Dralle seeks revenge for his dad

CEDAR RAPIDS – The mere mention of the Bettendorf Bulldogs makes Jeff Dralle scrunch up his face in disgust and mutter under his breath. His heart rate and blood pressure soar to unacceptable levels.

He can't stand them, a hatred that has percolated over three decades.

'Been eating at me for 34 years,” the Cedar Rapids man said.

Time for the backstory.

Dralle was the starting quarterback for Dubuque Hempstead in 1980, trying to lead the Mustangs to back-to-back Class 4A state championships. Hempstead traveled down to TouVelle Stadium for a first-round game against an undefeated and top-ranked Bett squad that featured future Iowa Hawkeyes defensive lineman Hap Peterson, among others.

Let's just say Dralle didn't play especially well, throwing four interceptions. Still, his team found itself inside the 10-yard line with a chance to win a tied game in the final 30 seconds.

Dralle handed off to his fullback, who 'got crushed” and fumbled. Things went to overtime, and Bettendorf won, 20-14.

He went on to play football and baseball at Coe College, had nice careers in both sports, but Dralle will never forget his final prep game and blankety-blank Bettendorf.

'That game has been stuck in my craw ever since,” he said.

Fast forward and imagine the range of emotions Dralle had last Wednesday night.

He proudly watched his son, Tyler, rush 46 times for 234 yards in Cedar Rapids Kennedy's 20-17, first-round playoff upset win at Muscatine. Dad sits at every game with a notepad and pen, writing down the result of each carry.

Then upon arriving back home, Dralle found out the next opponent for his boy and the Cougars. You guessed it. The Bettendorf Bulldogs, at TouVelle Stadium on Monday night at 7.

'I was driving home from Muscatine and trying to figure out who they might play, and it was like ‘Shoot, it's gonna be Bettendorf,'” Dralle said. 'Then I found out that's who it was going to be, and it was like ‘You know what, son. This is a chance for you to get a little revenge for pops.' It's like the movie Red Dawn when Harry Dean Stanton screams ‘Boys, revenge me! Revenge me!'”

'Dad feels like he didn't play very well in that game,” Tyler Dralle said. 'He dwells on it. I know he'd like nothing more than for us to beat Bettendorf and get that monkey off his back.”

Jeff Dralle found film of the Hempstead-Bettendorf game and has watched it with Tyler a few times. It's in black and white and kind of grainy, but the interceptions were bright and clear, unfortunately, as was the fateful end.

Video of Tyler's junior season has been a whole lot more fun to watch. He has 892 yards rushing and eight touchdowns, a fierce runner who rarely goes down at first contact.

'He runs angry,” Jeff Dralle said.

'I knew at the beginning of the season what I was capable of,” Tyler said. 'I was motivated to prove myself after missing the last four games last year.”

He broke his collarbone in the middle of a sophomore game against Cedar Rapids Xavier. Also a starting linebacker, Tyler has been healthy all season, as his staggering amount of carries last week should tell you.

'I tell you what, I love the kid. He's tough,” said Kennnedy Coach Brian White. 'I told him I was going to lean on him, that we were going to give him the ball. He told me ‘I'm ready.' That kid wants the ball. He reminds me of John Riggins. He just goes. He never complains, it's just ‘Give me the ball.'”

Kennedy (3-7) will be a very heavy underdog Monday against its second-ranked and 10-0 opponent. The Cougars will have to play virtually a perfect game and get a couple of breaks to hang.

But anything is possible. Especially when you're playing for yourself, your teammates ... and your dad.

'I really want to prove we can beat Bettendorf,” Tyler Dralle said. 'And make my dad happy.”

l Comments: (319) 398-8259; jeff.johnson@thegazette.com