Friday night preview for northeast Iowa

Here is a look at the previews from games being covered by the Waterloo Courier.

Cedar Rapids Jefferson (0-2) at East (0-2)

Time: 7:30 p.m. Friday Location: Memorial Stadium, Waterloo Last meeting: Waterloo East earned a 13-10 road win over Jefferson on Oct. 2 last season. The win gave East its first two-victory season since 1999. Last week: East was defeated by metro rival Cedar Falls, 37-0. Jefferson suffered a 49-0 road setback to Cedar Rapids Washington. What to watch: Both teams enter this contest looking to get back on track after rough starts to their 2010 campaigns. Jefferson has rushed the ball 70 percent of the time in its first two games. Quarterback Alex Baxter leads the team with 108 yards on 18 carries. East has remained balanced between the pass and run. Linebacker and running back Cameron Winters has rushed for both of the Trojans' touchdowns. East coach Kody Asmus: "Both of us are still searching for that first win and whichever team comes out and makes the fewest mistakes is probably going to be in a pretty good situation Friday night. ... The biggest thing is our guys just need to get a little bit of confidence right now. We've played two good teams during the first two weeks and we just need to go out, not worry about anything else and concentrate on making plays."

- Compiled by Sports Writer Nick Petaros

Waterloo West (0-2) At Dubuque Senior (0-2)

Time: 7:30 p.m. Friday Location: Dalzell Field, Dubuque Last meeting: West beat Senior, 34-0, to open the 2009 season. Last week: The Rams dropped a 45-10 decision to Dubuque Wahlert, while the Wahawks fell to Iowa City High, 48-24. What to watch: Both teams, obviously, have struggled in the early going, especially on defense. Stopping Senior's ground game will be critical for West, which gave up 551 yards rushing in the first two games. Vito Freese filled in for an injured Anthony Boettner against Wahlert and jumped over the 100-yard mark for the Rams. Meanwhile, Carlos Woods leads Wahawk rushers with 118 yards in 25 attempts. West quarterback Austin McMahon has completed nearly 66 percent of his passes. West head coach Lonnie Moore: "One thing about these kids is, they're very resilient. They don't give up. If you look at the scores, you don't see much. But, if you watch the film, you see a lot of growth. I'll tell you what - down the road, we'll be a nice, young football team

- Compiled by Assistant Sports Editor Jim Sullivan

C.R. Prairie (0-2) at Cedar Falls (2-0)

Time: 8:15 p.m. Friday Location: UNI-Dome, Cedar Falls Last meeting: Cedar Falls won in the Dome last year, 31-7. Last week: C.F. beat East, 37-0, while Prairie lost to Cedar Rapids Xavier, 17-10. What to watch: Prairie, a playoff team a year ago, is facing its third consecutive ranked opponent. The Hawks lost to No. 10 Cedar Rapids Washington, 41-21 to open the season, before leading No. 5 Cedar Rapids Xavier late last week before falling 17-10. Prairie is led by quarterback Chaz Boots. Boots has passed for 239 yards and two scores. Receivers DeMetrius Harper and Sam Joens are averaging 25 yards per catch. The Hawks have run for only 191 yards on 58 carries. ... Cedar Falls will continue to rotate quarterbacks Jordan Doyle and Kyle Denning. Junior running back Barkley Hill will continue to share carries with Shawn Hagarty as well as he continues to recover from a first-week injury. Cedar Falls co-head coach Pat Mitchell: On Prairie, "I would say they are a very good Prairie team. They made a lot of improvement between week one and two. They have high hopes ... were a playoff team last year. To face three ranked teams like this is very tough. Like always, they are very active and always play hard. If they improve like they did from week one to week two we're looking at trouble. " On his squad," We've had a good week of practice. We're coming off the East win where we got to play a lot of people. It's Parent Night Friday. We still have a few bumps and bruises, but we will very near full strength ... a couple of ankles ... nothing more than that."

- Compiled by Courier Sports Writer Jim Nelson

Columbus (0-2) at Forest City (1-1)

Time: 7:30 p.m. Friday Location: Forest City Last meeting: Forest City and Columbus did not play last season. Last week: Columbus endured a 48-3 defeat at the hands of Waverly-Shell Rock, as the Sailor defense yielded 346 total rushing yards. ... Forest City lost, 40-0, to powerful Clear Lake. What to watch: This is the district opener in Class 2A, District 3. ... The Sailors must achieve better balance offensively. Columbus had zero passing yards in last week's loss, while relying on senior running back Lamar Sayles's explosive running . ... Columbus coach Aundra Meeks said he'd also like to see his defensive line be a bit more aggressive in its pursuit of ballcarriers. ... Forest City quarterback Kyle Rosacker is a solid, multithreat quarterback, who can, if allowed, dominate a game. He's circled on Columbus' scouting report, to be certain. Columbus coach Aundra Meeks: "There are areas we need to improve on, obviously. We've got to work up front. ... Linebackers need to make better reads - those little things. We've got to be able to finish off plays defensively. Offensively, it's just picking up a rhythm. "(Forest City) is pretty aggressive up front. They've got a good quarterback. He's their leading rusher, kicker, punter - he does everything for them. And they rush the ball effectively. "It's district play, and everybody's 0-0, so it's a new start. We want to continue to improve and make strides."

- Compiled by Courier Sports Writer Kelly Beaton