Iowa’s 3 Up, 3 Down (Week 9)
There are certainly plenty of ebbs and flows throughout the high school season, we’ll try our best to track those here. Teams that land in the DOWN portion of an article, could later find itself in the UP part, and vice-versa. Such is the grind of a full high school season. Below, you’ll find this week’s ebb and flow.
UP
Treynor: Always good, Treynor has been a mainstay within the 3A rankings and in the state tournament since we started this Prep Hoops Iowa thing in 2014. And this season is certainly no different. The Cardinals are undefeated, 19-0. They’ve won those 19 games by an average of 28 points, and with just two games left against teams they should certainly beat, a 21-0 regular season finish is looking likely. Luke Clausen and Dillon Faubel are leading the way for the Cardinals, the duo averages 31 points per game.
South Hamilton: The Hawks are cooking, and well, they have been all season long. With just one season left in their regular season, they stand at 21-0. And if Marco Balderas and Co. can get by a tough Kuemper Catholic squad on Thursday, the undefeated regular season will be complete. But, it’s a trip to the state tourney that’s the ultimate goal here, and after getting a taste of it last season (they lost in the first-round), you can bet they’re hungrier than ever to get back to Wells Fargo Arena next month.
G-H-V: It was a rocky start for The Cardinals, and for a bit there we were wondering what the problem might be. But their 4-3 start seems like ancient history, and the current 17-3 mark is more what we were expecting of Ryan Myers, James Betz, Nick Joynt and Co. For the Cards to make a consecutive state tourney appearance, they’ll have to get through Substate 3. Just getting through their district will be tough enough, Forest City is in there. But the potential substate showdown with Aplington-Parkersburg would be a doozy.
Down
West Liberty: At one point this season, the Comets had a two game winning-streak. Those two wins came against 0-18 Columbus Junction and 1-19 Wilton. West Liberty is 0-17 before and after that mini win-streak.
GC-AC: There was a time this season when things were looking up for GC-AC, it was 3-2 with a three game win-streak. But that success was short-lived, it’s now 15 straight losses since the promising start.
Eldon, Cardinal: For the Comets, there’s one more chance to nab a win this regular season, or else a win-less 2017-18 campaign will be in the books. The 0-18 Comets will face 13-6 West Burlington tonight. The first time those two teams met, West Burlington won by 62.