Friday Games to Watch

For the rest of the season, we’ll be taking a closer look at the top games of the day on Tuesdays and Fridays, and on the bigger Saturday slates as well. 

The rankings listed below are our preseason rankings. With so many teams that haven’t played games yet, we haven’t updated the rankings. Those will come on Monday, December 14.

2A #3 Rock Valley (2-1) at 2A #1 Boyden-Hull (3-0)

Defending champion Boyden-Hull is off to a hot 3-0 start, but they’ve played a few close ones - a 49-45 win over Central Lyon and 75-66 against West Lyon. They swept the season series against Rock Valley last year, winning 77-66 and 74-71. They’ve been led early on by the dynamic duo of junior wing Tanner Te Slaa Tanner Te Slaa 6'5" | SF Boyden-Hull | 2022 State IA (23.0) and senior guard Marcus Kelderman Marcus Kelderman 6'1" | SG Boyden-Hull | 2021 State IA (21.3). Neither of them have shot it well from 3 yet, but they’re both great at getting to the bucket, and they shouldn’t have too many issues in that regard against the Rockets. 

Rock Valley has bounced back from a season-opening loss to Okoboji well, beating West Lyon and MOC-Floyd Valley. Three players are averaging in double figures early for the Rockets - Bryson Van Grootheest Bryson Van Grootheest 6'0" | CG Rock Valley | 2022 State IA (23.5), Landyn Van Kekerix (17.5) and Cole Huyser (14.5). While Boyden-Hull doesn’t have much traditional size, they’re an athletic, aggressive team that likes to pound the offensive glass, so that’s an area that Rock Valley will have to focus on and try to limit second chance opportunities. Look for this to be another up-tempo game with plenty of points scored. It should be tight throughout.

3A #10 Mount Vernon (0-0) at 3A #6 Clear Creek-Amana (1-2)

This is the season-opener for the Mustangs, who went 21-2 last year and bring back leading scorer Keaton Kutcher Keaton Kutcher 6'2" | SG Mount Vernon | 2021 State IA , a South Dakota commit. Kutcher is an electric scoring threat who can get red hot from 3 and carry Mount Vernon to a win on any given night. They lost a lot of role players from last year’s group, so the surrounding cast will be largely new, but look for seniors Jayden Meeker Jayden Meeker 5'11" | SG Mount Vernon | 2021 State IA and Collin Swantz to play key roles alongside Kutcher.

The Clippers have gotten off to a shaky 1-2 start after making the semifinals last year in 3A. One of the best 3-point shooting teams in the class last year, they’re off to an ice cold start from behind the arc this season (12.5% through two games; Thursday’s stats aren’t uploaded to VarsityBound yet). Christian Withrow Christian Withrow 6'1" | CG Clear Creek-Amana | 2021 State IA (20.5), a slashing wing, led the team in scoring last year and is off to another strong start, but the key for the Clippers will be getting Mike Potter Mike Potter 6'2" | SG Clear Creek-Amana | 2021 State IA , Kyle Screpfer and Ryan Navara going, especially from behind the arc. They’ll break out of their slump at some point.

1A #5 West Fork (2-0) at Newman Catholic (3-1)

West Fork, a 1A semifinalist last year, hasn’t been tested yet this season, winning their two games 73-48 and 90-16. They’ll face a much stiffer test on Friday night against a solid Newman Catholic squad. West Fork’s dynamic duo has picked up right where they left off last year. Guard Kayden Ames Kayden Ames 6'1" | SG West Fork | 2021 State IA (26.0) has been a flamethrower through their first two contests, posting an eFGPCT of 104.2%, buoyed by his scorching 12-17 from 3 so far. Forward Jakob Washington Jakob Washington 6'2" | SF West Fork | 2021 State IA (12.5) is pounding the glass, pulling down 9.5 rebounds a night, and Cail Weaver Cail Weaver 6'0" | SG West Fork | 2021 State IA (9.5) and Joe Ingham (8.5) are experienced players who saw a lot of run last year. 

The Knights are young, but talented, led by sophomore forward Douglas Taylor Douglas Taylor 6'5" | SF Newman Catholic | 2023 State IA (21.5) and junior guard James Jennings (13.8). Sophomore lead guard Max Burt Max Burt 6'0" | PG Newman Catholic | 2023 State IA (8.3) has also been exceptional, dishing out 6.3 assists with 3.5 steals a game. Their lone loss so far was a 2-point loss to a good 2A Osage team, and they’ve posted a quality win against Bishop Garrigan, a game in which Jennings went for 32 points. This group will need to focus on running Ames off the 3-point line and keeping Washington off the glass.

Sioux City East (2-1) at Sioux City West (1-0)

East dropped their opener to Spencer, but have bounced back in a big way, beating Bishop Heelan and Council Bluffs Jefferson by a combined 81 points in their last two games. The Black Raiders lost a lot from last year’s team, but added a huge transfer in junior guard DaVares Whitaker DaVares Whitaker 6'0" | PG Sioux City East | 2022 IA (23.0). Whitaker moved to Sioux City from Arkansas and holds a Division I offer from Cleveland State. A quick lead guard with explosive athleticism, he’s a tough matchup for any player in the state. He’s averaging 9.3 rebounds and 4.3 assists to go with his scoring. Senior wing Dom Drent (14.0) has given the Raiders a solid secondary scoring threat and some perimeter shooting. We know that East is going to want to play fast, and this year will be no different. 

West has lost to East 37 straight times, with the last win in the series coming way back in 2003. They’re coming off a solid win against a good Sergeant Bluff-Luton team and currently have four players averaging in double figures. Junior guard Keeon Hutton Keeon Hutton 6'3" | SG Sioux City West | 2022 KS was outstanding in the Wolverines season-opening win, with 17 points, 10 rebounds and 8 assists, and his ability to dominate a game without scoring is huge for this group that is loaded with scoring options. Keavian Hayes (19.0), a skilled sophomore guard scorer, Keenan Hegna (12.0) and Lamarion Mothershead (10.0) give the Wolverines an athletic group that isn’t going to back down from East. If they can find a way to slow down Whitaker, they have the weapons to end this streak.

Van Meter (2-0) at South Hamilton (3-0)

This is an interesting non-conference game between a pair of 2A programs that have been excellent for the last five years. Van Meter is averaging 20.8 wins over the last half-decade, while South Hamilton is averaging 19.6. It doesn’t matter who is wearing the jersey, these programs just find ways to win.

Van Meter is usually a suffocating defensive team, and they’re off to a strong start on that end again this year, allowing just 37 points a game through two games. They’ve also been explosive offensively, averaging 84 points a game so far. Four players are averaging in double figures in Chris Schreck Chris Schreck 5'10" | PG Van Meter | 2022 State IA (20.5), Carter Durflinger (17.0), Casey Trudo (12.0) and Clark Fiala (10.0). The scary thing about this group, too, is that only one senior is seeing significant time, so the train is just going to keep rolling.

After losing their top three scorers from last year’s team, South Hamilton was expected to be a bit down this year. That hasn’t been the case so far. Carter Hewitt (12.3, 11.0 rebounds) is leading a balanced attack that has won games on the defensive end, allowing 45 points a game. The Hawks are only shooting 40% from the floor as a team, and 27.5% from 3, so they’ll need to lock down a high-powered Van Meter attack if they want to keep this one close. 

2A #2 Western Christian (4-0) at Spencer (4-1)

Western Christian swept the season series last year, winning 52-49 at Spencer and 77-31 at home. The Wolfpack return a majority of their roster from that team and have gotten off to a blazing start, averaging 79.8 points a game through their first four wins. Four players are averaging in double figures for the Pack, led by junior wing Ty Van Essen Ty Van Essen 6'4" | PF Western Christian | 2022 State IA (18.5), who is a threat to score from all three levels. Tyson Boer (13.0, 46.2 3P%) is a knockdown shooter, and the Wolfpack have a number of other weapons that the Tigers will have to try to contend with. 

Junior wing Karter Petzenhauser Karter Petzenhauser 6'4" | SG Spencer | 2022 State IA is the standout for Spencer, and he’s off to an outstanding start, averaging 25.3 points and 5.8 rebounds a game with 56-42-74 shooting splits. He had a solid game against Western Christian in the first meeting last year but was really limited in the blowout loss, scoring just 6 points on 3-12 shooting. They’ll need him to be closer to the 22 points on 8-18 shooting performance if they want to keep pace with the higher powered Wolfpack. 

Pella (3-0) at Norwalk (2-1)

These two Little Hawkeye schools have developed a strong rivalry over the years, and they always play entertaining games. Pella is off to a strong start, with blowout wins over North Polk and Washington, and a comeback win against Indianola. They overcame a 17-point deficit in that game to eventually win in overtime. As they usually are, the Dutch are balanced, with seven players averaging at least 6.0 points a game, led by Grant Nelson Grant Nelson 6'1" | SF Pella | 2021 State IA (16.3), Parker Elder Parker Elder 6'4" | SF Pella | 2022 State IA (11.7) and Karl Miller Karl Miller 6'4" | SF Pella | 2022 State IA (11.3). They crash the offensive glass hard, and that will be a key for Norwalk - keeping Pella off the offensive glass. 

The defending 3A champion Warriors started the post- Bowen Born Bowen Born 5'11" | PG Norwalk | 2020 State #401 Nation IA era poorly, with a blowout loss to preseason 3A #1 Ballard (71-46), but have rebounded nicely since, posting a 23-point win over Pella Christian and an 11-point win over Winterset. Senior forward Cole Tunender (16.3) is enjoying a breakout year after a strong summer with the Barnstormers, while Ethan Carlson (10.0), Joe Brown (9.0) and Max Juergens (8.7) have stepped up their games in big ways. The Warriors will have their hands full with the Dutch and the way they pound the glass, so they’ll need to rely on their shooters to keep this one close.