Panthers, Bombers seek first win

Two teams on similar missions will take the field Friday night in Huxley as Creston and Ballard hope to earn their first victory of the 2024 football season.

The challenge for both 0-2 teams have been ambitious schedules in opening non-district play, while adjusting to new players in several key positions. This week will be a breakout opportunity for one of the teams to leave the field victorious.

Creston has opened with two Class 4A opponents in a season-opening 31-6 loss at Winterset, followed by a 44-8 setback to defending Class 4A champion Lewis Central in last week’s home opener. The Titans have started 2-0, while Winterset is 1-1 going into this week’s game against a Creston district opponent, 3-0 Atlantic. (ADM beat Winterset last week, 31-9.)

Ballard, meanwhile, has taken on two tradition-rich programs in falling 29-17 to Class 4A Pella at home before last week’s 21-18 defeat at 3A Humboldt. Both opponents of the Bombers are 2-0 going into this week’s action.

“Their schedule is very similar to ours in that they’re playing good teams right out of the gate,” Creston coach Brian Morrison said. “Pella and Humboldt are very good programs. Ballard did some nice things against Humboldt but they were down 14-0 at the half because of a couple turnovers and not converting in some third down situations.”

Both teams lost some backfield punch from a year ago, but the Bombers return senior quarterback Mason Gatchel, who passed for 139 yards against the Panthers last year and a total of 1,070 passing yards and nine touchdowns for the season. Seniors Nicholas Schonhorst, Jackson Wacha and Eric Sydnes return as experienced receivers. Wacha is the defensive leader at inside linebacker with 11 tackles for loss among his 30 tackles in two games.

“They return some of their people up front and they’ve been running the ball well,” Morrison said. “Number 1 (Tucker Vizthum) is a dynamic player. They do a lot of jet sweeps with their receivers. They are a 50-50 run and pass team, throwing a lot of different screens to their tight ends, running backs and receivers.”

Morrison said some areas of his team’s play showed improvement from game one to game two, without showing on the scoreboard against the Titans, expected to be a top contender in Class 4A again this year.

Tom Mikkelsen’s return from injury bolstered the defensive line, and Jake Hoyt’s interception was part of some improvement shown in the secondary, Morrison noted. Inside linebacker Lucas Travis leads the team after two games with 16 tackles and Kal Barber has 3.5 tackles for loss.

Both teams have similar passing production to date, with Gatchel completing 27 for 316 yards and Panther sophomore Tanner Ray at 25 completions for 281 yards with two touchdowns. Casen Dryden has been a steady receiver with 100 yards on nine catches, while Xander Drake has two touchdowns among his four catches for 105 yards.

Senior running back Weston Trapp leads the Panther rushing attack with 129 yards on 33 carries, but was limited to 22 yards against Lewis Central.

“it was tough for us to get any yards rushing the football, which obviously puts pressure on our pass game,” Morrison said. “LC just crammed up to the box and said good luck throwing, you’re not running the ball. The pressure on our quarterback from the defensive front make it tough in the pass game.”

Up front, Creston looks to establish more consistency this week against a team that has faced similar challenges early this season. While Creston is mostly a fully platoon team of strictly offensive or defensive players, seniors Brayden Schoon and Mattias Schultes are likely to see time on both sides of the line. Defensive lineman Camden Smith is expected to be out two more weeks with a knee injury.

“We just need to take care of the football first and foremost, and put some first downs and drives together,” the Panther coach said. “We’re getting in too many second and long and third and long situations. We have to win first down and stay within our schedule.”

Creston (0-2, 0-0)

OFFENSE

T Brayden Schoon 6-3 235 Sr.

G Garrick Clausen 5-11 225 Jr.

C Chasse Downing 6-3 270 Jr. or Mattias Schultes, 5-11 200 Sr.

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 Tom Mikkelsen 6-0 220 So.

DL Jayden Myers 5-11 195 Sr.

DL Mattias Schultes 5-11 200 Sr. or Brayden Schoon 6-3 235 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. or Tyson Looney 5-10 165 Sr.

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.