The favorite: The district’s top seed, Dunkerton swept Don Bosco in the regular season, 75-66 and 73-67 (OT), and carry one of the state’s highest scoring offenses into postseason play. They’re averaging 74.2 points a game, good for third…
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The favorite: The district’s top seed, Dunkerton swept Don Bosco in the regular season, 75-66 and 73-67 (OT), and carry one of the state’s highest scoring offenses into postseason play. They’re averaging 74.2 points a game, good for third in 1A, behind four players averaging in double figures. Brady Happel (18.6) and Zach Johnson (18.3) are the major threats, while Brady Stone (11.9) and Tylin Williams (11.8) provide quality complimentary pieces. While beating a team three times in a season is difficult, the Raiders have proven capable of limiting the effectiveness of the guards that make Don Bosco so dangerous.
The biggest threat: Don Bosco has lost four times this season, twice to Dunkerton, and then once each to the teams that we currently have ranked #1 and #2 in 1A (Grand View Christian, New London). The Dons finished third at State last season and have a fantastic pair of guards in Jack Kelley (18.6) and Zach Huff (15.3), who are capable of dominating games. The issue is that Dunkerton not only swept them this year, but also limited that duo to 37.1% shooting combined in those two games (Kelley is a 52% shooter, Huff 47.6%). If Kelley and Huff are able to become a bit more efficient, they’re certainly capable of beating Dunkerton in the district final.
The dark horse: The team that has played the most difficult schedule in the district is Wapsie Valley, and they aren’t going to back down from anyone. Paul Rundquist (21.5) is a big-time scorer, and while he’s not very efficient (35%), he’s more than capable of getting hot for a few games and carrying the Warriors into a district final. Kiks Rosengarten (15.5) gives them a more efficient scoring option, while Blayde Bellis (7.7) is a capable perimeter shooter.
Players to watch
2019 Zach Johnson, Dunkerton
2019 Brady Happel, Dunkerton
2019 Brady Stone, Dunkerton
2019 Jack Kelley, Don Bosco
2020 Zach Huff, Don Bosco
2019 Paul Rundquist, Wapsie Valley
2020 Kiks Rosengarten, Wapsie Valley
2020 Tyler Kurth, MFL-Mar-Mac
2019 Harrison Dehning, Postville
2019 Levi Lukes, South Winneshiek
2020 John Zwack, Waterloo Christian
The favorite: Easton Valley split the season series with Prince of Peace, with each winning the home game by six points. The River Hawks have used a potent offensive attack to fuel their strong season, as their 72.1 points a game ranks 6th in 1A. They have a quartet of double figure scorers, with one more coming in at 9.9 points a game, giving them a deep rotation of scoring threats. Kaleb Cornilsen (19.0) is the focal point, leading the team in scoring and rebounding, and Curtis Hartung (12.4) gives them another efficient interior option. The backcourt has been stellar, with Cade Jargo (13.7), Jessen Weber (10.5) and Nate Trenkamp (9.9) combining to shoot 44.5% from behind the arc and posting 205 assists to just 80 turnovers. That backcourt has been great all year, and when combined with the efficiency of Cornilsen and Hartung, it gives the River Hawks the edge in this district. (Cornilsen didn’t play in EV’s loss to Prince of Peace.) This team is balanced and explosive, and could make some noise not just here, but in Des Moines should they make it.
The biggest threat: You could probably make Prince of Peace and Easton Valley co-favorites here, given they split the season series, with each winning games by six points on their home floors. As the district’s top seed, Prince of Peace has a slightly easier path to the district final than EV does, but given the fact that EV’s leading scorer didn’t play in the loss to PoP, we had to make the River Hawks the favorite. The Irish have been paced all year by a strong defense that ranks 15th in 1A, allowing just 45.4 points a game. They have a trio of double figure scorers, led by slashing guard Kaidion Larson (20.4), and efficient forward Nathan Moeller (15.6). Patrick Mulholland (11.9) also provides some scoring punch. This is a group that has struggled with turnovers at times throughout the season, and they’ll need to take care of the basketball against a very good Easton Valley team in the district final, but they have the pieces in place here to not only make noise in this district and substate, but in Des Moines as well with their defense.
The dark horse(s): While it’s a long shot that any team outside of Prince of Peace and Easton Valley meet in the district final, there are a pair of teams that are potentially dangerous. The first is Edgewood-Colesburg. The Vikings made a trip to State last year, and Parker Rochford (21.0) and Ethan Streicher (16.9) are both big-time scorers who are looking to get them back. They’ve combined to make 88 3s this year and if they get hot they can beat Easton Valley and get to the district final. The other potential long shot is Central City, headlined by Nick Reid (32.8), the state’s leading scorer, who just had a 76 point game, the second highest total in Iowa high school history. His ability to get to the free throw line and dominate games with his scoring ability could get Central City a few wins, but they’ll really need to step it up on the defensive end, where they rank 124th in 1A in scoring defense (62.8 points allowed).
Players to watch
2019 Kaidion Larson, Prince of Peace
2019 Patrick Mulholland, Prince of Peace
2020 Nathan Moeller, Prince of Peace
2019 Curtis Hartung, Easton Valley
2021 Kaleb Cornilsen, Easton Valley
2020 Cade Jargo, Easton Valley
2020 Nick Reid, Central City
2019 Ethan Streicher, Edgewood-Colesburg
2021 Parker Rochford, Edgewood-Colesburg
2019 Mason Reimer, Clayton Ridge
2019 Andy Seeland, Central Elkader
SUBSTATE FINAL PREDICTION
Dunkerton vs. Easton Valley
In what would be a highly up-tempo game featuring two of the top six offensive teams in 1A (Dunkerton 3rd at 73.9 points a game, Easton Valley 6th at 72.1), it’s the defense of Easton Valley that carries them through to Des Moines.
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