March 29, 2024

A clash of the unbeatens

The Class 3A District 6 race heats up this week as a pair of undefeated teams with dynamic offenses meet in Adel.

ADM, 5-0 and tied with fellow District 6 team Harlan for No. 2 on this week’s Associated Press poll behind No. 1 Humboldt, hosts No. 6 Creston in a critical clash for one of the two automatic playoff bids from the district. This week is the first time any of the three have faced each other. Harlan (4-1 with a 30-27 loss to 4A No. 1 Lewis Cen

tral) is host to 2-3 Atlantic in the other key contest.

There are four wildcard berths up for grabs in Class 3A among teams not finishing in the top two of their district, so while this isn’t a make-or-break situation for the Panthers, it’s an opportunity to get a strong foothold on postseason action. Last year as a third-place team, Creston (6-3) finished one position out of the 16th and final playoff spot based on RPI, by a fraction of a point.

“It’s not a win or lose situation for us,” Creston coach Brian Morrison acknowledged, “but to get where we want to to get to, the kids understand the importance of winning this game. I feel good about our preparation.”

Last year the Panthers lost to both ADM and Harlan by the same score — 42-0. This year the Panthers seem to be armed for a more competitive game, coming off two impressive performances with a different path to victory in each.

Two weeks ago, senior quarterback Kyle Strider passed for 400 yards as the Panthers rallied from a 36-14 deficit in the final six minutes to edge Gilbert, 40-36. To date, Strider ranks fifth in Class 3A with 996 passing yards (62-117-5) and eight touchdowns.

ADM dual-threat quarterback Aiden Flora is 8th at 815 yards (50-74-3) with eight TDs and is fourth in 3A rushing with 681 yards and six rushing touchdowns. Another junior in the Tiger backfield, tailback Brevin Doll, has rushed for 881 yards (second only to Creston’s Brennan Hayes) and 17 touchdowns.

In last week’s 39-0 homecoming victory over Knoxville, Creston’s Hayes had a historic night by rushing for 443 yards and two touchdowns. It was the 11th-highest single-game rushing total in Iowa 11-man high school football history and a school record. He leads 3A rushing with 1,023 yards.

“Brennan is as good as it gets as a running back, and we’ve had some good ones in my time here,” Morrison said. “He has really good speed for a running back, not exceptional. He’s tough to tackle, I’d say he probably leads the state in yards after contact. Once he makes his cut and finds a hole, he’s downhill 100 miles and hour and you have to bottle him up or he’s gone. Our line has improved every week and the blocking downfield by our receivers allow those explosive plays to happen.”

Morrison hopes the diversity shown this season in Creston’s offense will deter ADM from loading the box and focusing solely on stopping Hayes.

“We have a good mix of kids at the receiver position and we have confidence in our quarterback,” Morrison said. “We saw what he did when we had to score quickly against Gilbert late in that game. We just have to put a complete game together against a good team.”

Field position focus

Morrison said ADM has a no-huddle offense with a variety of formations, which makes for a challenging week of preparation. He said the flow of the game may hinge on who can garner some favorable field position by making first downs on offense and getting stops defensively. Turnovers also must be limited. Those factors were not in Creston’s favor in last year’s senior night defeat.

“Special teams will be a big factor in the game,” Morrison said. “We have to hold our own there. Their punter is averaging 47.8 yards and he kicks off into the end zone. We can’t go three and out and punt from our 20 and give them a short field very often. Things could snowball. We have to tackle well on special teams and get some three-and-outs defensively.”

ADM doesn’t use many two-way players, but one has been effective player on both sides in Iowa State football commit Vince Benetti, who has 205 receiving yards on eight catches while being recruited by ISU as a defensive end. Another receiver, Cade Morse, also has over 200 yards receiving and is considered a college prospect.

“They are a legit top four team, in watching their games on tape,” Morrison said. “We also feel we are a good football team. Even when we haven’t played a complete game to the best of our abilities, our fight has been outstanding. Our kids will play hard every down. I like where we’re at. This is why you do it.”

ADM (5-0)

ADM 43, Gilbert 14

ADM 59, Ballard 20

ADM 29, North Polk 20

ADM 42, Winterset 14

ADM 56, Atlantic 27

Creston (5-0)

Creston 28, Clarinda 12

Creston 31, Winterset 14

Creston 35, Denison-Schleswig 9

Creston 40, Gilbert 36

Creston 39, Knoxville 0

PANTHER LINEUP

OFFENSE

T Max Chapman6-4240Jr.

G Austin Seaton6-0195Sr.

C Jagger Luther5-8210Jr.

G Tucker Rohrig6-1215Jr.

T Quinten Fuller6-2235Jr.

WR Brandon Briley5-8145Jr.

WR Trey Chesnut5-9165Sr.

WR Dylan Calvin6-0165Jr.

QB Kyle Strider6-2185Sr.

RB Brennan Hayes6-0180Jr.

H Will Bolinger5-9 180Jr.

PK Brennan Hayes6-0Jr.

DEFENSE

DL Max Chapman6-4240Jr.

DL Quinten Fuller6-2235Jr.

DL Payton Conley6-0160Sr.

OLB Austin Evans5-8150Jr.

ILB Ty Morrison6-0185Sr.

ILB Austin Seaton6-0195Sr.

OLB Cade Wurster5-10170Sr.

CB McCoy Haines5-9145Jr.

CB Dylan Calvin6-0165Jr.

S Gannon Greenwalt6-0185Sr.

S Cael Turner6-2165Jr.

P Dylan Calvin6-0165Jr.

Larry Peterson

LARRY PETERSON

Former senior feature writer at Creston News Advertiser and columnist. Previous positions include sports editor for many years and assistant editor. Also a middle school basketball coach in Creston.