Playoff Preview: Webster City at (4A) #5 Iowa City Liberty

The Webster City Lynx football team will make the long trek east on Highway 20 and down Interstate 380 on Friday night, as they take on the 5th-ranked Lightning of Iowa City Liberty in Class 4A 1st round playoff action. The Lynx ended the regular season as the runner-up in Class 4A, District 1 at 6-3, while Iowa City Liberty concluded the regular season as district champions of Class 4A, District 3 with an 8-1 record. The Lightning of Iowa City Liberty are making their 2nd playoff appearance in their first 5 years of existence, the other one coming 2019. Webster City is making their 24th playoff appearance in school history and their 12th in Bob Howard’s tenure.

Iowa City Liberty started their season with a surprising domination of cross-town rival Iowa City, City High 36-19, and the momentum carried throughout the regular season. Junior quarterback Graham Beckman has made a breakout season, throwing for over 2,100 yards and 27 touchdowns, while rushing for 200 yards and 4 more scores, making him one of the top passers in Class 4A. Beckman’s favorite target has been senior receiver Garrett Gregoire, who’s caught 31 balls for 666 yards and 8 touchdowns. Brother Trey Gregoire has rushed for 512 yards and 8 touchdowns, while racking up nearly 200 yards receiving and a touchdown, while Owen Drapeaux and Cody Nichols have contributed on the ground. Other key receivers for the Lightning have been seniors Christian Barney, Lucas Meyer and Wyatt Williams, who have amassed over 1,000 yards and 17 touchdowns combined.

Webster City’s aggressive defense will have to get to Beckman early and often to slow down the Lightning’s offensive pace. Jaxon Cherry and Skyler Scott lead the team in sacks with 4 apiece, while Keegan Hisler, Connor Hanson and Cael Nixon have all brought down quarterback multiple times throughout the season. Ty McKinney can be expected to have a busy night from his safety spot, where he leads the team with 4 interceptions.

Defensively, the Lightning’s big playmaker has been Trey Gregoire, who’s amassed a team-high 4.5 sacks and 7 tackles for loss. Devin Anderson and Christian Barney have had stellar years at linebacker for Iowa City Liberty as well, with the pair as the team’s two-leading tacklers and combining for 11 tackles for loss. On the defensive line, the Lightning have been led by the trio of Will Quast-Villafana, Dantrell Skinner and Mason Gardner, who have combined for 6 sacks and 18.5 tackles for loss for a very productive front 3 for the Lightning. In the secondary, it has not been a very prosperous year in the stats department, but senior Amari Thigpen has picked off a pair of passes to lead the secondary, as junior Brayden Bell has the Lightning’s lone defensive touchdown in 2022 on a 35-yard pick six.

The battle for Iowa City Liberty will heavily involved the front seven against Webster City’s single-wing offense. In the Lightning’s lone-game against a run-first attack, the Burlington Grayhounds were able to run for over 250 yards in a 1-point loss to the Lightning. It figures to be a big task for Jaxon Cherry, CJ Hisler and Ty McKinney in keeping the Lynx offense on schedule. Coming into Friday, Cherry is the top rusher in Class 4A with over 1,600 yards and 30 total touchdowns on the season.

Kickoff is slated for 7 PM at Liberty High School in North Liberty on Friday night, and can be heard on 95.7 KQWC or online at kqradio.com.