5 Up, 5 Down (Week 8)
Up Dowling One of the more balanced attacks in the state, the Maroons have tons of size and talent, but no one player that routinely stands out in the box score. Their team-oriented approach has had them flying high…
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Dowling
One of the more balanced attacks in the state, the Maroons have tons of size and talent, but no one player that routinely stands out in the box score. Their team-oriented approach has had them flying high all season, and last last week they extended their win streak to five games, including handing chief rival Valley its first loss of the season.
Cedar Rapids Xavier
After losing Division I prospect Adam McDermott, and Division II prospect Calvin Winker, we were unsure what this year’s Xavier team would become. Well, the Saints have become one of 3A’s most formidable threats to win a state title. And behind some very strong play from junior Max Techau they pulled out two more wins last week, over Linn-Mar, and Muscatine.
Des Moines North
The Polar Bears came into the season with a supremely talented, but completely revamped look. Freshman Tryeke Locure has been one of the best point guards in the state, Promise Academy transplant Jal Bijiek has become a top-5 prospect in the 2017 class, and Woodward Academy transfer Dontre English averages 21.6 points per game. Last week they extended their win streak to six, after crushing Des Moines Lincoln, and then bashing a red-hot Roosevelt team.
Western Christian, Hull
The favorites to win a 2A title, Josh VanLingen and Co. have now extended their win streak to 11 games since their only loss of the season to South Dakota’s Sioux Falls O’Gorman back on Jan 2. In the last two weeks the Wolves have been particularly impressive; with wins over Le Mars, Spirit Lake, Spencer, and Bishop Heelan.
Lynnville-Sully
Like the Maroons, Lynnville-Sully boasts one of the more well-executed balanced attacks in the state. Nobody on the team averages more than 13 points per game, and four guys average between 9 and 12.5. Since the Hawks dropped a close one to Montezuma in early December, they have reeled off 10 straight wins – last Tuesday they beat a then 10-4 BGM squad by 35 points.
Down
Linn-Mar
It’s not time to hit the panic button by any means, but the Lions did have a bit of a slip-up last week when they dropped consecutive games for the first time this season. The first loss was to a hot Cedar Rapids Xavier team (see above), the second was to a sub-500 Cedar Rapids Jefferson squad.
Mount Vernon
It’s been a roller-coaster of a season for the Mustangs, who after starting 2-3, rattled off eight straight wins before dropping consecutive games last week to Beckman Catholic, and West Delaware. Those are two good teams, but both were winnable for the Mustangs who will look to get into the win column tomorrow night against Maquoketa.
Roland-Story
The Norseman were off to a very promising 10-3 start to the season, but have hit a roadblock since, losers of three straight. PCM, Gilbert, and Nevada have all downed Roland-Story in the last two weeks, the latter of which pummeled them, winning by 25 at Roland-Story.
WACO, Wayland
It’s now 13 straight losses for the Warriors, which started the season 2-3. Of those 13 losses, none of them have winning records, so it hasn’t been easy, but we have to think they’d like to end that streak sooner rather than later. They’ll play tomorrow night against a 13-5 Pekin squad.
Akron-Westfield
They were 3-4 and competitive early-on, but since the Westerners have dropped 10 straight. They’ll try and right the ship tomorrow night against an 8-8 Marcus-Meriden-Cleghorn team.