Small school football preview: New London, WMU show down

It’s going to be another busy Friday night in small school area football this weekend. The local 8-Player teams continue district play as squads in class A, 1A and 2A begin to wrap up non-district play.

New London (1-2, 1-0) at Winfield-Mount Union (2-1, 0-1)

After a pair of losses to start the season, New London knocked off Tri-County in a 52-0 thumping on Friday. A once 2-0 WMU squad lost a shoot out, 68-52 against Iowa Valley.

The Wolves’ offense had to play without Cam Buffington (578 all-purpose yards, 12 total touchdowns) last week, but the team still put up big numbers. New London quarterback Dom Lopez has rushed for 198 yards and four scores, and thrown for 229 and three.

New London dominated the matchup last time these two teams got together. The Tigers beat the Wolves 71-18 last season.

No. 2 (8-Player) WACO (3-0, 1-0) at English Valleys (0-2, 0-1)

The Warriors look to keep their dominant start to the season going on the road. WACO comes in averaging 53 points per game, thanks in part to nine total touchdowns each for quarterback Isaac Oswald and running back Simeon Reichenbach.

English Valleys’ Treyton Shaw has rushed for 223 yards this season but no touchdowns. The Bears’ passing game has thrown four interceptions and no scores.

Wapello (1-1) at Columbus (2-0)

The Wildcats have shredded opposing defenses in the first two weeks of the season, rushing for a ridiculous 400 yards per game.

Columbus takes on a Wapello team that will be coming off a 60-21 beating of Louisa-Muscatine last week.

Wilton (2-0) at Highland (0-2)

The Huskies have had a rough go of it, having to play East Buchanan and Columbus on back-to-back weeks. Highland has yet to score any points.

Highland’s Luke Guseman and Colten Sypherd have combined for most of the team’s yards, all on the ground. Guseman and Sypherd have rushed for 82 yards and 66 yards respectively.

North Cedar (0-2) at Pekin (1-1)

After a 20-0 win over rival Cardinal in Week 1, the Panthers tumbled against a tough Alburnett team last week, falling 42-0.

The Panthers, led by Luke Long’s 159 total yards and two passing touchdowns, will face a North Cedar team that has struggled mightily for the first two weeks. The Knights have been outscored 93-6 so far this season.

Cardinal (0-2) at Davis County (1-1)

The Comets have played relatively well on defense, but the offense hasn’t quite been there in two losses to start the season. Cardinal now turns its attention toward a road game at Davis County.

The Comets and Mustangs played in one of the best games of the season last year, when the Comets prevailed 42-38.

Van Buren County (1-1) at Louisa-Muscatine (0-2)

The Warriors have a shot at a 2-1 start, thanks in part to the brilliant play of receiver Anthony Duncan.

Through two games, Duncan has caught 15 of the 23 passes thrown by quarterback Jackson Manning. He currently has 342 yards and two scores in the air. Altogether, the Warriors have passed for 395 and two.

Centerville (2-0) at Sigourney-Keota (0-2)

After a couple of dominant seasons, Sigourney-Keota has taken a rare downturn, falling twice in its first two games of the season. The Cobras look to turn that around against a 2-0 Centerville squad.

Sigourney-Keota has scored 34 total points over its first two games. Cole Clarahan has rushed for 205 yards and one score so far, and Cole Kindred leads the team with two touchdown rushes.

The Cobras will look to slow down Centerville quarterback Brody Tuttle, who has rushed for 343 yards and two touchdowns, and passed for 219 and two.

Mid-Prairie (2-0) at Iowa City Regina (1-1)

The Golden Hawks have started the 2022 season hot, picking up a pair of close wins over West Burlington and Sigourney-Keota. Senior running back Braden Hartley has been nearly unstoppable, rushing for 417 yards and three touchdowns so far this season.

Mid-Prairie has a tough test, as the Golden Hawks hit the road to take on Regina. The Regals beat West Burlington 49-14 last week after a 31-0 shut out loss to Williamsburg in Week 1.