Playoff Preview: 1A-2
Chett Helming The favorite: Lake Mills entered the season ranked #1 in 1A by us, and they’ve spent a huge chunk of the season ranked within the top 5. The Bulldogs have been great on both ends of…
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Chett Helming
The favorite: Lake Mills entered the season ranked #1 in 1A by us, and they’ve spent a huge chunk of the season ranked within the top 5. The Bulldogs have been great on both ends of the floor, ranking 6th in scoring offense at 70.5 points a game, and 13th in defense, allowing 44.4 a night. Chett Helming (17.9) and Dashawn Linnen (20.3) have been great this season, combining to average over 38 points a night, while Colby Groe (6.5), Bennett Berger (6.2), Caleb Bacon (9.1) and Wyatt Helming (4.4) provide experience and depth. Groe has been exceptional as a lead guard, dishing out 107 assists against just 17 turnovers, and as a team they’ve got 404 assists against 198 turnovers. If there is a flaw with this group, it’s 3-point shooting. They shoot just 32.5% from the arc as a team, but Linnen is at 38.8% and they’ve got great size, length and the ability to score in a number of ways and defend at a high level. The 6-6 Helming is the best player in this district, and they look like an overwhelming favorite to come out of this district and play for a trip to State.
The biggest threat: While Rockford has struggled against the top teams on their schedule, they have a big man who can dominate the game on both ends of the floor, and who could alter the way Lake Mills wants to play in 6-8 center Matt Schubert (14.9, 11.2 rebounds, 70 blocks). Justice Jones (10.3, 99 assists, 48 steals) takes good care of the ball, and Kolton Lyman (7.9) is a capable shooter who will need to get hot if they want to knock off Lake Mills.
The dark horse: West Hancock was swept by Lake Mills this year, losing by 14 and 40. That said, they’ve proven capable of beating solid teams with a win over Forest City. Joe Smith (10.6), Tristan Hunt (3.5) and Tanner Thompson (8.1) have each pulled down over 100 rebounds this year and can control the glass, while Cayson Barnes (9.6, 43.0 3P%) is an excellent shooter who could shoot the Eagles to an upset if they’re able to make it to the district final.
Players to watch
2020 Chett Helming, Lake Mills
2021 Dashawn Linnen, Lake Mills
2021 Caleb Bacon, Lake Mills
2020 Colby Groe, Lake Mills
2020 Joe Smith, West Hancock
2021 Cayson Barnes, West Hancock
2020 Matt Schubert, Rockford
2021 Justice Jones, Rockford
2020 Erik Gerdts, Saint Ansgar
2021 Dominyk Price, North Iowa
2020 Cedric Frerichs, North Iowa
2022 Angel Jose, Central Springs
2020 Sullivan Fair, Riceville
The favorite: Turkey Valley is the top seed in the district, but the favorite has to be MFL-Mar-Mac, who swept the Trojans in the regular season. Yes, those wins were by a combined seven points, but they were wins nonetheless. The Bulldogs are led by the inside-out combination of Cedrick Drahn (15.0, 122 assists, 39.2 3P%) and Tyler Kurth (13.0, 8.3 rebounds, 61.3 FG%). Cayden Ball (8.0, 45.8 3P%) is another quality shooter. The ‘Dogs shot 50% from the floor in the two wins over Turkey Valley.
The biggest threat: Double-double machine Ethan Leibold (14.9, 11.4 rebounds) is back in the lineup for Turkey Valley, and that makes this group more dangerous. Keegan Balk (12.2) is a solid secondary scorer, while Eli Nymeyer (10.8) is a good tertiary scoring threat. Eli Reicks (8.5, 83 assists, 31 turnovers) has been a good decision maker, and Garrett Kurtenbach (8.6, 38.0 3P%) can give them some shooting. It certainly wouldn’t be a surprise if Turkey Valley comes out of this district, but since they were swept, we had to give the nod to MFL.
The dark horse(s): South Winneshiek has had an interesting season, including a sweep of MFL-Mar-Mac, and they were swept by Turkey Valley. They’ll get a third crack at Turkey Valley in the district semifinals, and you know the old saying is that it’s hard to beat a team three times in a season. The Warriors are led by Collin WIltgen (13.3) and Jacob Herold (12.4), but they’ll need to get more production out of guys like Jaron Todd (8.6) or Noah Tieskotter (5.9) if they’re going to beat Turkey Valley. Janesville has had a strong season, going 17-4 in the regular season behind the strong play of Wiley Sherburne (19.6). The Wildcats will need to protect the ball better (247 turnovers, 242 assists) if they want to make a real run here, however.
Players to watch
2020 Eli Nymeyer, Turkey Valley
2020 Keegan Balk, Turkey Valley
2020 Ethan Leibold, Turkey Valley
2020 Cedrick Drahn, MFL-Mar-Mac
2020 Tyler Kurth, MFL-Mar-Mac
2021 Jacob Herold, South Winneshiek
2021 Collin Wiltgen, South Winneshiek
2022 Wiley Sherburne, Janesville
2021 Austin Bienemann, Nashua-Plainfield
2023 Bo Harrington, Nashua-Plainfield
2021 Conner Piehl, Tripoli
2022 Dalton Dilbert, Kee
2021 Aidan Nelson, West Central
SUBSTATE FINAL PREDICTION
Lake Mills vs. MFL-Mar-Mac
We pegged Lake Mills as our state champion in 1A at the beginning of the year, and we’re not getting off that train now. Chett Helming, Dashawn Linnen and Lake Mills punch their first State ticket since 1986.