The 4A Club Conference Preview: Missouri River Conference
Because of the pandemic, the Iowa High School Athletic Association has let Class 4A schools and conferences make their own schedules, essentially bringing back conference play in Class 4A football for the first time since 2013. So here’s a preview of…
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Continue ReadingBecause of the pandemic, the Iowa High School Athletic Association has let Class 4A schools and conferences make their own schedules, essentially bringing back conference play in Class 4A football for the first time since 2013. So here’s a preview of every Class 4A school in the Missouri River Activities Conference.
Disclaimer: Bishop Heelan, Le Mars, and Sergeant Bluff-Luton are all also apart of the MRAC, but since they’re all 3A when it comes to football and I’m only covering 4A schools, I won’t be covering them this season.
Council Bluffs Abraham Lincoln
My Preseason Ranking: 32nd
My Team Rating: 29.5556 (D-)
Head Coach: John Wolfe
Offensive Coordinator: Tony Tedesco
Defensive Coordinator: John Wolfe
Base Offense: Spread (1-0, 0-0)
Base Defense: 4-3
Watchlist Players:
N/A
Returning Starters:
QB Lennx Brown Lennx Brown 6'3" | 195 lbs | ATH Abraham Lincoln | 2021 IA , SR
WR/OLB Damari Brown, SR
WR/CB Chase Riche, SR
WR Carson Schaa, JR
OT/DT Keelan Bailey, SR
OT Wes Harvey, SR
G/DT Timmy Thompson, SR
C Daniel Amarillas, JR
DT Gabe Daniels, JR
MLB Quentin Bradley, JR
CB/WR Lucas Spanjer SR
K/P Alex Stogdill, SR
Risers/Arrivals:
QB Eli Lusajo, JR
RB/OLB Greg Chinowth, SR
WR Kaleb Molczyk, SR
WR Mac Volff, SR
DE Mikaele Hayes, JR
OLB TJ Hayes, SR
A quick word: The Lynx might’ve been on the downslide for awhile, but AL might be able to turn it around because not only did the schedule changed to face their conference rivals, but the number of starters coming back from last season.
Council Bluffs Thomas Jefferson
My Preseason Ranking: 29th
My Team Rating: 30.5556 (D)
Head Coach: Brant Anderson
Offensive Coordinator: Brant Anderson
Defensive Coordinator: Dan Strutzenburg
Base Offense: Double Wing & Spread (3-2, 2-0)
Base Defense: 3-3-5
Watchlist Players:
N/A
Returning Starters:
QB/S Austin Schubert Austin Schubert 6'1" | 185 lbs | QB Council Bluffs Jefferson | 2022 IA , JR
WB/CB JJ Johanns, JR
FB Dylan Carmen, SR
WR/OLB Hunter Jones, SR
OT/DE Austin Renshaw, SR
G/DE Angel Silva, SR
C McKinley Meisel, JR
MLB Doug Carpenter, SR
K Carter Harold, SR
Risers/Arrivals:
WB Josh Whitelaw, JR
OE/OLB Lane Toman, JR
OE Braetyn Couse, JR
G Colton Fender, SR
G Robby Brecht, SR
DT Ben Poole, SR
OLB Konnor Stanfill, JR
CB Reese Schlotfeld, JR
CB Devon Bovee, SO
S Blayke Binau, JR
A quick word: TJ returns a fair amount of two-way contributors from last season that are looking to make an even bigger impact in 2020.
Sioux City East
My Preseason Ranking: 15th
My Team Rating: 37.7778 (B-)
Head Coach: Brian Webb
Offensive Coordinator: Keenan Ganz
Defensive Coordinator: Nick Taylor
Base Offense: Multiple (2-0, 1-0)
Base Defense: 3-4, 4-3
Watchlist Players:
N/A
Returning Starters:
WR Easton Voigt, SR
OT Ryan Crawford, SR
OLB Blake Hogancamp, SO
MLB/H-B Ethan Breyfogle, SR
CB Cass Camarigg, SR
S/RB Taejon Jones, JR
K Jacob Schroeder, JR
Risers/Arrivals:
QB Luke Longval Luke Longval 6'2" | 190 lbs | QB Sioux City East | 2022 State IA , JR (from Bishop Heelan)
RB/MLB Kyler Peterson, JR
WR/S Bennet Vanderloo, SR
C Tamerson Pius, SR
DE Ethan Sneider, JR
DE Seth Hodgins, JR
DT Drew Doty, JR
OLB Ke’Shawn Canady, JR
K Emmanuel Moreno, JR
A quick word: East looks like the best 4A team from Western Iowa once again in 2020. The Black Raiders return a bunch of starters and regular contributors from last season, they even added Heelan’s QB Luke Longval Luke Longval 6'2" | 190 lbs | QB Sioux City East | 2022 State IA to their roster too.
Sioux City North
My Preseason Ranking: 38th
My Team Rating: 27.6667 (E+)
Head Coach: Mitch Mohr
Offensive Coordinator: Mitch Mohr
Defensive Coordinator: Travis Binder
Base Offense: Spread (1-0)
Base Defense: 4-2-5, 4-3
Watchlist Players:
WR/OLB Dante Hansen Dante Hansen 5'10" | 170 lbs | WR Sioux City North | 2021 IA , SR
Returning Starters:
QB Gavin Hauge, SR
RB Brady Wavrunek Brady Wavrunek 5'10" | 180 lbs | RB Sioux City East | 2023 State IA , SO
WR/QB Landon Lovrien, JR
WR Evan Helvig, SR
WR/CB Austin McClain, SR
OT/DT Callan Grant-Morris, JR
G Grant Nieuwendorp, JR
DE Izaiah Truitt, JR
MLB Jacob Kyle, SO
CB Josiah Lynam, JR
CB Brayden Allan, JR
K/P Jack Lloyd, SO
Risers/Arrivals:
WR Desmond Grace II, JR
WR Keller Newton, JR
G Ty-Kell Blair, SR
DT Wyatt Elgert, JR
OLB Brody Martin, JR
MLB Jayston Paulson, JR
CB Ashton Blair, JR
S Devon Foy, SR (from Sioux City West)
A quick word: North returns some a bunch of starters, so expect to see some improvement on the field after spending the last bunch of seasons in the basement of Class 4A.
Sioux City West
My Preseason Ranking: 39th
My Team Rating: 24.4444 (F+)
Head Coach: Brandon Holmes
Co-Offensive Coordinators: Lee Irvine & Anthony Rivera
Defensive Coordinator: Brandon Holmes
Base Offense: Spread (1-1, 2-1)
Base Defense: 4-2-5
Watchlist Players:
N/A
Returning Starters:
RB DeVionne West, SO
WR/S Keavian Hayes, SO
WR/S Michael Duax, SR
OT/DT Travis Rivera, SR
OT/DE Tristan Ashlock, JR
G Michael Benson, SO
C/DT Santos Valdez, SR
DE Logan Mannion, SO
DT Aidan Gutierrez, SR
CB/QB Koby Pearson, SR
K/RB/CB Antonio Medina, SO
Risers/Arrivals:
QB Devin Frye, JR
QB Keenan Hegna, SR
RB/CB Drew Benson,
WR Landin Barker, SR
G Luis Cota, JR
C Todd Uhl, JR
DE/TE Kaleb Johnson, SR
OLB Chase Mentele, SR
OLB Jaxon Howe, JR
MLB Kaleb Belt, SR
MLB Briar Bottjen, SR
CB Salvador Baez, JR
S/QB Kaleb French, SR
A quick word: West was pretty much a punching bag last season. Combining injuries with inexperienced backups made the Wolverines look like a joke come subdistrict-time. Now with the new conference schedules and most of their contributors coming back, West should seem better prepared for the 2020 season than last year.