C.R. Washington throttles Burlington in regular-season finale

CEDAR RAPIDS — An overmatched Burlington squad had Cedar Rapids Washington's fourth-ranked football team in a precarious position early in Friday night's game at Kingston Stadium.

The Grayhounds pinned the Warriors inside their own 10 twice in the early minutes, and shackled Washington's running game.

And then the Warriors went boom.

TJ Vogel connected with Drew Dostal on a 93-yard scoring play to spark a 41-point explosion and Washington battered Burlington, 48-0, in the regular-season finale.

Washington (8-1, 5-0) won Class 4A District 6 and will host a first-round playoff game Wednesday at Kingston Stadium. The IHSAA will release first-round pairings early Saturday morning.

Washington rushed for 243 yards and passed for 242. The Warriors held Burlington (1-8, 0-5) to 129 total yards and notched their first shutout of the season.

'It gives our (playoff) opponents something to think about,' said Washington senior Johnny Dobbs, whose 48 yards rushing including scoring romps of 16 and 27 yards. 'It sends out a boom.'

Vogel also tossed a sideline pass to Alex Herzog, who raced 63 yards to paydirt.

'We have athletic guys who can make plays,' said Vogel, who was 5 of 7 for 189 yards in one half.

On defense, junior O'Rien Vance was a disrupter, particularly early in a scoreless game when the Grayhounds reached the Washington 28.

'I think the defense sparked the offense, because of the (field) position they had and us stopping them consistently,' Vance said.

Tavian Stewart zipped 49 yards for a touchdown and Tavian Patrick went 16 for the half's final score. Patrick's run came after two touchdowns were called back.

Washington Coach Paul James, who guided the Warriors to the championship game last year, told his players they have 'bigger fish to fry.'

'We have goals of where we want to get to,' James said.