City High clamps down on No. 10 Pleasant Valley

BETTENDORF – It sure looked like missed opportunities would haunt the Iowa City High football team.

The Little Hawks statistically dominated Class 4A No. 10 Pleasant Valley throughout the opening half of their second-round playoff game, but three trips inside the PV 10-yard line yielded zero points due to a fumble and a pair of missed field goals.

But with the game still scoreless, City High Coach Dan Sabers delivered a calm, clear halftime message.

'We had some things happen, so did they,” Sabers said after City High outlasted Pleasant Valley Monday night, 13-7, and advanced to the 4A quarterfinals for the first time since 2010. 'We hung in there. We just say, ‘We're zero-zero. Bad things happen, we're zero-zero. OK, that's behind us. Let's go out and make some plays.'”

Senior Jason Jones heeded the message. Midway through the third quarter, the 6-foot-2 receiver took a short sideline pass from quarterback Jared Taylor, broke free from a pair of tacklers and sprinted down the left sideline for 74 yards to the PV two-yard-line.

'I had been waiting for a play for me to break one loose,” said Jones, who caught three passes for 95 yards.

Two plays later, Taylor scored on a 1-yard keeper and City High led, 7-0, with 5:10 left in the third quarter.

Defensive back Naeem Smith recovered a fumble for City High on its next defensive possession, setting the offense up at the PV 40.

A couple of penalties advanced the ball to the 23, where Taylor connected with Smith for 15 yards. As he tried to push for extra yardage, the ball sprang loose and caromed into the end zone. Jones emerged from a pileup holding the ball and a 13-0 lead for the Little Hawks.

'I was just surprised that he fumbled the ball,” Jones said. 'I made sure we got the ball back and scored on it.”

A fourth-quarter turnover gave Pleasant Valley a short field, which fullback David Carr used to plow 22 yards for a touchdown with 10:16 left in the game.

Carr ran for 67 yards and a touchdown for PV (8-3), which was limited to 165 yards of offense and unable to mount a comeback on its last two possessions.

The loss snapped a six-game win streak for the Spartans,

'We knew that if we stopped their fullback, stopped their running back,” City High linebacker Erick Fletcher said. 'We would win.”

City High – winners of eight of its last nine games after an 0-2 start – will play in a Class 4A quarterfinal at No. 2 Bettendorf (11-0) on Friday.

Iowa City High 13

Pleasant Valley 7

AT BETTENDORF

ICH PV

First downs 11 7

Rushes-yards 33-90 37-137

Passing 10-20-1-166 6-12-0-28

Total yards 256 165

Punts-avg. 5-43.6 6-34.5

Fumbles-lost 3-2 2-2

Penalties-yards 3-30 7-75

Iowa City High 0 0 13 0-13

Pleasant Valley 0 0 0 7-7

ICH – Jared Taylor 1 run (Sarrive Rukakiza kick)

ICH – Jason Jones fumble recovery in end zone (kick blocked)

PV – David Carr 22 run (Nick Schwake kick)

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

Rushing - Iowa City High: Bryce Frantz 15-78, Jared Taylor 8-0, Rajay Rodney 4-9, Erick Fletcher 4-9, Jason Jones 1-(-2), Team 1-(-4). Pleasant Valley: Terry Saul 12-(-10), Arthur Braden 12-60, CJ Carter 6-20, David Carr 7-67.

Passing - Iowa City High: Jared Taylor 10-20-1-166. Pleasant Valley: Terry Saul 6-12-0-28.

Receiving - Iowa City High: Jason Jones 3-95, Will Noack 1-11, Erick Fletcher 1-12, Nick Moioffer 0-0, Bryce Frantz 2-6, Naeem Smith 2-17, Tom Pugh 1-25. Pleasant Valley: Arthur Braden 2-(-1), Alex Rodruck 1-10, Cam Walton 3-19.

l Comments: douglas.miles@thegazette.com