Iowa City West QB Evan Flitz now a triple threat

IOWA CITY - Evan Flitz threw it. The Iowa City West quarterback always does that.

He ran it. That's something he's been known to do effectively.

But catching it, that was a new deal Friday night.

'I don't know if I've ever caught a touchdown pass,” he said with a smile, after his Class 4A second-ranked Trojans beat Cedar Rapids Kennedy, 34-20. 'That was a first tonight.”

A first for the best signal caller on this side of the state. Flitz is a playmaker supreme who apparently is a triple-threat guy now.

'We won't tell him that,” kidded West Coach Garrett Hartwig.

He threw for 186 yards and a touchdown as West (7-0) pretty much wrapped the District 8 title. The Trojans will be prohibitive favorites in their final two games against Linn-Mar and Ottumwa.

There were another 70 yards on the ground for Flitz, including a touchdown. Then you had that TD catch off a little West trick-eration in the second quarter.

On 2nd-and-goal from the Kennedy 5, Flitz lined up in the shotgun slightly askew of the center, with running back Trumell Roberts taking the snap. He handed off to receiver Austin Geasland for an apparent reverse right, but Geasland suddenly pulled up and threw a pass to a wide-open Flitz in the back right corner of the end zone.

Beautiful play.

'Our coaches are creative guys,” Flitz said. 'They keep it fun. Anytime we can put something like that in, that's fun.”

'Not the biggest kid, but, pound for pound, he's one of the toughest kids in the state,” Hartwig said. 'He's our quarterback, and I'm glad he is.”

Kennedy (5-2, 2-1 in district play) was able to move the football on the ground, which you figured was a must. You know, shortening the game and all.

The Cougars ran it for 200 yards, but they found it impossible to stop West's dynamic and diverse offense. Ten different Trojans caught passes, including Flitz, of course.

Another six had rushes. Roberts finished with a 102-yard game.

'That just says we've got weapons everywhere,” Flitz said. 'I just have to get the ball and let them do their work. Like you saw tonight, guys can make plays all across the board. That speaks to our depth.”

'They're probably the best team on this side of the state, and we knew that,” said Kennedy Coach Brian White, whose team's postseason chances likely will come down to a Week 9 game against Cedar Rapids Prairie. 'That offense is so dynamic. I think we did a decent job shutting down their receivers a little bit, but their QB, he's a good one. When we got pressure on him, he could dump off. Then we didn't do a good job ourselves stopping the run.”

Michael Watkins had a touchdown run and catch for Kennedy, his catch a beauty of a one-hander over the middle from 52 yards. Kennedy lost starting quarterback B.J. White on the penultimate play of the game with an apparent injury to his right, throwing shoulder following a sack.

White was in a sling after the game, and Coach White, his dad, said the injury appears serious. B.J. White had a 20-yard touchdown run for Kennedy.

Andre White caught a TD pass for West, with Jason Strunk also rushing for one. Lucas Karwal kicked two field goals for the Trojans and recovered his own onsides kick to begin the game.

'Anytime you win a tough game like that, you're always happy,” Hartwig said. 'Kennedy is a good team, and they never quit. It's a good win.”

'We kind of have one-word mottos every week that drive our work ethic,” Flitz said. 'We want to get things done, we have goals, and we're driven to accomplish those.”

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