Cedar Rapids Washington moves the ball, but has trouble scoring against Dubuque Hempstead

CEDAR RAPIDS — The young Warriors flashed promise, but a night of missed opportunities sunk their hopes for an opening-night win.

Making the move from Class 4A to 5A, Cedar Rapids Washington returned just one offensive lineman from last year and started a pair of sophomores.

The Dubuque Hempstead defense stiffened when it needed to and the Mustangs left Kingston Stadium with a 28-7 win Friday night.

“We did some good things,” Washington Coach Maurice Blue said. “We just didn’t make enough positive plays. All three phases took turns.”

Despite the low number on the scoreboard, the Warriors did find success moving the football. Sophomore quarterback Grady McGuire racked up 181 passing yards, allowing the Washington ground game to gain its footing, at times.

The Warriors moved the ball beyond the Hempstead 40-yard-line on seven occasions, but the Mustangs defense met the challenge, as Washington settled for a touchdown and two missed field goals. Myriad holding penalties, sacks, and turnovers also contributed.

The Warriors began the night with a three-and-out. The ensuing punt traveled 5 yards, setting up Hempstead at the Washington 32. The Warriors had an opportunity to get off the field on fourth-and-3, but Quinn Breitbach found space on a misdirection play and scored from 6 yards out to give the Mustangs a quick 7-0 lead with 7:00 left in the first quarter.

Hempstead added on in the second quarter. Race Benham ripped off a 15-yard run. Two plays later, he followed that up with a 63-yard score down the left sideline.

Washington had a pair of opportunities to claw back into the game. Will Barnes got loose for 21 yards, moving the ball to the Hempstead 37. McGuire was picked off to end the threat.

“It was a little bit frustrating,” Barnes said. “We were switching dudes out, but we were shooting ourselves in the foot. That’s stuff that we can go work on and fix.”

As the half wound to a close, McGuire found J-Quari Willis for 27 yards. A late hit penalty moved it to the Mustangs 15. The drive stalled out and a 36-yard field goal was blocked.

Justin Potts took the opening second-half kickoff 94 yards for a touchdown, as Hempstead began to pull away.

Late in the third quarter, the Warriors finally broke through. McGuire threw a jump ball to Willis in the front corner of the end zone. Willis hauled in the catch to cut the deficit at 21-7.

“We have a sophomore at quarterback who played his tail off,” Blue said. “The kid played his tail off. He’s a competitor. He’s probably putting too much of this on his own shoulders when he actually played pretty well. He made good decisions.”

With five minutes to play, the Warriors again drove the ball into Hempstead territory. Facing third-and-1 at the Mustangs 22, McGuire took two straight sacks.

The Warriors outgained Hempstead, 304-259. Washington returns to Kingston Stadium next week to host Linn-Mar.

“We have a whole lot we can learn from,” Blue said. “I don’t think there’s a whole lot we can’t fix.”