The Clear Creek-Amana High School football team appeared to be in midseason form, while fifth-ranked Mount Pleasant left with more questions than answers.

Clippers’ quarterback Dillon Villhauer threw for 259 yards and two touchdowns in his first varsity start, and the defense limited the Panthers to just 32 yards rushing in a 28-20 season opening win.

By Chad Drury, thehawkeye.com

Click here to read the entire article from the Hawk Eye.

Clear Creek Amana' Jazmyne Neely gets tagged out by Harlan's Malissa Andersen during a first round Class 3A game at the state softball tournament, Tuesday July 20, 2010 in Fort Dodge, Iowa. (Steve Pope/Freelance)

FORT DODGE — For all the wins and all the titles of the Jim White Era at Clear Creek Amana, one minor item of dominance is missing.

Back-to-back state championships.

Second-ranked CCA took a firm step toward that achievement Tuesday, banging out 13 hits in a 7-2 victory over No. 15 Harlan in a Class 3A state softball quarterfinal at the Rogers Sports Complex.

“I’m not even thinking about (repeating),” said White, who has won five state titles. “I’m just worried about surviving the next one.”

The next one is 4 p.m. Thursday, when the Clippers (39-5) take on No. 6 Keokuk in a semifinal. The Chiefs upended No. 3 Sioux City Heelan, 1-0, Tuesday.

Except for a fairly tense moment in the sixth, the Clippers had this one under control from the get-go. CCA scored twice in the first, twice more in the fourth and added a tally in the fifth for a comfortable 5-0 lead.

Or so it seemed.

Harlan (28-11) got within 5-2 in the bottom of the sixth and had the tying run at the plate before the Clippers put out the fire.

“I don’t think there was ever any doubt,” said CCA outfielder Fran Strub. “But it does show you what can happen.”

White said, “We’ve been in that situation a lot this year. It’s been very uneasy in the dugout sometimes.”

The Clippers didn’t let the drama last. Strub blasted an RBI triple, then Caitlin Wnek added a run-scoring single to make it 7-2.

Strub played at Iowa City West last year — she was an all-stater there — before transferring.

“A lot of factors played into my decision,” she said. “I like it here. It’s a great group, everybody’s really fun.”

It’s more fun when you win, and when you hit and score. They do plenty of all of that at CCA.

The Clippers 2-5 hitters combined to go 10-of-16. Wnek and Maliah Fligg had three hits apiece; Strub and Mariah McKinnon added two.

Clear Creek Amana ………………….. 200 210 2 – 7  13  4

Harlan …………………………………… 000 002 0 – 2  8  1

Mariah McKinnon (W) and Meddy Beckler. Brooke Schaben (L) and Kelsey Croghan.

[View with PicLens]

CCA (36-5) had 14 hits overall in the shortened game, led by Jazmyne Neely who hit a home run and a double.

Fran Strub and Caitlin Wnek each hit 2-for-3 with three RBIs. Strub hit a triple and Wnek a double.

Mariah McKinnon hit 3-for-3 and also picked up the pitching win, moving her record to 24-1.

Click to read the entire article from the Iowa City-Press Citizen.

The Clippers (33-5) are hitting a fat .405 and averaging about nine runs per game as they begin defense of their Class 3A state softball championship today. No. 2 CCA opens at home against South Tama, and — as is usually the case — gets its entire regional path at Oxford.

“I do like our offense,” CCA Coach Jim White said. “I think the move (of the pitcher’s rubber) to 43 feet is a reason.”

But not the only reason.

Caitlin Wnek, Fran Strub and Katy Sexton are hitting better than .500, and when the Clippers aren’t slugging the ball they’re swiping bases. Five players have more than 20 steals.

Before a 2-0 loss Thursday to Independence, the Clippers had been held under three runs only once all season.

The Clippers are finally healthy. Pitchers Maliah Fligg (broken arm) and Miranda Hochstetler (hip surgery) are back after missing a good chunk of the season. Still, White is jittery.

“I’m always pretty paranoid,” he said. “There’s a lot of good teams in Eastern Iowa, and they’re spread through three regions. But the other two seem (more difficult) than ours.”

Class 4A regionals open today, but 14 of the 15 ranked teams have first-round byes and open with semifinal games Monday. The lone exception is No. 11 Dubuque Hempstead, which plays today at Cedar Rapids Kennedy.

Here are the complete teams:

2009-10 Wamac Boys Basketball

The Clippers had three qualifiers for the Iowa High School Athletic Association’s Class 2A state wrestling tournament Wednesday at Wells Fargo Arena. They are Clear Creek Amana’s first state competitors since 1994.

“It means so much to me,” Clippers 140-pounder Josh Rohret said. “We just have really been pushing ourselves this year. The coaches have been really helping us.”

Rohret is joined by fellow juniors Drew Cox (171) and Tyler Walls (189). All three lost opening round matches, but rebounded to win consolation matches and remain alive for day 2 of the event.

“I thought it was a realistic goal that every one of them could win a match,” said CCA Coach Mark Moody, who is just in his fourth year as head coach. “Maybe it was their first one. Maybe it was their wrestleback.”

There seemed to be a buzz back home. Fans displayed signs, decorated cars and used blue spray paint to leave encouraging messages in the snow. That’s important if the Clippers are going to build off this and avoid further long absences.

“Just to get that excitement built and get more spectators, wrestlers and kids from the team here to take in the atmosphere to figure out what it’s all about is huge,” Moody said.

The team didn’t necessarily envision this finish, but confidence was gained as the season progressed and wins started piling up.

“Something got us going,” Rohret said. “We all just started busting our butts in the room and it got us here.”

Rohret (32-14) claimed the Clippers first win in the consolation round, beating Centerville’s Schyler Morgan, 9-7. Cox (30-6) scored a fall in 2:54 over Clay Long after suffering a tough 11-7 loss in the final overtime period to No. 8 Trevor Pisney of Crestwood in the first round. Walls (37-9) followed Cox with a 10-0 major decision over Chariton’s Jacob Kaska.

“I’m usually here watching all these guys and saying it’d be awesome to be down there,” Rohret said. “Here I am, looking up at all the people. It’s a great feeling.”

Top 10 State Tournament Teams (# of ranked wrestlers)

1. Ballard (6)

2. Denver-Tripoli (8)

3. Davenport Assumption (7)

4. Independence (6)

5. Forest City (5)

6. East Marshall (5)

7. Centerville (3)

8. Emmetsburg (4)

9. Dallas Center-Grimes (4)

10. Sgt. Bluff Luton (5)

Individual Rankings

103

1. Dylan Peters (So.) Denver-Tripoli

2. Jimmy Scieszinski (So.) Van Meter

3. Austin Evens (So.) Independence

4. Pryce Creighton (Jr.) Dallas Center-Grimes

5. Brock Wenndt (Sr.) Monticello

6. Mitch Funk (Jr.) MFL Mar Mac

7. Doug Miner (Fr.) Spirit Lake

8. Matt Bieber (So.) Clear Lake

9. Ryan Krugler (Fr.) ADM Adel

10. Dustin Horne (Jr.) South Tama

112

1. Alex Spooner (Sr.) Forest City

2. Dalton Kingery (So.) PCM Monroe

3. Matt Paulus (Jr.) New Hampton

4. Kalen Greiner (Sr.) Sigourney-Keota

5. Gunnar Wolfensperger (So.) Denver-Tripoli

6. Alex Brown (Jr.) Hampton-Dumont

7. Isaac Lundgren (So.) Emmetsburg

8. Kyle Blocker (Fr.) East Marshall

9. Hunter Langley (So.) Sgt. Bluff Luton

10. J.C. Vercande (So.) Williamsburg

119

1. Brandon Sorensen (Fr.) Denver-Tripoli

2. Jacob Colon (Jr.) Clear Lake

3. Brad McDermott (Sr.) Davenport Assumption

4. Cole Anderson (Jr.) Forest City

5. Jordan Roths (So.) New Hampton

6. Alex Rust (Jr.) Central Lyon

7. Jerad Hoefer (Jr.) West Delaware

8. Ryan Lutes (Jr.) BCLUW

9. Tyler Raygor (Sr.) Webster City

10. Ryan Matherly (Jr.) Grinnell

125

1. Levi Wolfensperger (Sr.) Denver-Tripoli

2. Dakota Bauer (So.) Ballard

3. Darius Dutcher (Sr.) BCIG-OA

4. Tre Rutz (Jr.) Humboldt

5. Tyler Patten (Jr.) Webster City

6. Brandon Silbaugh (So.) JSPC

7. Eric Lindsey (Sr.) Sgt. Bluff Luton

8. Tyler Harmon (Jr.) Forest City

9. Dustin Harberts (Jr.) Chariton

10. Kwinn Kraft (Jr.) RCL-SCAL

130

1. Jake Keller (Sr.) Columbus Junction

2. Jake Marlin (Fr.) Creston

3. Tyler Endres (Sr.) Independence

4. Tanner Schmidt (Sr.) Charles City

5. Keegan Mumma (So.) ADM Adel

6. Matt White (Jr.) Albia

7. Ben King (Jr.) BCLUW

8. Will Stetzel (Jr.) Perry

9. Anthony Hable (Sr.) Decorah

10. Brandon Barker (Jr.) Osage

135

1. Skyler Rice (Jr.) Emmetsburg

2. Kyler Risher (Jr.) Centerville

3. Trevor Hejhal (Sr.) Osage

4. Bo Cosens (Jr.) Ballard

5. Kyle Paulsen (Sr.) Wilton

6. Anthony Hough (Sr.) Harlan

7. Tom Mohoney (Jr.) New Hampton

8. Erik Schmidt (Sr.) Gilbert

9. Kendall Davis (Sr.) Van Meter

10. Blaze Shedenhelm (Sr.) Denver-Tripoli

140

1. Tanner Hiatt (Jr.) Ballard

2. Seth Noble (Sr.) Columbus Junction

3. Justin Lopata (Sr.) Benton Community

4. Blake Meling (So.) East Marshall

5. Nick Georgean (Fr.) Davenport Assumption

6. Tim Brock (Jr.) Forest City

7. Brent Blaser (Sr.) Osage

8. Nick Winter (Sr.) MFL Mar Mac

9. Daniel Ryan (Sr.) Independence

10. J.J. Hanus (So.) Solon

145

1. Willie Miklus (So.) Ballard

2. Brody Grothus (Jr.) Davenport Assumption

3. Jimmie Schuessler (Sr.) North Polk

4. Aaron Sorenson (Jr.) Forest City

5. Oz Wolfensperger Sr.) Denver-Tripoli

6. Jordan Langley (Sr.) Sgt. Bluff Luton

7. Brett Yonkovic (Sr.) West Delaware

8. David Kellogg (Sr.) Dallas Center-Grimes

9. Mitchell Hackett (Sr.) Winterset

10. Logan Felton (Sr.) Monticello

152

1. Tanner Weatherman (Jr.) Ballard

2. Blake Sorensen (Sr.) Denver-Tripoli

3. Ryan Valline (Jr.) East Marshall

4. Taylor Berger (Jr.) Carroll

5. Cody Solari (Jr.) Sgt. Bluff Luton

6. Shane Havenstrite (Sr.) North Fayette

7. Matt Winder (Sr.) Mount Vernon

8. Collin Ascherl (So.) Moc Floyd Valley

9. Dakotah Poe (Jr.) Albia

10. Brody Jay (Sr.) Creston

160

1. Ethan Moorman (Sr.) Centerville

2. Landon Williams (Sr.) Davenport Assumption

3. Cam Savage (Sr.) Independence

4. Will Hansen (Sr.) Waterloo Columbus

5. Kyle Lux (Jr.) South Tama

6. Joey Naig (Sr.) Emmetsburg

7. Dakota Friesth (Sr.) ADM Adel

8. Jase Schossow (Sr.) East Marshall

9. Noah Minikus (Sr.) Denver-Tripoli

10. Marcus Miller (Sr.) WBND

171

1. Brock Weatherman (Sr.) Ballard

2. Mike England (Sr.) Centerville

3. Ryan Rosenbloom (Sr.) Sgt. Bluff Luton

4. Seth Esaias (So.) Red Oak

5. Alec Lang (Sr.) New Hampton

6. Trevor Pisney (Jr.) Cresco

7. Tommy Argo (Jr.) Davenport Assumption

8. Kane Seeley (So.) Perry

9. Josh Haug (Sr.) Mount Vernon

10. Colten Riley (So.) RCL-SCAL

189

1. Sam Upah (Sr.) East Marshall

2. Trevor Voelker (Sr.) Dallas Center-Grimes

3. Stewart Holloway (Sr.) WBND

4. Blaize Cabell (Jr.) Independence

5. Slater Poe (Sr.) Albia

6. Dalton Schutjer (Sr.) Charles City

7. Jake Morris (Sr.) Emmetsburg

8. Chaps Wilke (Sr.) BCIGOA

9. Jack Manning (Jr.) Woodward Granger

10. Alex Reams (Sr.) ADM Adel

215

1. James Morris (Sr.) Solon

2. Ryan Fank (Sr.) Independence

3. Marcus Streit (Sr.) Harlan

4. Cole Jackson (Sr.) Gilbert

5. Logan Johnson (Sr.) Algona

6. Sam Gervase (Sr.) Davenport Assumption

7. Patrick Hansen (Sr.) Hampton-Dumont

8. Devin Lemke (Jr.) Iowa Falls

9. Logan Metcalf (Sr.) Fairfield

10. Pete Matthews (Sr.) Sheldon-SO

285

1. Adam Praska (Sr.) Cresco

2. Tyler Swope (Jr.) Davenport Assumption

3. Austin Blythe (Jr.) Williamsburg

4. Matt Hoch (Sr.) Harlan

5. Charles Knipf (Sr.) MFL Mar Mac

6. Zach Leonard (Sr.) Collins Maxwell

7. Ivan Sagastume (Sr.) West Liberty

8. Bret Johnson (Jr.) Roland Story

9. Zach Bauer (Jr.) Dallas Center-Grimes

10. Jake Brekken (Sr.) Lake Mills

EAST DIVISION

DeWitt Central 2-0

Western Dubuque 2-0

West Delaware 1-0

Anamosa 1-1

Maquoketa 1-1

Solon 0-1

Mt. Vernon 0-2

Dyersville Beckman 0-2

WEST DIVISION

Benton Community 2-0

Independence 2-0

Williamsburg 1-0

Center Point-Urbana 1-1

Marion 1-1

Vinton-Shellsburg 0-1

Waterloo Columbus 0-2

Clear Creek Amana 0-2

Cedar Rapids Xavier at Linn-Mar

Time & place: 7 p.m., at Armstrong Field.

Radio: WMT-AM (600).

Records: No. 8 Xavier is 8-2; No. 7 Linn-Mar is 9-1.

How they got here: Fifth-seeded Xavier advanced with a 38-21 substate win over Pleasant Valley; Fourth-seeded Linn-Mar rallied past Burlington, 37-14. The Lions beat the Saints, 14-7, in Week 2.

Linder’s pick: Xavier, 21-19.

Cedar Rapids Kennedy vs. Cedar Rapids Washington

Time & place: 7 p.m., at Kingston Stadium.

Radio: KGYM-AM (1600).

Records: Kennedy is 5-5; Washington is 8-2.

How they got here: Kennedy, the 14th seed in the 4A East, pulled the upset of the 4A substate round, shocking Bettendorf, 17-14. Sixth-seeded Washington overmatched North Scott in the second half, 42-21. The Warriors beat the Cougars, 44-6, in Week 5.

Linder’s pick: Washington, 34-20.

Dubuque Hempstead at Iowa City High

Time & place: 7 p.m., at Bates Field, Iowa City.

Records: Hempstead is 8-2; No. 1 City High is 10-0.

How they got here: Seventh-seeded Hempstead handled Davenport Central, 23-7, in the substate round while second-seed City High downed Iowa City West, 45-20. The Little Hawks beat the Mustangs, 28-7, in Week 5.

Linder’s pick: City High, 38-14.

CLASS 3A

Union at New Hampton

Time & place: 7 p.m., at New Hampton.

Records: Both teams are 8-2.

How they got here: No. 10 New Hampton, the District 3 champion, rolled past Vinton-Shellsburg, 48-7, in the substate round while Union handled Oelwein, 41-13.

Linder’s pick: New Hampton, 23-13.

Decorah at Marion

Time & place: 7 p.m., at Thomas Park Field.

Records: Decorah is 8-2; No. 4 Marion is 10-0.

How they got here: Both teams posted substate shutouts. Decorah beat Maquoketa, 24-0, while District 4 champion Marion held West Delaware to 92 yards in a 42-0 triumph.

Linder’s pick: Marion, 20-14.

Clear Creek Amana at Centerville

Time & place: 7 p.m., at Centerville.

Records: CCA is 7-3; No. 4 Centerville is 10-0.

How they got here: CCA rolled to a 38-3 substate win over Carlisle. District 6 champion Centerville defeated Washington, 40-8.

Linder’s pick: Centerville, 34-27.

CLASS 2A

Osage vs. Cascade

Time & place: 6:15 p.m., at the UNI-Dome, Cedar Falls.

Records: No. 4 Osage is 10-0; No. 10 Cascade is 9-1.

How they got here: District 3 champion Osage picked up a 48-14 substate win over Dyersville Beckman; Cascade blanked Hudson, 26-0.

Linder’s pick: Osage, 26-21.

Gilbert at North Fayette

Time & place: 7 p.m., at West Union.

Records: Gilbert is 7-3; No. 2 North Fayette is 10-0.

How they got here: Gilbert edged Sumner-Fredericksburg, 21-19, in a substate game while District 4 champ North Fayette drubbed Roland-Story, 48-18.

Linder’s pick: North Fayette, 48-24.

Mid-Prairie at Solon

Time & place: 7 p.m., at Solon.

Records: Mid-Prairie is 8-2; No. 1 Solon is 10-0.

How they got here: Mid-Prairie defeated Center Point-Urbana, 44-14, in the substate round while District 5 champion Solon took care of Mediapolis, 48-12, for its 37th straight victory.

Linder’s pick: Solon, 42-20.

Iowa City Regina at Davis County

Time & place: 7 p.m., at Bloomfield.

Records: No. 5 Regina is 9-1; Davis County is 8-2.

How they got here: Regina got past West Burlington-Notre Dame, 28-5, in the substate round while District 6 champion Davis County edged North Cedar, 28-26.

Linder’s pick: Regina, 27-12.

CLASS 1A

South Winneshiek at Emmetsburg

Time & place: 7 p.m., at Emmetsburg.

Records: No. 9 South Winn is 9-1; No. 1 Emmetsburg is 10-0.

How they got here: South Winn hammered Lake Mills, 42-6, in the substate round while Emmetsburg — the defending state champion and the District 2 winner — battled past Aplington-Parkersburg, 13-7, in overtime.

Linder’s pick: South Winneshiek, 20-16.

Saint Ansgar at Turkey Valley

Time & place: 7 p.m., at Jackson Junction.

Records: Saint Ansgar is 7-3; No. 7 Turkey Valley is 9-1.

How they got here: Saint Ansgar ousted Denver 31-7, in a substate; District 3 champion Turkey Valley whipped Fort Dodge St. Edmond, 28-0.

Linder’s pick: Turkey Valley, 28-14.

Starmont at Clayton Ridge

Time & place: 7 p.m., at Guttenberg.

Records: Starmont is 7-3; No. 8 Clayton Ridge is 9-1.

How they got here: Starmont defeated Belle Plaine, 21-7, in the substate; Clayton Ridge handled Wapello, 21-6. The Eagles won their Week 5 encounter with the Stars, 26-0, and went on to take the District 4 title.

Linder’s pick: Clayton Ridge, 19-7.

Eddyville-Blakesburg at West Branch

Time & place: 7 p.m., at West Branch.

Records: E-B is 7-3; No. 3 West Branch is 10-0.

How they got here: E-B drove past Northeast, 44-28, in the substate round while West Branch beat Bellevue, 34-6. The Bears were District 5 champs, defeating the Rockets, 56-28, in Week 3.

Linder’s pick: West Branch, 37-16.

CLASS A

Elkader Central vs. Cedar Falls NU High

Time & place: 8:45 p.m., at the UNI-Dome, Cedar Falls.

Records: No. 9 Central is 9-1; No. 4 NUHS is 10-0.

How they got here: Central advanced with a 21-9 substate win over Northwood-Kensett; District 3 champion NUHS beat Lisbon, 56-20.

Linder’s pick: Central, 34-26.

BGM at WACO

Time & place: 7 p.m., at Wayland.

Records: No. 10 BGM is 9-1; WACO is 7-3.

How they got here: BGM handled Cardinal, 42-6, in the substate round while District 5 champion WACO beat HLV, 35-13.

Linder’s pick: BGM, 32-14.

North Mahaska at North Tama

Time & place: 7 p.m., at Traer.

Records: North Mahaska is 8-2; No. 1 North Tama is 10-0.

How they got here: Both teams recorded substate shutouts. North Mahaska beat Danville, 25-0; North Tama ripped Highland, 56-0. The District 6 champion Redhawks beat the Warhawks, 7-0, in Week 9.

Linder’s pick: North Tama, 26-6.

EIGHT-MAN

West Central at Corwith CWL

Time & place: 7 p.m., at Corwith.

Records: No. 8 West Central is 9-1; No. 10 CWL is 8-1.

How they got here: West Central edged Janesville, 32-28, in the substate round while District 3 champion CWL handled Dunkerton, 62-16.

Linder’s pick: CWL, 42-38.

Ankeny Christian at Tri-County

Time & place: 7 p.m., at Thornburg.

Records: No. 9 Ankeny Christian is 9-1; No. 4 Tri-County is 10-0.

How they got here: Ankeny Christian whipped Melcher-Dallas, 69-28, in the substate round; District 5 champion Tri-County beat East Union, 21-10.

Linder’s pick: Ankeny Christian, 36-30.

Williamsburg fans cheer during the first half against Clear Creek Amana at Williamsburg on Friday, October 23, 2009. (Crystal LoGiudice/The Gazette).

WILLIAMSBURG — It was a contrast of styles in high school football last night.

Clear Creek Amana came in with a vaunted passing offense. Williamsburg fielded an offense based on strong line play and a running attack.

The Raiders’ style prevailed, running all over Clear Creek Amana and stifling the Clippers offense in a 48-7 victory at Bob Murphy Stadium.

The Raiders won their first district title since 2006.

“We wanted to get up on them early, shut the door and put them away and win this District 5,” Raiders junior lineman Austin Blythe said. “It was nice.

It was a lot of fun.”

Williamsburg handled the Clippers up front on both sides of the ball. Especially on offense.

“One thing we try to do is be balanced but be physical up front,” Williamsburg Coach Curt Ritchie said, “and I thought they did a great job of that.”

The Raiders (8-1, 7-0) rushed for 345 yards, powered by running back  Cord Slaymaker, who ran for 204 yards and three touchdowns.

Slaymaker gave the Raiders a 7-0 lead when his 1-yard TD run capped the Raiders opening drive that went 72 yards on seven plays — all rushes.

Slaymaker added a 1yard touchdown before ending Williamsburg’s scoring with a 9-yard TD to make it 48-0 in the fourth.

“He’s got great vision,” Ritchie said, noting Slaymaker’s ability for improvisation at times.

They allowed only four first downs and a little more than 110 total yards, forcing two turnovers.

“He’s just elusive.” He wasn’t a one man show.

Brett Waughop added 72 yards rushing, including a 41-yard touchdown run to make it 13-0.

Tyler Greiner ran for 35 yards and contributed a pair of short touchdowns in the first half, helping Williamsburg lead 35-0 at the break.

Williamsburg mixed in an effective passing game as well. Quarterback Kelly O’Rourke threw for 55 yards, completing 4 of 5 passes including a 3-yard TD to Tyler Huedepohl on the Raiders opening drive of the second half, increasing the lead to 41-0. O’Rourke also rushed for 31 yards.

The Raiders’ defense, led by Blythe, swarmed and harassed Clippers quarterback Blaze Smith, sacking him seven times. Two consecutive safeties in the second quarter backed CCA inside their own 10 and caused a safety when a punt snap sailed out of the end zone.

  “We’ve been as dominant as we have all year on defense tonight,” said Blythe, adding the Raiders were set to stop CCA’s pass attack. “We showed people we can shut down the pass and we can shut down the run.”

Blythe said he believed the Raiders are improving every day and will be a dangerous foe in the playoffs.

“I think we legitimately are,” Blythe said. “We just have to prove to everybody and earn some respect.” 

Smith threw for 118 yards on 7 -of-14 passing, including going 5-for-5 in the second half. He completed on three straight passes, connecting on a 55-yard touchdown pass to Ted Hergert late for the Clippers only score. CCA (6-3, 5-2 in 3A-5) were district runner-up despite the loss thanks to Fairfield’s 20-0 win over Mount Pleasant.