Iowa City West remains hot with semifinal win over Cedar Rapids Washington

CEDAR FALLS — Iowa City West has been one of the hottest teams in Eastern Iowa.

The Trojans have won seven straight games, rolling to the state finals for the first time since winning consecutive titles in 1998-99.

After their 35-7 victory over fourth-ranked Cedar Rapids Washington in a Class 4A state semifinal Friday night at the UNI-Dome, West will face the cooler of all coolers. And it's not a William H. Macy character.

It is second-ranked West Des Moines Dowling, which throttled Ankeny Centennial, 41-17. The Maroons (11-1) take on West (10-2) for a shot to become the first 4A program to win four straight state titles. Only Solon and Iowa City Regina have accomplished that feat.

'It was a goal at the beginning of the season to make it to the Dome and the state championship game,' West senior wideout Oliver Martin said. 'It's a lot of hard work paying off. We represented West and everyone who came before us by making it to the state championship game. It means a lot to us.'

The season hung in the balance after consecutive losses to rival Iowa City High and district foe Cedar Rapids Prairie. The Trojans suffered injuries, including senior Matt Huff, who was their leading rusher before he went down in practice.

'It was just a bump in the road,' Martin said. 'Our execution wasn't the best in those two losses. We knew we were better than that.'

West caught fire and earned some revenge in the postseason. The Trojans avenged the loss to Prairie with a 38-21 victory in the quarterfinals. They knocked off the Warriors, who ended City High's season last week.

'Some serious butt-chewing,' West Coach Garrett Hartwig said. 'To the players' credit, they responded to a tee. It's their team now.'

The Trojans focused on cleaning up their play and fixing mistakes. They only had four penalties for 25 yards but most of them came after they were in control.

'One thing we worked on was penalties,' said West quarterback Evan Flitz, who threw for 260 yards against Washington including 119 to Martin. 'We really worked on limiting our penalties. That's mentally knowing your job so you don't get caught out of position. I think that has really helped us.'

Hartwig said a defining moment came in a 24-10 win over Cedar Rapids Kennedy, which allowed West to grab the second playoff berth from its district. Instead of running out the clock with a seven-point lead, they wanted to put the game out of reach and connected on a TD pass.

'I knew right there that this team was special because they are not scared of the moment,' Hartwig said. 'They hate to lose. They never go down without a fight.'

The Trojans haven't faced any task close to the mammoth-like one that awaits next Friday.

The Maroons have thumped Eastern Iowa foes in the final, beating Cedar Rapids Xavier (2013), Washington (2014) and Kennedy (2015) by an average of 32.3 points per game.

Dowling has dominated defensively, allowing less than 11 points per game. Only West Des Moines Valley has been able to hold the Maroons to less than 28 points in a game.

Hartwig said the Trojans will have to fight harder than they can imagine.

'They are the standard in the state right now,' Hartwig said. 'We have the biggest challenge ahead of us, but it is one day at a time.'

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