Playoff Preview: 1A-6
The favorite: The top seeded team in the district is West Fork, and deservedly so. The Warhawks have lost just twice this season, with both losses coming to quality 2A programs (Dike-New Hartford and Osage). They’ve gone 14-0 against…
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The favorite: The top seeded team in the district is West Fork, and deservedly so. The Warhawks have lost just twice this season, with both losses coming to quality 2A programs (Dike-New Hartford and Osage). They’ve gone 14-0 against 1A competition this year, winning those 14 games by an average of 28.2 points a game (24.8 points a game even if you take out the 73-point blowout of Northwood-Kensett). They’re led by Kayden Ames (13.9) and Jakob Washington (12.1), but have seven players who average at least 6.0 points a game, giving this team excellent balance and depth. They take outstanding care of the ball (339 assists, 171 turnovers) and have the inside-out play and balance that will make this group really tough to beat.
The biggest threat: A young, but talented, Meskwaki Settlement team looms on the bottom half of the bracket. The Warriors have four players averaging in double figures – Taurice Grant (16.1), Victor Balderas (15.2), Osceola Tyon (11.9) and Tiernan Wanatee (10.6) – and they’ve been great on the defensive end this year, allowing just 40.2 points a game, which ranks 6th in 1A. The issue for this group is that they’ve played a schedule that ranks 136th (out of 147 1A teams), according to BC Moore’s power rankings system. So they haven’t really been tested very much this season. Still, this group is young, talented and will create some chaos on the defensive end, which could lead them to an upset win and a district title.
The dark horse: Grundy Center has played the most difficult schedule of any team in this district (again, according to BC Moore). Brayden Sawyer (12.4, 41.6 3P%) is a knockdown 3-point shooter who could get hot and lead this group to a district final, where anything can happen.
Players to watch
2021 Kayden Ames, West Fork
2021 Jakob Washington, West Fork
2020 Ian Latham, West Fork
2021 Taurice Grant, Meskwaki Settlement
2022 Osceola Tyon, Meskwaki Settlement
2021 Tiernan Wanatee, Meskwaki Settlement
2021 Victor Balderas, Meskwaki Settlement
2021 Wes Willis, Grundy Center
2022 Brayden Sawyer, Grundy Center
2020 Treye Teske, BCLUW
2020 Luke Starr, AGWSR
2020 Ryan McLean, North Tama
2021 Avery Bryant, GMG
2020 Ethan Schmidt, Clarksville
Braden Gibbons (Photo credit: Boone News Republican)
The favorite: You could make good arguments for any of the top three teams in this district (Madrid, Grand View Christian, Ankeny Christian) to be considered the favorite here, but since the latter two teams will have to go through each other, then Madrid to get the district crown, we’ll consider Madrid to be the favorite. Led by dynamic point guard Braden Gibbons (27.7), the Tigers have the second highest scoring offense in 1A, averaging 74.6 points a game. They’ve played only four games against 1A competition this season, and have gone 4-0 in those games, winning by an average of 28 points a game. Mason Lobeck (14.9), a 6-3 forward who is highly efficient, controls the paint and the glass, while Jacob Loew (11.6, 40.9 3P%) pairs with Gibbons to give this group a dynamic shooting backcourt.
The biggest threat: Three-time defending champion Grand View Christian may have lost nearly everything from those championship teams, but they’ve reloaded and are playing great basketball to close the year. As of this writing, they’ve won five straight games, including a 17-point win over 3A Greene County. The Thunder are led by guard Gage Fry (20.3) and forward Andrew Long (12.6), the two holdovers from last year’s title team. Sophomore Manny Hammonds (13.8) has given them some real scoring punch late in the season, and 6-10 freshman Daniel Tobiloba (7.3) is a rim protector who has blocked 71 shots this season. This team is coming on strong, and won’t be an easy out.
The dark horse: It’s hard to consider a team that routinely wins 17+ games as a dark horse, but Ankeny Christian Academy is probably the third best team in this strong district. The Eagles have won 11 straight down the stretch and are playing good basketball. They knew that the Bluegrass Conference wouldn’t prepare them for the run they want to make, so they’ve gone out and scheduled games against quality non-conference teams like Alburnett, Denver, Martensdale-St. Mary’s, Albia and St. Albert to prepare them for the postseason. Six players average between 7.4 and 13.4 points a game for this group, led by Nic Worsham (13.4), who leads the team in rebounding as well. Malachi Johnson (7.6) has been great at protecting the ball, dishing out 113 assists against 32 turnovers, and he’ll need to be great in that regard against teams that will apply pressure. With Worsham (44.1 3P%), Cale Leever (40.4%), Colby Elrod (39.1%) and Johnson (44.7%), this team has plenty of shooting, and it definitely wouldn’t be a surprise to see them come through this district.
Players to watch
2020 Braden Gibbons, Madrid
2020 Jacob Loew, Madrid
2021 Mason Lobeck, Madrid
2020 Gage Fry, Grand View Christian
2023 Daniel Tobiloba, Grand View Christian
2022 Manny Hammonds, Grand View Christian
2020 Andrew Long, Grand View Christian
2020 Nic Worsham, Ankeny Christian
2020 David Nelson, Ankeny Christian
2021 Cale Leever, Ankeny Christian
2020 Griffin Diggs, Ogden
2020 Cole Damman, Baxter
2020 Brett Livesay, Collins-Maxwell
2021 Steven Krpan, Melcher-Dallas
2021 Ryan Krpan, Melcher-Dallas
2020 Francis Bower, Colo-NESCO
2021 Mason Merfeld, Southeast Warren
SUBSTATE FINAL PREDICTION
West Fork vs. Madrid
In one of the best substate finals around the state, we give the slightest edge to the team with the best player on the floor, Madrid and Braden Gibbons. The Tigers punch their first State ticket in school history.