Ballard battles 3A powers

There’s no time for the Creston football team to bask in the glory of last week’s 22-20 victory over Class 4A top-ranked Lewis Central.

The 2023 schedule features a tough district slate that includes top-10 teams Harlan and Nevada, while the early-season non-district opponents are mostly Class 4A teams with solid reputations, including Ballard (1-1) visiting Panther Field on Friday.

Last week’s win vaulted Creston (2-0) to a tie for No. 4 in Class 3A with Humboldt (2-0) on the Associated Press poll, while Lewis Central (1-1) fell to No. 8 in Class 4A. (The top three in teams in 3A are Williamsburg, Mount Vernon and Nevada. Harlan is No. 8.)

Humboldt shares the No. 4 position with Creston after last week’s 14-13 victory over Ballard. The Bombers opened the season with a 20-17 win at Pella after trailing 17-6 in the second half. Despite some mistakes in turning the ball over, Ballard has been impressive in both of those games against traditional 3A powers, according to Creston coach Brian Morrison.

“They’ve had eight or nine turnovers in two games, so it’s pretty impressive to be competitive in those two games,” Morrison said. “If they fix those mistakes, they are going to be a really good football team. They were 3-6 last year with the toughest schedule in 3A, and now they’re bumped up a class. They have a lot of kids back.”

Among the returnees is 205-pound running back Eli Rouse, who has carried the ball 50 times in two games for 371 yards, a 7.4 average.

“He’s their workhorse,” Morrison said. “They run a lot of sweeps, power counter, off tackle and inside zone stuff. But they want to get the ball outside. He’s also on their kick return team so that makes their special teams dangerous. He’s explosive, kind of like the North Polk kid last year.”

It’s also a strong front eight on defense, allowing only 31 points in two games against two strong offensive opponents.

“Humboldt went to the dome last year and they’ve been a quarterfinal team for a number of years, with some really good kids back,” Morrison said. “Ballard probably should have beaten them, but turnovers hurt them.”

First-year quarterback Mason Getchel has completed 14 passes for 155 yards with one touchdown and five interceptions.

By contrast, Creston has been more balanced and productive on offense. All-state running back Brennan Hayes has similar numbers to Rouse, with 391 yards and a 7.8 average per carry. Quarterback Cael Turner has no interceptions and five touchdowns while throwing for 374 yards on 34 completions in 52 attempts (65.4%).

Josh Schaefer had 16 catches for 138 yards and three TDs. Brandon Briley has been the other primary target with eight receptions for 128 yards.

Dillon Starlin has a team-high 16 tackles for the Panther defense and Austin Evans has 15. Lucas Travis has contributed 11 tackles. Defensive end Max Chapman has been disruptive to opposing offenses with 3.5 tackles for loss among his 8.5 stops.

“Forcing Lewis Central to punt on their first two series gave our defense confidence,” Morrison said, alluding to the Panthers taking an early 6-0 lead. “Then the remainder of the game was just back and forth. They got their yardage, but we made some critical stops either on fourth down or forcing them to try a field goal.”

The goal, Morrison said, will be to win the battle of field position and special teams. There’s been a focus this week on issues that came up at Lewis Central, including a blocked extra point kick, a punt snap that sailed over punter McCoy Haines’ head before he scrambled to get off a hurried kick, and an LC punt return touchdown by Curtis Witte.

“It’ll be similar to the Winterset game in that we have to get them to third and uncomfortable situations and force them to possibly make a mistake,” Morrison said. “We have to limit our mistakes.”

Projected starters

OFFENSE

WR — Brandon Briley, Sr., 150; WR — Tyler Riley, Jr., 125; WR — Casen Dryden, Jr., 130; TE — Josh Schaefer, Jr., 170; 160; OT — Quinten Fuller, Sr., 230; G — Gunner Martwick, So., 220; C — Jagger Luther, Sr., 205; G — Tucker Rohrig, Sr., 225; OT — Brayden Schoon, Jr., 200; QB — Cael Turner, Jr., 165; RB — Brennan Hayes, Sr., 195; PK — Hayes.

DEFENSE

DE — Max Chapman, Sr., 260; NT — Tom Mikkelsen, Fr., 210; DE — Jackson Kerr, Sr., 205; OLB — Milo Staver, Sr. 175; ILB — Will Bolinger, Sr., 175; ILB — Luke Travis, Jr., 180; OLB — Austin Evans, Sr., 160; CB — Dylan Calvin, Sr., 165; CB — Jack Walter, Sr., 170; S — Dillon Starlin, Sr., 125; S — McCoy Haines, Sr., 155; P — Haines.