Iowa high school football: What we learned from West Branch's 42-0 win over Northeast Goose Lake

WEST BRANCH, Ia. — The wonders of the Little Rose Bowl were almost enough to distract from the near-freezing temperature Friday might as West Branch hosted Northeast Goose Lake.

Almost.

But at least the home-team Bears had plenty to cheer about. West Branch controlled this game from whistle to whistle and defeated Northeast 42-0. The Bears improve to 7-0 and Northeast falls to 1-6. 

It took West Branch a little while to get going; it led only 7-0 after the first quarter. But for the rest of the game, the Bears very much looked like one of eastern Iowa's top Class 1A title contender. 

Here's what we learned:

The Bears have two big boys on either side of the ball

Senior running back Tanner Lukavsky checks in at 6-foot-2 and 225 pounds. And he's got some speed, too. His combination of speed and size is a recipe for success at any level of high school football.

But in 1A football, where there are some smaller defenders, Lukavsky wreaks havoc.

He entered Friday with 575 yards and five touchdowns. By halftime against Northeast, he had already logged touchdown carries of 24, 48 and 48 yards.

"Just a great leader for the team," said Lukavsky's teammate, three-star defensive end Jeff Bowie. "Seeing him come out and carry the ball hard every single time, and he does it hard on defense. He doesn't let up at any time. He's a great leader for the team, and everybody feeds off his energy from there."

On defense, Bowie leads the charge. He's an even bigger kid, at 6-5 and 240 pounds. He is simply too powerful for most 1A offensive linemen. When Northeast ran the ball to his side, he was usually in on the stop. And he easily dispatched two blockers to register a sack in the second quarter.

"I feel like I've made some big strides this year," Bowie said. "Just carrying that over from week to week, watching film and working on any weak spots I can find. Peak at the playoffs."

Iowa and Iowa State both want him in their 2021 class. So do Minnesota, Nebraska, Virginia Tech and Vanderbilt. The Iowa Eight member looked the part Friday night.

West Branch's defense showed toughness

The rest of West Branch's district slate doesn't feature many difficulties, so you can probably expect more lopsided scores in Weeks 8 and 9. The defense, in particular, might not be too challenged for the rest of the regular season.

Still, that unit showed toughness in the win over Northeast.

"Just to know that our defense gave up some big plays but stayed sound near the goal line when we had to, it felt really good," Bowie said.

Shutting out any opponent is difficult. One stop, in particular, stood out. Northeast got a little momentum on the ground late in the second half as it drove inside West Branch's 30-yard line. It then faced a fourth-and-1 near the red zone.

Northeast went for it ... and West Branch's front line stuffed the rush attempt, forcing a turnover on downs. That kind of toughness will come in handy in November.

West Branch again preserved its shutout when Bowie returned a fumble 93 yards for a touchdown in the fourth quarter.

Matthew Bain covers recruiting, Iowa/Iowa State athletics and Drake basketball for the Des Moines Register and USA TODAY Network. Contact him at mbain@dmreg.com and follow him on Twitter @MatthewBain_.

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