Home / Sports

CLINTON, Iowa – Clinton coach Lee Camp admits his football team has surprised a few people this season.

The River Kings are 5-0 and ranked third in this week’s Class 4A Associated Press poll.

“We’ve got a good group of seniors,” Camp said when asked about his team’s success. “We put a lot of time in during the off-season, and putting that time in paid off for us. I think (we’ve shocked some) a little bit. We’ve turned some heads; I knew we had a few good players, but we’ve surprised a few.”

Muscatine is aware of how good a football team Clinton is going into the River Kings’ homecoming game.

It all starts with keying on senior running back David Johnson.

“Our defense (will be key),” Muscatine senior running back Donovan Barber said. “I think it all starts with trying to stop David Johnson. The defense has practiced super-hard this week, and I’ve worked trying to imitate him and they were working on how to contain him.”

The River Kings’ quarterback, Jake Mangler, also will be tough to stop.

“Containing their quarterback – he’s fast like Johnson,” Muscatine senior outside linebacker Mitch Shellady said of trying to hold Clinton’s offense. “He’ll throw the ball, too, but he’ll scramble a lot. If he doesn’t see anything (open), he’ll definitely run it.”

Barber says that Clinton’s success, particularly defensively, has come from the River Kings’ line.

“It’s mostly because of the line,” Barber said. “Everything I’ve seen (offensively) gets stopped at the line.”

After the Muskies earned their first win of the season last week against Davenport North, that taste of success has Camp concerned.

“I think Muscatine’s going to come at us pretty good,” Camp said. “I’ve seen some tape and they are aggressive defensively and they work on chaos from an offensive point of view. Against Bettendorf, they had solid play. Defensively, they challenged Assumption.

“They do a nice job with their offense; they always have, by the run or the pass. They’ll take advantage of whatever crease we might give them.”

The attitude has been positive for the Muskies in practice since the win over North, according to Barber.

“It’s definitely on the up and up,” Barber said. “We’re definitely positive and motivated.

“We’re 1-4, but we’re going to give them a run like Bettendorf. We’ll hit them hard; have the lead by half if our defensive and offensive line stays tough.”

Muscatine’s defense has prepared well for the River Kings, Shellady said.

“We’ve been real physical up top, executing,” Shellady said. “We put in some new plays on defense this week.”

Camp is hoping the distractions of homecoming week don’t affect his team. Clinton is coming off wins over Bettendorf (28-10) and Assumption (28-21).

“I want to keep our players focused,” Camp said. “We want the offense to get off to a good start and run our game.

“We just got off of two brutal road games. There is no let-up in the MAC – anyone can beat anyone in the MAC – you can’t let up.”

Like Camp and Barber, Shellady harkened back to the Bettendorf game when the Muskies led at halftime and were within reach of the then fifth-ranked Bulldogs going into the final quarter.

“(It was) just us coming out and holding nothing back (like at Bettendorf),” Shellady said. “(We have to) give it all you’ve got.

“We need to be aggressive, but play smart.”

Muscatine (1-4) at Clinton (5-0)

- When: Sophomores at 4:45 p.m. Friday; varsity to follow between 7:15-7:30 p.m..

- Where: Clinton (Iten Stadium)

- Last week: Muscatine earned its first win of the year with a 32-0 shutout of Davenport North for its homecoming game. It was the first career varsity start at quarterback for senior Nick Garretson, who rushed 15 times for 81 yards and completed 14 of 21 passes for 179 more in the victory. Clinton held off Assumption 28-21 in overtime at Brady Street Stadium. River King quarterback Jake Mangler scored the winning touchdown in OT. Assumption held a 21-7 lead at the half before Clinton stormed back.

- Coaches: Muscatine, Tony Napierala, second year, 5-10 overall; Clinton, Lee Camp, fourth year, 16-17 overall.

- Last meeting: Muscatine escaped Clinton 17-14 to win its homecoming game. Clinton had three turnovers, the biggest coming with a second left. Mangler, making a last-ditch effort to win the game, was intercepted by Edwin Arceo on the 37-yard line.

- Stat leaders: Muscatine,  Rushing: Tanner Bohling 49-200; Nick Garretson 26-100. Passing: Paul Jindrich 55-105-10, 602 yards, 3 TDs; Nick Garretson 21-39-2, 307 yards; TD.  Receiving: Tanner Bohling 19-262; TJ Husar 20-182; Jeff Failor 13-158; Griffen Gaeta 8-93. Defense: Mat Snider 25 solo tackles, 18 assists; Isaac Ales 24 solo tackles, 13 assists; Mitch Shellady 14 solo tackles, 9 assists; Derick Minch 5 fumble recoveries; Jared Hetzler 2 interceptions. Clinton, Rushing: David Johnson 75-550; Jake Mangler 43-294; Ty Hatheway 39-231; Maurice Walker 27-188. Passing: Jake Mangler 21-39-3, 332 yards, 3 TDs. Receiving: David Johnson 7-178; Drew Lakin 5-103. Defense: Austin Krick 19 solo tackles, 35 assists; Adam Young 20 solo tackles, 19 assists; Ryan Cassidy 15 solo tackles, 23 assists; Sean Mulholland 16 solo tackles, 18 assists; Blake Pennock 11 solo tackles, 23 assists.

- Key facts: Clinton is 5-0 entering Friday’s homecoming game with the Muskies, defeating Mississippi Athletic Conference powers Bettendorf and Davenport Assumption along the way. The perfect record has earned the River Kings a No. 3 ranking. Muscatine, coming into the game with its first win, must contend with a big defensive front. Despite not coming up with a fumble recovery last week, Derick Minch still leads the state with five.