Panthers host defending 4A champs

It’s out of the frying pan and into the fire for the Creston football team this week as defending Class 4A state champion Lewis Central visits Panther Field Friday night.

In last week’s season openers, the Titans seemed poised to make another postseason run with a 31-10 victory over Harlan. Meanwhile, a revamped Creston lineup struggled to find consistency in a 31-6 loss at Winterset.

“Lewis Central is a legitimate contender in 4A, no doubt,” Creston coach Brian Morrison said. “They lost some good players on both sides from last year’s team, but we knew from playing their JV team and seeing a lot of those kids become varsity when some guys got hurt, that they would be good this year.”

Creston’s march to it its best season (11-1) in program history got a kick start a year ago in a 22-20 victory at Lewis Central. The Titans recovered to win Class 4A District 6 over Glenwood and claim the 4A championship over Western Dubuque, 40-21, to cap an 11-2 season. (The other loss besides the Creston game was 36-26 to Bondurant-Farrar in non-district play.)

“They went through a stretch last year after we played them where they had some kids banged up,” Morrison said. “They got them back for the playoffs, but in the meantime a lot of their kids playing this year got varsity experience.”

Veteran backfield

The backfield returns veteran players, including all-state quarterback Brady Hetzel. In the win over Harlan, Hetzel was 12 of 21 passing for 220 yards and two touchdowns. Juniors Peyton Phippen and Leonardo Tatum each caught four passes for over 80 yards and a touchdown. Tatum’s TD was a 75-yard play. Last year Hetzel passed for 2,587 yards and 26 touchdowns.

Senior running backs Chance Chappell (89 yards week) and Brody Patlan (67 yards) lead the ground game. Last year Patlan rushed for 751 yards and 12 touchdowns. Nathan Beyenhof and Gavin Riemenschneider gained all-district recognition last year in the offensive line and return this season, as does defensive lineman Joseph Monge.

“They are physical up front; that’s where it starts in their run game,” Morrison said. “We are going to have to be gap sound. We weren’t gap sound at times against Winterset last week, and when we didn’t get the details right is when they had big plays on us. We’re going to have to be great tacklers, because LC has explosive kids in their backfield who are the equal if not better than the Winterset kids.”

Offense shows potential

Creston’s offense moved the ball against Winterset, but turnovers and penalties at critical times prevented the Panthers from securing more points in red zone advancements. The rushing attack netted 108 yards, nearly all by senior Weston Trapp, and that production will be needed again this Friday.

“I know it ended up 31-10, but Harlan scored 10 in the first half and did some nice things running the football against them,” Morrison said, noting the Cyclones’ team total of 195 yards rushing. “They had some issues with turnovers and penalties in the second half, but I think Harlan is a good football team.”

Creston quarterback Tanner Ray completed 16 of 29 passes for 129 yards and a touchdown with one interception. (Trapp also had an interception on a halfback pass.) Receivers Casen Dryden and Trapp combined for 11 catches for 69 yards and Xander Drake had a 21-yard touchdown catch.

“As a sophomore quarterback, it’s not easy going to Winterset in your first game,” Morrison said. “I think Tanner will improve every week just because of experience. We had some good drives to the red zone and just couldn’t finish. I was pleased that our kids competed the entire game. We did some things wrong, but we didn’t lose the fight at all. This week we’re focused on the fact that we have to improve.”

The Panther defensive line lost two players last week to injury. Morrison said senior Camden Smith was scheduled for MRI testing on a knee injury this week and is out for an undetermined period. Sophomore Tom Mikkelsen aggravated an injury and left the game, but is possible for a return this week, Morrison said.

Meanwhile, offensive tackle Brayden Schoon stepped into defensive duty last week and is likely to get some time there again this week. Otherwise, the Panthers are a fully platoon team. Receiver Seth Gordon and running back Maddix Leppla are available this week to bolster the offensive depth, Morrison added.

Varsity kickoff is 7 p.m. at Panther Field after the 4:15 p.m. freshman game. Last week the Panther freshmen opened with a 20-6 victory at Winterset.

Creston (0-1, 0-0)

OFFENSE

T Brayden Schoon 6-3 235 Sr.

G Garrick Clausen 5-11 225 Jr.

C Chasse Downing 6-3 270 Jr.

G Gunner Martwick 6-1 230 Jr.

T Eli Schaffer 6-3 320 Sr.

WR Casen Dryden 5-7 140 Sr.

WR Xander Drake 5-8 155 Sr.

TE Josh Schaefer 6-1 180 Sr.

QB Tanner Ray 5-10 145 So.

RB Weston Trapp 5-11 185 Sr.

TE Ethan Holliday 6-2 200 Jr.

K Joaquin Flores 5-10 140 So.

DEFENSE

DL Brayden Schoon 6-3 235 Sr. or Tom Mikkelsen 6-0 220 So.

DL Jayden Myers 5-11 195 Sr.

DL Mattias Schultes 5-11 200 Sr.

OLB Jackson Pettegrew 5-10 170 Jr.

ILB Aiden Snodgrass 6-0 175 Sr.

ILB Lucas Travis 5-11 195 Sr.

OLB Kal Barber 5-9 165 Jr.

CB Jake Hoyt 6-2 165 Sr.

CB Tyler Riley 5-5 140 Sr.

S Lane Travis 5-8 150 Jr.

S Davin Wallace 5-10 145 So.

P Weston Trapp 5-11 185 Sr. or Tanner Ray 5-10 145 So.