West’s Henderson, Martin get loose in district opener

IOWA CITY – Four weeks of frustration gave way to a 48-minute offensive explosion.

After starting their season 0-4 with three losses to teams currently ranked fifth or better in Class 4A, the Iowa City West Trojans saw the start of district play as a fresh start.

Junior Oliver Martin recovered a fumble on Davenport Central's first offensive play, then hauled in a 14-yard touchdown pass three plays later as the Trojans defeated the Blue Devils, 42-14, in a Class 4A District 7 opener Friday night at Trojan Field.

'We know we're better than what we've shown the first four games,” said Martin, who caught 10 passes for 201 yards and two touchdowns. 'We just kept working hard this week, knowing that we could do it. It finally all came together.”

West senior quarterback Alex Henderson was oustanding, completing 18-of-22 passes for 376 yards and six total touchdowns.

Both are season highs.

'Alex is a steady man,” West Coach Garrett Hartwig said. 'He never panics. He trusts his guys and he does what he is coached to do.”

Davenport Central (1-4, 0-1 District 7) briefly held the lead after a pair of scoring drives, the first a 15-play, 78-yard grinder to tie the game at 7-7 when Alec Capshaw found receiver Duane Sleet in the end zone on 4th-and-goal from the 11-yard line.

Henderson reclaimed the Trojan lead at 13-7 with a 4-yard touchdown run on West's own 4th-and-goal call to close the opening quarter.

After the teams exchanged punts, Davenport Central struck suddenly. Receiver Caleb Buehl's fantastic over-the-shoulder grab on a pass from lefty quarterback Zach Taylor went for a 51-yard score and gave the Blue Devils their only lead at 14-13 with 8:17 left until halftime.

Davenport Central never scored again.

'It was huge,” Martin said. 'We really came together as a defense.”

West (1-4, 1-0 District 7) closed the game with 29-straight points. Henderson connected on second-quarter TD passes of 23 and 63 yards to Devontae Lane, then an interception in the end zone by Gabe Huinker preserved West's 28-14 lead with 27 seconds left in the opening half.

'I was comfortable,” Henderson said. 'We simplified the offense a little bit, made it easier for me to read, made it easier for our o-line to read. It was a lot of going out and playing football. It's a lot easier when you don't have to think.”

Henderson and Martin connected for a 56-yard strike late in the third quarter, then Henderson found a diving Lane for nine yards in the fourth to put the Trojans up by four touchdowns.

Lane finished with six catches for 132 yards and three touchdowns.

'This win is the most important win because it is a district win,” Hartwig said. 'We have another test next week.”

West travels to No. 2 Bettendorf next week, its fourth top-five opponent in the first six games of the season.

Iowa City West 42

Davenport Central 14

AT TROJAN FIELD

DC ICW

First downs 12 10

Rushes-yards 40-124 33 - 138

Passing-yards 135 384

Comp-att-int 8-19-1 19-24-0

Punts-avg. 6-36.5 4-36.2

Fumbles-lost 3-1 0-0

Penalties-yards 5-35 10-88

Davenport Central 7 7 0 0-14

Iowa City West 13 15 7 7-42

ICW -

Oliver Martin 14 pass from Alex Henderson (Will Peterson kick)

DC -

Duane Sleet 11 pass from Alec Capshaw (Mitchell Lantzky kick)

ICW -

Henderson 4 run (kick failed)

DC -

Caleb Buehl 51 pass from Zach Taylor (Lantzky kick)

ICW -

Devontae Lane 23 pass from Henderson (Henderson pass to Martin)

ICW -

Lane 63 pass from Henderson (Peterson kick)

ICW -

Martin 56 pass from Henderson (Peterson kick)

ICW -

Lane 9 pass from Henderson (Peterson kick)

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

Rushing - DC: Isaiah Litt 15-50, Duane Sleet 7-47, Alec Capshaw 10-28, Zach Taylor 5-0, Donte Gronewold 1-(-1), Xavier Marshall 2-0. ICW:

Mason Carter 9-60, Yeshuwa Hicks 9-16, Thad Nelson 4-19, Alex Henderson 5-16, Oliver Martin 1-9, Mason Koch 2-8, Tremaine Hoover 1-3, Kevin Hanson 2-7.

Passing - DC: Zach Taylor 7-16-1-124, Alec Capshaw 1-3-0-11. ICW:

Alex Henderson 18-22-0-376, Ethan Postler 1-1-0-8, Evan Flitz 0-1-0-0.

Receiving - DC: Caleb Buehl 5-112, Duane Sleet 1-11, Jordan Andrews 1-7, Michael Rediger 1-5. ICW:

Oliver Martin 10-201, Devontae Lane 6-132, Donovan Doyle 2-43, Evan Hermiston 1-8.

l Comments: douglas.miles@thegazette.com