West upset bid falls short in OT

IOWA CITY - Iowa City West nearly pulled off the upset of the football season Friday, rallying for 17 fourth-quarter points to force No. 1-ranked and unbeaten Bettendorf into overtime. But after West scored the go-ahead touchdown in overtime Bettendorf matched it and then converted a two-point play to survive, 28-27.

Bettendorf senior quarterback Cyle Cox took the ball and ran it in after the Bulldogs took timeout to consider their options after closing to within 27-26.

'We go for the win; it's as plain and simple as that,” Cox said. 'We believe we're tougher. We work harder and we all believe in each other.”

The two-point conversion came on a read option that had given the Trojans fits all game long.

'They had a four-man front with a stand-up linebacker who keyed on me. Our guys made big blocks and our running backs ran hard.”

'(Cox) got us last year in the playoffs,” West Coach Garrett Hartwig said. 'He's very talented and he played that zone-read well. Their o-line blocked well. Our guys fought like hell but it wasn't good enough tonight.”

West (3-3) trailed 20-3 with 6:48 left in the game. Quarterback Aaron Bleil directed a 70-yard drive in three minutes that culminated with a 37-yard TD pass to Tyler Eads to cut the lead to 20-10.

West stopped Bettendorf and forced a put but took over on its own 11 with just 2:37 left to play. Again Bleil directed an 89-yard, seven-play touchdown drive in which he hit three different receivers. Oliver Martin's five-yard catch cut the lead to 20-17 with 1:26 left.

West's Mason Koch recovered the onside kick at the Bulldogs' 47. Two Bettendorf pass interference penalties and three completions got the Trojans close enough for a tying 25-yard field goal by Connor Gordon with 1 second to spare.

It was a stunning turn of events.

'I've got more respect for the 53 men in that room than for anybody else,” Hartwig said outside his team's locker room. 'At this point in the season it's about executing. Bettendorf executed. Credit to them.

'We're getting better but we're not where we need to be yet. We learned a lot about ourselves tonight. Our guys just don't quit. They've got no quit in them, and it's been like that all season. We never believe we're out of it.”