Johnson: Cedar Rapids Xavier at Williamsburg could be a beauty. Clear Creek Amana looked legit in its opening win at Marion and hosts Solon this week. Iowa City Liberty at Iowa City High could see a ton of points scored. And, of course, you always look forward to the Tractor Bowl. This season Central City hosts Springville.

K.J. Pilcher: Williamsburg and Cedar Rapids Xavier played a humdinger that was decided on a late two-point conversation. The defending state champion Raiders were dominant over West Branch and the young Saints ground out a victory over a previously ranked Waverly-Shell Rock. Will be interesting to watch them this week. Iowa City Liberty is coming off a rivalry game with Iowa City West and now heads to Iowa City High for another trophy at stake. Decorah (ninth in 4A) at 3A No. 6 West Delaware is a compelling game, as well as West Des Moines Valley and West Des Moines Dowling and Johnston vs. Cedar Falls.

Nathan Ford: Our friends in Central Iowa will always hype up the Dowling-Valley rivalry and you know what? A lot of years it’s deserved. This is definitely one of them. Closer to home is Clear Creek Amana and Solon. Conlan Poynton led the Spartans in rushing a year ago. He’s CCA’s leading rusher now. Also, AGWSR hosts BCLUW. Now I know my ABCs.

4th & Goal: Which head coach in his first year with his current program is poised for the most success? Who faces the biggest rebuild?

Jeff Linder: Brad Meester inherits a championship-level roster at Mount Vernon and is poised for a major breakthrough in his first season as head coach. The biggest rebuild belongs to Joe Hadachek at Vinton-Shellsburg. I think Hadachek will turn around the Vikings’ program, but it’s going to take time

Jeff Johnson: Poised for immediate success? Brad Meester at Mount Vernon and Ryan King at West Delaware. Longer road ahead in building a program? Joe Hadachek at Vinton-Shellsburg and Eric Addy at Cedar Rapids Washington.

K.J. Pilcher: Mount Vernon’s Brad Meester and the Linn-Mar duo of Ben Martens and Chad Tompkins inherited talent. Both are expected to do well this season. Eric Addy has his hands full in his first year at Cedar Rapids Washington but numbers have improved already and the Warriors were competitive against Dubuque Hempstead.

Nathan Ford: Still think Ryan King and West Delaware are going to have a great year. A 21-13 season-opening loss to Western Dubuque is pretty much the opposite of concerning. I’d call what Joe Hadachek is attempting at Vinton-Shellsburg just a build – the Vikings have never won a playoff game. But it’s happened in other sports like boys’ soccer there recently.

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