Washington is top ranked, 13-0 ... and an underdog

CEDAR RAPIDS – It's rare that a 13-0 team ranked number one in the state is an underdog. Perhaps even a decided underdog.

But that's Cedar Rapids Washington. There are plenty of bloviators out there, especially in Central Iowa, that don't think the Warriors have any sort of shot to beat West Des Moines Dowling in Friday night's Class 4A championship football game at the UNI-Dome.

They believe they do, though, and that's half the battle.

'People think that Dowling is really good, and they are a really good team,” said Wash lineman Julian Good-Jones. ”But I think they are underestimating us a little bit, and that's fine. That's just motivating us, you know?”

'I just don't think they've seen a running game like we have,” said quarterback-safety Reid Snitker. 'We have all the confidence in the world going in.”

Washington overcame a 10-0 first-quarter deficit to quell unbeaten Bettendorf, 28-17, in last week's semifinals, the first time all season the Warriors were behind. You wondered how they'd react to adversity, and the answer was a 21-point second quarter that permanently put them over the top.

Getting behind could be a possibility again, since this is a high-octane offensive team from Dowling that averages 50 points. The defending champion Maroons (13-1) are led by Iowa Hawkeye quarterback recruit Ryan Boyle, who has thrown for 1,866 yards this season, with 17 touchdowns and one interception.

He also leads Dowling in rushing with 979 yards and 16 more TDs. The 6-foot-2, 215-pounder should be familiar to Metro football fans, as he accounted for six touchdowns in Dowling's 44-13 title game win last season over Cedar Rapids Xavier.

'He's a really good quarterback, has a great arm,” Good-Jones said. 'We hope that we can contain him.”

'I see a good athlete,” said Washington Coach Paul James. 'He makes pretty good decisions, is versatile, can throw it and run the ball. He's quick, has good speed … If we allow him to do what he wants to do, that's not good for us.”

What Washington will want to do is ground and pound. The thunder-lightning tailback combo of Johnny Dobbs and Tavian Patrick have rushed for 2,000 combined yards and 24 TDs.

Washington also extensively uses fullbacks Connor Vincent and Caleb Smothers in an old-school approach in an era of new-school spread attacks. Snitker was called upon last week to throw the football and provided a season-high 164 yards and two TDs.

'Just be the more physical team, like we've been doing all year,” Snitker said. 'Come out and play our game.”

'People have moved the ball on them, but people have made mistakes, and Dowling is very opportunistic. Good teams are that way,” James said. 'We've been opportunistic against a lot of our opponents, too. The team that makes fewer mistakes, and maybe the team that can play more physical, has a better chance to win.”

This is Washington's second state championship appearance. It lost to West Des Moines Valley in 2003, 17-7.

The last four 4A winners have come from Central Iowa: Dowling twice, Valley and Ankeny. The Metro's last 4A winner was Xavier in 2006, while the only time one of the three Cedar Rapids public schools won a big-school championship was Jefferson in 1972.

Valley beat Dowling in the regular season, 24-21, so it's known the Maroons are unbeatable. Despite what some might think here.

'I don't really care,” James said. 'I don't think that's coming from around here, necessarily. The other parts of the state, that's probably what they think. But I don't know.”

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