Gormley runs Tigers past EV

MARENGO -- John Gormley had made several brief visits.This is an extended visit, and the Iowa Valley High School football program is a grateful beneficiary.Gormley accounted for four first-half touchdowns, and the Tigers blasted English Valleys, 35-0, in a Class A non-district football game Friday night at Wilkinson Field."All around, a good first game," Gormley said after the Tigers spray-painted a black tiger paw between the 35- and 40-yard lines on the south end of the field.After each victory, they'll add another painted paw, five yards to the north -- the direction, not merely by conincidence -- of the UNI-Dome.Iowa Valley (1-0) piled up 424 yards in the first half, and Gormley had a hand in a good share of them. He rushed for 85 yards on six carries and turned a screen pass into a 78-yard touchdown jaunt on the Tigers' first possession of the game.That's seven touches, four touchdowns."He's a threat on every play," Tigers Coach Vince McGee said. "Special teams, running the ball, catching it ... he's the real deal."Gormley grew up in Los Angeles, and came to Marengo nearly every summer with his family to visit his aunt and uncle. On his visit after his freshman season, Gormley decided he wanted to stay."Los Angeles and Marengo ... there are a lot of differences," Gormley said with a broad smile. "There are so many more opportunities for me here. In L.A., I was in a high school of about 3,000 kids."The atmosphere here really suits me."And, McGee said, Gormley's former coaches had him pegged as a defensive tackle. He is listed at 5-foot-11 and 155 pounds.Because of the state's eligibility rule, Gormley could not play varsity football as a sophomore -- "We had a pretty good JV team that year," McGee said. As a junior, Gormley ran for 1,666 yards.Friday, he took the first step in approaching that figure again, though he didn't see much action (other than punting) after intermission."We wanted to step on the gas right away," McGee said. "Get (the first-stringers) in, get them out."The second half was played with a continuous clock due to the state's 35-point mercy rule.With the Tigers facing third-and-6 at their own 22, Gormley took a short pass from Logan Loftus, made a couple cuts, then outran the Bears' coverage for his first touchdown.He followed with TD runs of 31, 27 and 19 yards.Carter Buswell added a 98-yard scoring sprint on the heels of a goal-line stand. Trailing 19-0, English Valleys (0-1) had the ball, first-and-goal at the 5. Three plays netted three yards, then Cody Van Dee met Brennen Grimm at the line of scrimmage on fourth down.Gormley's nose for the end zone was Friday's highlight. The lowlight was a combined 21 penalties (Iowa Valley had 14 for 119 yards).Iowa Valley is at Highland next week; English Valleys hosts Danville.

AT MARENGO

TEAM STATISTICS

English Valleys

Iowa Valley

First downs

12

13

Rushes-yards

42 - 159

29 - 301

Passing yards

10

143

Comp-Att-Int

1 - 4 - 1

6 - 8 - 0

Total yards

169

444

Fumbles-lost

2 - 1

1 - 1

Punts-average

5 - 36.4

2 - 41.5

Penalties-yards

7 - 40

14 - 119

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

Rushing:

English Valleys – Austin Huber 24-96, Brennen Grimm 11-48, Corey Huber 4-20.  

Iowa Valley – Carter Buswell 5-114, John Gormley 6-85, Austin Carney 2-44, Gavin Collingwood 7-26, Marshall Young 4-21, Logan Loftus 4-16

.

Passing:

English Valleys – A. Huber 1-4-1-10.  

Iowa Valley – Loftus 6-8-0-143.

Receiving:

English Valleys – Cody Seaton 1-10.  

Iowa Valley – Austin Roberts 2-48, Cullen Yardley 2-16, Gormley 1-78, Carney 1-1.

SCORE BY QUARTERS

English Valleys

–

Iowa Valley

19

16

–

35

SCORING SUMMARYIV -- John Gormley 78 pass from Logan Loftus (Cody Van Dee kick)IV -- Gormley 31 run (kick failed)IV -- Gormley 27 run (run failed)IV -- Carter Buswell 98 run (Cullen Yardley run)IV -- Gormley 19 run (Gormley run)