My Back to the Door

Can anyone stop Solon? North Cedar awaits

Jeff Dahn — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 05:06:53 +0000

The Class 2A No. 1-ranked Solon Spartans have been unbeatable and unchallenged on their way to a 23-0 record this season. The Spartans have won 24 straight games dating to last year’s 2A state consolation victory over Pella Christian, the state’s longest winning streak regardless of class.Take Our Poll

Solon won its first two district games by an average of 39 points, including a 106-43 romp past Alburnett in the first round, a game in which the Spartans had 42 points at the end of the first quarter and 60 at halftime. They will get their first real postseason test Tuesday night when they take on North Cedar (21-2) in a district final at Maquoketa.

Here are a few quick stats on both teams:

Solon (23-0): The Spartans average 74.7 points per game and won their 23 games by an average of 27.4 points. Senior point guard Matt Morrison, an all-stater in both basketball and football who will head to Northern Iowa next year on a basketball scholarship, is the undisputed leader. He averages 16.6 points, 4.9 assists and 4.9 steals. Tucker Wentzien is as 12.1 points and 8.0 rebounds, Ben Weeks at 12.6 points and Ben Bergman at 10.1 points and 7.1 rebounds. The Spartans are a matchup nightmare for anyone and a team with at least two legitimate all-state candidates in Morrison and Wentzien.

North Cedar (21-2): The Knights have won six straight games since back-to-back losses to Wilton and Mid-Prairie in late January that forced them to settle for a tie for the Cedar Valley Conference championship with Mid-Prairie. They average 67 points a game, led by senior point guard Jessy Gutwiler (17.0), who will likely matchup with Morrison on the defensive end. Andy Weiland averages 11.9 points and 5.2 rebounds and 6-4 freshman Jordan Hay is at 10.3 points and 6.1 rebounds.

The Solon-North Cedar winner will face either Dyersville Beckman (18-5) or Cascade (19-4) in the Substate 4 championship Saturday at Marion. Those teams meet Tueday at Western Dubuque. It’s an intriguing matchup in its own right. Cascade has won 12 straight and its defensive average is a miniscule 34.4 points. Beckman, which plays in the predominantly 3A Wamac Conference, has won seven straight. The Blazers beat the Cougars, 49-41, in a regular-season game Jan. 10.

Any thoughts on the winners of the those two games? I’m anticipating a Beckman-Solon substate final at Marion on Saturday.

Xavier player faces life and death challenges

Jeff Dahn — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 20:03:24 +0000

Just about 11 months ago, Cedar Rapids Xavier senior basketball player Kyle Jacoby was diagnosed with leukemia. The past 11 months have been a monumental struggle for Kyle, but he’s found plenty of support from his family, his basketball teammates and coaches, and the Xavier community. In return, he has offered them a profile in courage.

Here is a link to the story I wrote about the challenges Kyle has faced head-on:

http://iowaprepsports.com/2009/02/23/3538/

Live chat Monday; new area Super 10

Jeff Dahn — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 01:18:10 +0000

K.J. Pilcher, Jeff Linder and me will be talking it up in another prep sports live chat at noon on Monday. With the traditional state wrestling meet just completed, the state duals coming up and the boys’ and girls’ basketball postseasons in full swing, there should be plenty to chat about. You can join in at www.iowaprepsports.com at noon.

Now, here is the second to last area Super 10. With Linn-Mar beating Kennedy then losing to Cedar Falls, Solon is your overall No. 1. Comments are welcome:

THE SUPER TEN

Area boys’ basketball rankings: Overall

Team W-L Pv

1. Solon 23-0 3

2. Linn-Mar 19-2 1

3. C.R. Kennedy 20-1 2

4. Iowa Mennonite 21-1 4

5. Union Community 19-2 5

6. Iowa City High 16-5 7

7. C.R. Washington 15-6 6

8. North Cedar 21-2 8

9. Keota 20-1 9

10. Marion 17-4 10

Class 4A — 1. Linn-Mar (19-2), 2. C.R. Kennedy (20-1), 3. Iowa City High (16-5), 4. C.R. Washington (15-6), 5. C.R. Jefferson (11-10).

Class 3A — 1. Union (19-2), Marion (17-4), 3. Benton Community (16-5), 4. Mount Vernon (14-6), 5. Clear Creek Amana (11-10).

Class 2A — 1. Solon (23-0), 2. North Cedar (21-2), 3. Dyersville Beckman (18-5), 4. Cascade (19-4), 5. Mid-Prairie (18-5).

Class 1A — 1. Iowa Mennonite (21-1), 2. Keota (20-1), 3. East Buchanan (19-1), 4. HLV (19-3), 5. West Central (17-4).

Monday’s, Tuesday’s pairings

Jeff Dahn — Sat, 21 Feb 2009 23:26:05 +0000

The state’s Class 4A and 3A teams get into postseason action early this week, while Tuesday’s slate includes Class 2A district finals and 1A district semifinals. Here are some of the pairings:

Monday

(All games 7 p.m.)

CLASS 4A SUBSTATE FIRST ROUND

Substate 3

Newton at Cedar Falls

Waterloo East at Waterloo West

Substate 4

Dubuque Senior at C.R. Jefferson

Substate 6

C.R. Prairie at Muscatine

Davenport West at Burlington

State

C.B. Lewis Central at Sioux City North

Fort Dodge at Des Moines Lincoln

Mason City at Ankeny

Clinton at Davenport Central

Pleasant Valley at Davenport North

Ottumwa at Oskaloosa

Indianola at Waukon

W.D.M. Valley at Des Moines North

Des Moines East at W.D.M. Dowling

CLASS 3A DISTRICT SEMIFINALS

District 3

Decorah at Crestwood

Waukon at New Hampton

District 4

Clear Lake at Forest City

Hampton-Dumont at Charles City

District 5

South Tama at Benton Community

Center Pt.-Urbana at Vinton-Shellsburg

District 6

Waverly-Shell Rock at Union Comm.

Independence at Oelwein

District 7

West Delaware at Dubuque Wahlert

Maquoketa at Western Dubuque

District 8

Anamosa at Mount Vernon

Dav. Assumption at DeWitt Central

District 9

Washington at Marion

Clear Creek Amana at Williamsburg

District 10

Fort Madison at Mount Pleasant

Fairfield at Keokuk

Tuesday

(All games 7 p.m.)

CLASS 4A SUBSTATE FIRST ROUND

Substate 4

Dubuque Hempstead at C.R. Xavier

CLASS 2A DISTRICT FINALS

District 7

Dyersville Beckman (18-5) vs. Cascade (19-4), at Epworth

District 8

North Cedar (21-2) vs. Solon (23-0), at Maquoketa

District 9

Mid-Prairie (18-5) vs. Wilton (17-5), at Muscatine

State

Sibley-Ocheydan vs. Hull W. Christian

Hinton vs. Hull Western Christian

Okoboji vs. East Sac

Fort Dodge St. Edmond vs. Emmetsburg

West Fork vs. Garner-Hayfield

Sumner-Fred’burg vs. Glad.-Reinbeck

Pekin vs. Central Lee

Pella Christian vs. Davis County

PCM vs. Des Moines Christian

Jefferson-Scranton vs. Grundy Center

Panorama vs. West Marshall

Treynor vs. Clarinda Academy

C.B. St. Albert vs. Manilla IKM

CLASS 1A DISTRICT SEMIFINALS

District 7

Tripoli at North Butler

Wat. Walnut Ridge at C.F. NU High

District 8

West Central at Postville

Wapsie Valley at East Buchanan

District 9

Bellevue Marquette at Preston

Cal-Wheatland at Prince of Peace

District 10

Highland at Central City

Iowa Mennonite at Winfield-Mt. Union

District 11

North Mahaska at F.M. Holy Trinity

Lynnville-Sully at Moulton-Udell

District 12

Montezuma at Burlington Notre Dame

HLV at Keota

An emotional, courageous Senior Night at Xavier

Jeff Dahn — Sat, 21 Feb 2009 07:18:14 +0000

It was Senior Night at Cedar Rapids Xavier Friday. A night filled with a lot of emotion, a lot of respect, and just as likely, no shortage of tears.

Kyle Jacoby was one of five Xavier senior basketball players honored, and he received – by my count – four standing ovations. They were much deserved. Jacoby was diagnosed with luekemia 11 months ago, and watched from the sidelines this season as his beloved teammates battled through a 7-14 regular season. The kid is a champion, through and through, and doing quite well now as he faces three more years of treatment for the unrelenting blood cell cancer.

I will offer what I hope is an insightful piece detailing his struggle in Monday’s Gazette. It’s a story of courage and perseverance by a bright, soft-spoken, humble 17-year-old young man who deserves admiration and salutation. Not that he would ask for any of it. He spoke only of the support he’s received from his family, teammates, coaches and friends, and his love of basketball. Kyle certainly picked up a fan in this corner.

Young McDermott teaming with Barnes to keep Ames No. 1

Jeff Dahn — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 19:53:01 +0000

Ames is unbeaten and a unanimous No. 1 in the latest Class 4A rankings. Everyone knows about the Little Cyclones’ Harrison Barnes, a 6-7 junior who is the most highly recruited player in Iowa high school history. Duke, North Carolina, Kansas and UCLA are among the dozens of schools that have extended an offer to Barnes. Iowa State and Iowa are the list, too.

Now another 6-7 Ames junior is starting to get noticed. He’s Doug McDermott, the son of Iowa State Coach Greg McDermott. Doug is averaging 18 points since becoming a starter for the Little Cyclones in late January.

Here’s a link to a story on McDermott from the Ames Tribune:

http://www.amestrib.com/articles/2009/02/19/ames_tribune/sports/doc499a585946f3b303504416.txt

Thursday’s area district pairings

Jeff Dahn — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 20:50:02 +0000

Here is Thursday’s slate for area Class 2A district semifinal and Class 1A district first round games. The brackets at www.iahsaa.org were not updated as of Wednesday afternoon, so the sites listed for the 2A games are based on the highest seed hosting. All games begin at 7 p.m.

CLASS 2A DISTRICT FIRST ROUND

District 7

Clayton Ridge at Cascade

MFL MarMac at Maquoketa Valley

CLASS 2A DISTRICT SEMIFINALS

District 5

Lake Mills at Garner-Hayfield

Turkey Valley at West Fork

District 6

Gladbrook-Reinbeck at Hudson

Denver at Sumner-Fredericksburg

District 7

Dyersville Beckman at South Winneshiek

District 8

Monticello at Solon

Northeast at North Cedar

District 9

West Liberty at Wilton

West Branch at Mid-Prairie

District 10

Van Buren at Central Lee

Wapello at Pekin

District 11

Belle Plaine at Davis County

Albia at Pella Christian

CLASS 1A FIRST ROUND

District 7

Rockford at North Butler

Riceville at Tripoli

Janesville at Cedar Falls NU High

Waterloo Walnut Ridge at North Tama

District 8

Lansing Kee at Postville

Elkader Central at West Central

Dunkerton at East Buchanan

Wapsie Valley at Don Bosco

District 9

Andrew at Preston

Midland at Bellevue Marquette

Rivermont Collegiate at Prince of Peace

Morningstar Academy at Cal-Wheatland

District 10

Olin at Central City

Springville at Highland

Iowa Mennonite at Lisbon

Lone Tree at Winfield-Mt. Union

District 11

Fairfield Maharishi at F.M. Holy Trinity

Eldon Cardinal at North Mahaska

Twin Cedars at Moulton-Udell

Moravis at Lynnville-Sully

District 12

English Valleys at Burl. Notre Dame

New London at Montezuma

WACO at Keota

BGM at HLV

A one-sided “Catfight”

Jeff Dahn — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 07:09:52 +0000

By Jeff Dahn

CEDAR RAPIDS — The big crowd gathered early, eager to grab the best available seats for what promised be a tight game between two of the state’s big-school best.

Quite unexpectedly, they had the opportunity to leave those seats early.

Class 4A third-ranked Linn-Mar built a 21-point halftime lead, kept its foot to the gas throughout the second half and whipped No. 2 Cedar Rapids Kennedy, 79-48, in front of a stunned sellout crowd of 2,180 fans packed in the Kennedy gym.

No one saw this coming, certainly not a 31-point blowout by one Mississippi Valley Conference division champion over the other. Linn-Mar (19-1, 15-0 MVC) extended its winning streak to 12, and Kennedy (19-1, 14-1) had its 19-game win streak snapped.

“It was a great environment and great team win overall,” Linn-Mar senior sensation Zach Bohannon said. “It was exciting coming out and seeing all the fan support … and it was just one of those things where we wanted to put on a show for everybody here.”

Bohannon was the top showman, scoring 25 points on 9-of-11 shooting from the floor and a 6-of-6 effort from the line. He led the Lions with seven rebounds, and he also had plenty of help.

Nate Hutcheson scored 13 points, a total matched by sophomore Shane Benton coming off the bench. Benton was 5 of 6 from the floor. Will Roth left the bench to score 10 points and grab five rebounds.

The Lions finished 26 of 44 from the field (59.1 percent) and ran roughshod over the defensively talented Cougars. Kennedy was 16 of 49 shooting (32.6 percent).

“We shot real well tonight,” Hutcheson said. “It’s real hard to guard a team that doesn’t miss much, and tonight we just didn’t miss much.”

The Lions jumped to a 17-8 first quarter lead and were up 26-15 after Kennedy’s Kyle Lamaak hit a free throw with 4:26 left in the second quarter. From that point, Linn-Mar finished the half on a 12-2 run to take a 38-17 lead at the break.

The Lions shot lights-out in the first half, draining 14 of 22 from the field, including 4 of 5 3-pointers. Zach Bohannon was 5 of 7 from the field and 5 of 5 from the line in the first half, good for 16 points.

The Cougars struggled, hitting just 5 of 21 from the floor with 10 turnovers.

“I thought we came out real loose and just playing and that was one of our goals,” Linn-Mar Coach Chris Robertson said. “I know it was a big game in a lot of ways, but the conference had already been decided and I just wanted our guys to play loose and use it as a steppingstone to get into the tournament.”

Linn-Mar led 62-36 after a foul-plagued third quarter and its final margin of victory was its biggest lead.

The Cougars could never get going offensively. Jake Hughes and Jake Heffernen led the Cougars with 11 points each, and Heffernen grabbed a team-high seven rebounds.

Kennedy hosts Dubuque Wahlert in its MVC regular season finale Friday; Linn-Mar is at Cedar Falls.

Linn-Mar/Kennedy

Jeff Dahn — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 23:23:59 +0000

It’s 5:15, more than two hours before the varsity game between 4A No. 3 Linn-Mar and No. 2 Kennedy will tip off, and the Kennedy gym is already nearly full.

The Linn-Mar and Kennedy student bodies worked together last week to sell t-shirts with identical “Catfight” logos, with the Linn-Mar kids (and some adults, too) wearing black and the Kennedy side wearing white. Prodeeds from the sale of the shirts will be donated to Theatre Cedar Rapids to help that group with its flood recovery. The word is $7,500 was raised. Pretty cool.

If you planned on watching the game in person, you better get here soon. Real soon. There can’t be more than 100 seats left as this is written. If you’re at home, participate in Jeff Linder’s live blog at www.iowaprepsports.com Enjoy!

42 points in 8 minutes

Jeff Dahn — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 04:39:17 +0000

According to the report I just heard on KCRG-TV9, Solon scored 42 points in the first quarter of its 106-43 win over Alburnett Monday night. I’ve got my calculator in hand, and that figures out to 5.2 points a minute. Are you kidding me? The 22-0 Spartans also led, 60-10 at halftime, an average of 3.7 points per minute. I watched the Iowa-Purdue game Saturday, and it was 4-4 about 5 minutes in.

Solon is good, folks. Very good.