I couldn't resist giving some love to the 3A with their great substate finals matchups this Saturday. Plus I have 3 nephews on 3 different teams in 3 different conferences in 3A, 2 of which are playing Saturday so my perspective could be of interest to some of you. Pardon my spelling. Here are my previews/predictions:
SUBSTATE 1
Council Bluffs Thomas Jeff (7-12) vs Souix City West (13-2): I start off angry because this is the one substate bracket I can never stand. Its silly that the state can't put one des moines team in this bracket to atleast make it respectable. I expect who ever wins to get embarrased in the first round like last year when I think SC West lost to IC West 7 or 8 nil. If I had to pick I would say Souix City West because they won the previous matchup and won their poor excuse for a conference. SC West by 3 ...but moving on
SUBSTATE 2
Ames (12-3) vs Johnston (17-1): Last years state runner up Johnston has the best record in 3A and have been rolling since an early season loss to CR Prairie. The boys in purple beat last years semifinalist Ames earlier in the year, but since then, Ames has gone on a nice little win spree only losing once and now they are riding a 5 game shutout streak in to Saturdays matchup. It will be interesting if Johnstons freshman phenom forward can stay composed during these high pressure games late in the season. Both teams are high scoring with great defenses. Should be a great game. Johnston by 1
SUBSTATE 3
Cedar Falls (13-5) vs CR Washington (13-4): The first meeting between the two teams ended in a double overtime win by CF. A very athletic CF team has come on strong with some big wins late in the season against 3 consecutive former top-ranked opponents in CR Prairie, CR Kennedy, and CR Washington. CR Wash is led by the state's only All American Austin Bergstrom(sp?) but that hasn't prevented the team from slipping as of late just narrowly defeating Waterloo West in pk's in the substate semi's, a team they beat 3-0 just a couple weeks ago. Both teams I hear are evenly matched but per recent results I think CF is carrying quite a bit more momentum heading in to this game including another win against CR Prairie in the semis of this MVC filled substate of death. CF by 1
SUBSTATE 4
Linn Mar (13-6) vs CR Kennedy (14-3): Both teams are very young yet have had terrific reviving seasons this year that will surely give their program's plenty of momentum for next year.. Linn Mar was at one point ranked #2 I believe and have competed with almost every opponent in a beastly MVC. Kennedys success was well known as they were undefeated and held the top ranking for several consectutive weeks before slipping and going 2-3 to finish the season. Both teams look to be sputtering to the finish line as they both narrowly won their semifinal games against lackluster opponents (youth?). The previous meeting had Kennedy winning in a thrilling 10 round pk shootout. Linn Mar has one of the best, if not the best, keeper in the state so I can't see the result repeating itself. But then again Kennedy is 5-0, maybe 6-0, in shootouts this year. Kennedy has lacked offense all season but I think the cougs put one in early and their possesion based brand of soccer holds the lead. CR Kennedy by 1
SUBSTATE 5
Bettendorf (11-4-1) vs IC City (14-2): I've been told by multiple players and parents that IC City is playing the best soccer in the state right now. Since their loss to rivals IC West they are 5-0 scoring a consistant 4 to 6 goals a game led by the Pachecho brothers. This includes a 4-0 win against a tough CR Washington defense. Bettendorf lacks the typical size and athleticism the state is used to seeing from them this year but that hasn't stopped them from having a good season in the MAC. Last year these teams played in the substate final where IC City was heavily favored but Bett came out with the W. Will IC City's high powered offense stay hot and get revenge on a Bettendorf team that has won 6 straight? I think so. IC City by 3.
SUBSTATE 6
Pleasant Valley (11-7) vs IC West (16-1): One of my nephews plays for PV and talking to him last night made me feel sorry for him. Despite a fantastic 1 loss conference record in the MAC, I could just tell he knew their season is going to be over Saturday. Apparently IC West beat PV 5-0 earlier in the year. The worst part about it he said is that IC West's starters didn't enter the game until about 10 minutes left in the first half and only played about 20 minutes after that yet ICW still controlled the majority of the game. By the look of it IC West has given up a few goals in the past couple games so hopefully for PV's sake they can get a moral victory or two and put a couple in the net. MVC champ to be favored heavily in this one. IC West by 6
SUBSTATE 7
West Des Moines Valley (10-8-1) vs Ankeny (13-3-1): Valley comes in with an disappointing season by their standards. The post season is a new season however and they took care of business 5-0 to get a game away from state. I saw Valley play against PV earlier in the season and I must say they are huge. It honestly looks like a hand full of their football players accidently signed up for futbol. Ankeny has a freshman as their leading scorer in Harrison Densmore as well as a relatively young team which probably poses a matchup problem for them going against such a large Valley team. It looks like that held true in their previous CIML matchup as Ankeny only won 1-0 despite sporting a record much better than the Tigers. Despite having a down season, with this matchup problem and Valley having so much post season success in their history... Valley in pk's
SUBSTATE 8
Marshalltown (16-2) vs West Des Moines Dowling (11-4): I don't know much about Motown other than what I can see on quikstats. It looks like they played an absolute cupcake of a schedule until late. Too their credit though they beat the teams that they should have and even had a nice 3-0 win against Valley. Their first test last week against a team even slightly in the title discussion however ended in defeat as they got thumped 0-3 against Ames. Dowling has had a solid season per usual but word from one of my nephews is they had a few key players injured late in the season. This explains their recent narrow victories against teams they should probably be putting away handidly including an OT win in the substate semis against a sub-par Waukee team. Luckily for Dowling it sounds like the injuries were minor so the player or two should be back fairly soon, maybe even Saturday. This game will be much closer than most would expect if Dowling isn't healthy. Still I favor the post season experience. Dowling by 1
I know, not alot of upsets. But I think 3A is just so top heavy this season. Let me know what you guys think.
This post was edited on 5/24 4:20 AM by CPThree
