Iowa City West breezes to a 47-7 win over Jefferson

CEDAR RAPIDS – Call it a quick cure for a Boot hangover.

Class 4A No. 6 Iowa City West jumped out to a 40-0 halftime lead to breeze to an easy 47-7 win last night in a MVC Mississippi Division game at Kingston Stadium.

'We had a great week of practice,' West Coach Brian Sauser said. 'We were as loose as we've been. Hopefully we have a lot more games to play.'

West (7-1, 4-1) averaged 41.5 points per game before last week's 14-7 loss to Iowa City High in the Battle for the Boot.

The J-Hawks (1-7, 1-4) mustered only 108 yards and five first downs in the first half. Jefferson finished with 249 yards and tacked on a score in the fourth quarter.

The Trojans had two interceptions – one returned for a touchdown – and a fumble.

'We've played great defense the last two weeks,' Sauser said. 'For us to play like that on defense is obviously a good sign.'

West responded from its first regular-season loss in the past two seasons with five-straight touchdown drives in the first half.

Senior Devin Raffensperger rushed for a team-high 72 yards and two touchdowns.

Running back Kevin Dowell had a 6-yard touchdown run midway through the second quarter. After a Jefferson punt, Dowell turned a dump pass from quarterback Nate Boland into a 61-yard score.

The Trojans stumbled on the game's opening possession, but even that turned into quick points. West's John Milani jumped in front Layne Sullivan's first pass and returned it 52 yards for a touchdown.

'I ran out there and the ball was right there,' Milani said. 'It was great to come off the bat and get a defensive stop.'

Jefferson got on the board midway through the fourth quarter when Sullivan lofted a nice 30-yard pass to Mason Furnish in the front corner of the end zone.

Sullivan finished with 149 passing yards and a team-high 58 rushing yards.West hosts Waterloo East next week. Jefferson finishes its season at Dubuque Senior.