It's crunch time for many of Iowa's commits. Some are trying to secure the best playoff spot possible in order to make a run at a state championship. Others are just trying to make the playoffs at all. While one commit played the final game of his prep career due to a tough season for his school.
With big moments come big performances. One commit had his best receiving game of the year in an important victory. Two defenders found the end zone multiple times on offense. And Iowa's quarterback commits keep rolling along.
Here's how Iowa's commits did in Week 8:
Player of the Week
There goes that man again. With Iowa City West needing a win to secure a playoff berth, Woods went off, hauling in nine passes for 212 yards and a touchdown. Woods also rushed once for nine yards and had four tackles on defense. Woods' big performance helped West defeat Pleasant Valley 49-35.
Woods' touchdown came early in the third quarter, when he caught a short pass, broke multiple tackles, and ran the rest of the way for an 80-yard score.
“Having guys like Mason and JuJu is almost like a cheat code sometimes out there,” quarterback Jack Wallace said. “You can throw a 5-yard pass and they take it 80 yards."
Iowa's Other Commits
Unfortunately when commits play each other, one has to come out on the losing end. That was the case for VanWetzinga and PV in the 49-35 loss.
VanWetzinga did get to have some fun of his own, though, as he scored two separate rushing touchdowns in the game. He finished with six carries for 19 yards and those two scores.
Cooney joined VanWetzinga as a future Hawkeye defender finding the end zone. Cooney scored twice as the short-yardage back in Oswego's 42-10 victory over Minooka. Aside from the two touchdowns, Cooney also played well at linebacker in the game.
“They have a great D-line, they penetrate and their linebackers are stout,” Minooka coach Matt Harding said. “That linebacking corps can probably rank with any in the state.”
Cooney and the Oswego defense are surrendering just seven points per game thus far in their 8-0 start.
Gautcher and Sycamore also moved to 8-0 with a 42-0 victory over Morris. Gautcher went 10-of-14 for 128 yards and a 53-yard touchdown pass in the victory. He also ran for a 1-yard score. Gautcher helped the Spartans pitch a shutout defensively as well.
“We knew coming in here they are a big-play offense,” Gautcher said. “Just limiting those was big, and their run game, too. Our communication and working hard throughout the week and playing all together came through.”
Sullivan wasn't his best, but he did enough to help Carroll defeat Fort Wayne North Side 38-22. Sullivan finished 11-of-20 passing for 137 yards, with a touchdown and an interception. He had another strong game on the ground, rushing 17 times for 68 yards and a touchdown. Highlights from the game are here.
Herrera had another big game, leading Bishop's to a 38-14 victory over La Jolla Country Day. Herrera had two passing touchdowns and two rushing touchdowns in the game. He also threw an interception. Extended highlights from the game are here.
Herrera's first touchdown came at the 5:48 mark of the highlights. He dumped a short pass to his H-back after a play action fake for a 10-yard score.
His second TD pass came at 11:45. He pump-faked right, then unleashed an impressive throw to the back of the end zone for a 15-yard strike.
Herrera's two touchdown runs came at 23:40 and 27:25 respectively. On both he kept on a read option play and found the end zone from two yards and seven yards out.
We have our first commit that finished up his season. Johnson and River Falls fell to Wausau West 27-21 to end the year at 3-6.
Johnson did grab a four-yard touchdown pass in the game. Video of that is at the 39:50 mark here.
West Aurora's perfect season continued with a 47-6 pummeling of Aurora East. Smith had two receptions for 32 yards and a touchdown.
MacPherson had another big day out of the backfield, scoring on a 65-yard touchdown reception and rushing for a six-yard score. His play helped Loyola Academy defeat Carmel 34-16. For the game, MacPherson had 68 yards rushing and 92 receiving yards.
Clear Lake fell to #1 Humboldt 23-13. Despite the outcome, Meyer had a big game, hauling in five passes for 75 yards and a touchdown.
In a defensive struggle, Edwardsville fell to #1 East St. Louis 14-7. Epenesa had a sack in the game. Highlights from the game, including Epenesa's sack, are here.
Kicker highlights! Starzyk hit this kick from 55-yards as part of The Woodlands' 66-20 victory over College Park. Starzyk was also perfect on his extra points in the victory.
Waterloo West's big season is quickly going off the rails. After a shutout loss last week, the Wahawks fell this week to Iowa City Liberty 63-9. Highlights from the game are here.
Fitzgibbon and the Marist defense pitched a shutout, rolling past Marmion 42-0.
MICDS cruised past St. Dominic 42-0.
St. Thomas More defeated New Haven 42-35 last Sunday.
