Week 4 wins worth the wait for Kennedy, City High

Their bus rolled into the Cedar Rapids Kennedy parking lot around 2 a.m. Saturday.

The passengers stepped out, damp, happy and still undefeated.

Class 4A fifth-ranked Kennedy sat through a thunderstorm delay of nearly 2 1/2 hours and slogged past No. 10 Pleasant Valley, 24-7, in a game that ended at 11:55 Friday night. The victory sent the Cougars to 4-0; they are one of five remaining unbeatens in 4A.

'There's only so long you can expect 17- and 18-year-olds to stay focused,” Kennedy Coach Brian White said Saturday morning, back up after a 3-hour night of sleep. 'I was really amazed and excited about the energy they came back with.”

Kennedy led 3-0 at the point of stoppage. The Cougars spent the delay in the auto shop at Pleasant Valley High School.

'They had portable chairs, and we spent the time watching film,” White said. 'We looked a lot at their defense. They had a fast defense, fast linebackers, and it was clear they were trying to take Shaun (Beyer) away.

'We changed our blocking schemes a little, and went back to work.”

The Cougars led 10-7 at halftime, took control with an 82-yard scoring march in the third quarter. Tyler Dralle carried the ball through much of the drive, with lineman Dalles Jacobus moving to fullback.

'(Jacobus) was a 260-pound terror,” White said. 'He was trucking over people.”

Last year at this point, Kennedy was 0-4, and White was telling his team it was starting over with a clean district slate.

This year, 4-0, same message. Clean district slate. The Cougars face Cedar Rapids Jefferson (3-1) on Friday at Kingston Stadium.

'Four-and-0 is nice, but it's just preparing us for district football,” White said. 'We haven't started districts yet, so we really haven't won anything yet.”

At the same time Kennedy was boarding the bus at Pleasant Valley, Iowa City High was cherishing a 14-12 victory over Iowa City West. That game ended at 11:45.

City High (2-2) took a 14-6 lead on Kennardo Rodney's 10-yard run with 8:44 left, but West (0-4) got within 14-12 on Mason Carter's 15-yard scamper with 2:24 left.

The Trojans missed a game-tying two-point conversion try, but recovered an onside kick and were driving before Jason Jones iced it with an interception in the final seconds.

'This was a character builder,” City Coach Dan Sabers said. 'There were some ups and downs, and we had to make some plays. We just kept battling.”

The teams played two minutes at Bates Field before their lightning delay, then didn't get back on the field until about 9:30.

BLUE RAIDERS FINE WITH NEW EXPECTATIONS

Anamosa's place on the football ladder has changed immensely in the past two years. But the Raiders' outlook hasn't.

'They don't seem to feel any pressure,” Coach Ryan Streets said. 'Sometimes, I'm worried that they're too loose. I don't think they have any idea about their surroundings. They just go out and play.”

A program that broke its losing habit last year, Anamosa has hit the ground running this season. The Raiders' 43-6 victory over Northeast on Friday at Goose Lake moved them to 4-0 for just the second time since the 1950s.

'Once you start running an offense and a defense and stick with it, the kids get good at it,” Streets said. 'We might only run four (different) plays in a game, but they've gotten so good at those four plays, it's really effective.”

The Blue Raiders threw the ball only once Friday. Seven different ball carriers collected at least 24 rushing yards, led by 96 yards and three touchdowns by Kolin Schulte. Anamosa ran for 324 yards, averaging 8.3 yards per run.

BGM: BOUND FOR No. 1?

There's likely to be a new No. 1 this week in Class 4A and Class A.

No. 3 West Des Moines Dowling toppled top-rated West Des Moines Valley, 38-21, in Class 4A. In Class A, Denver took down top-ranked Gladbrook-Reinbeck, 21-7.

That could pave the way for BGM to claim the top spot. The second-rated Bears (4-0) whipped North Mahaska, 61-0, behind 165 rushing yards and three touchdowns by Colton Massengale.

l Comments: (319) 368-8857; jeff.linder@thegazette.com