Lightning wear down Trojans 44-31 in top-10 matchup

IOWA CITY – Change of pace. Change of fortune.

After an exhausting back-and-forth, score-at-will start, the Lightning ground down the clock, wore down Iowa City West and took control.

No. 8 Liberty produced two long drives capped by Reece Rettig touchdown runs to pull away in the second half for a 44-31 win over No. 7 West in a Class 5A District 6 high school football game Friday night at Trojans Field.

“We got the ball rolling,” Liberty Coach Scott Chandler said. “That’s what our team can do when we protect the football. We can really be demoralizing on offense.”

The game was knotted at 24-24 at halftime. Liberty managed sustained drives that kept the ball out of West’s hands. The first covered 83 yards in 12 plays, taking 6:09 that resulted in a 32-yard Rettig touchdown run on 3 rd-and-8, giving Liberty its first lead.

“I followed my linemen and saw my pullers,” Rettig said. “I saw a crease and took it. I feel like that’s how we run. Get them moving laterally, get the linebackers playing timid and backward and then cut it up.”

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Liberty (4-1, 1-0) got the ball back minutes later and hogged it for another 4:45. Rettig capped with a 1-yard QB sneak for a 38-24 lead with 10:27 left in the fourth. The Lightning held the ball for 9:28 of the third and 11:01 of the first 14 minutes of the second half.

“We wanted to follow our O-line and control what we can control,” Rettig said. “Our O-Line played great. They stepped up today.

“We just rode on their back. When you ride on your O-line’s back, you control the clock. When you control the clock, it really helps you control the game.”

Actually, Liberty started the methodical, run-oriented play on its last drive of the first half. They went 73 yards on eight plays. Rettig hit Leo Rozz for a 9-yard score to tie the game with 23 seconds left before halftime.

The Lightning were unfazed and remained poised, despite getting punched in the face early by West and trailing by double-digits twice.

“We have veteran leaders,” Chandler said. “These guys are battle-tested. They’ve played in a lot of big games.”

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The offensive line dominated the line of scrimmage and powered the Lightning to 330 yards. Rettig rushed for 159 yards and scored three TDs, including a 5-yard score in the second quarter. Brody Beaver added 135 yards and a 50-yard scoring jaunt for Liberty’s first score.

“The game plan this week was to run the football,” Liberty lineman Jaryn Sertterh said. “Get behind the O-line and run it down their throats.”

West (4-1, 0-1) burst to a 10-0 lead midway through the first and lead 17-7 before the second. Reece Wheeler and Ethan Headings connected on scoring strikes of 61 and 56 yards, following a 19-yard Adam Salem field goal.

Wheeler added a 35-yard run, giving the Trojans a 24-17 lead with 4:25 remaining before halftime, but it was mostly Liberty from that point.

Wheeler and Headings connected on a 20-yard TD in the fourth. Wheeler finished with 251 yards passing. Headings hauled in seven catches for 204 yards in the loss.

Liberty rebounded from a loss to Johnston last week and won their second straight in a rivalry game.

“It’s always fun to win a rivalry. It means a little bit more. It adds a little to that.”

IOWA CITY LIBERTY 44

IOWA CITY WEST 31

AT IOWA CITY

ICL ICW

First Downs 20 15

Rushes-yards 54-330 24-98

Passing yards 82 251

Comp-att-int 7-11-0 13-19-0

Total yards 412 349

Fumbles-lost 0-0 0-0

Punts-avg. 1-35.0 2-36.0

Penalties-yards 6-50 8-76

I.C. Liberty 7 17 7 13 -- 44

I.C. West 17 7 0 7 -- 31

ICW – FG Adam Salem 19

ICW – Ethan Headings 61 pass from Reece Wheeler (Salem kick)

ICL – Brody Beaver 50 run (Collin Weis kick)

ICW – Headings 56 pass from Wheeler (Salem kick)

ICL – FG Weis 27

ICL – Reece Rettig 5 run (Weis kick)

ICW – Wheeler 35 run (Salem kick)

ICL – Leo Rozz 9 pass from Rettig (Weis kick)

ICL – Rettig 32 run (Weis kick)

ICL – Rettig 1 run (Weis kick)

ICL – Beaver 3 run (kick failed)

ICW – Headings 20 pass from Wheeler (Salem kick)

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING – I.C. Liberty: Rettig 22-159, Beaver 20-135, Logan Laubenthal 4-25, Adrian Clerry 4-10, Rozz 1-2, Pryor Reiners 1-1, Team 2-(minus 2). I.C. West: Campbell Janis 10-66, Wheeler 6-30, Kingstone Ross 3-8, Headings 1-7, La’Marrie Carter 2-5, Lowden Van Daele 1-(minus 5), Team 1-(minus 13).

PASSING – I.C. Liberty: Rettig 7-11-0-82. I.C. West: Wheeler 13-19-0-251.

RECEIVING – I.C. Liberty: Clerry 3-38, Laubenthal 1-18, Beaver 2-17, Rozz 1-9. I.C. West: Headings 7-204, Neil James 1-19, Henry Elser 2-15, Julian Manson 2-7, Cade Towler 1-6.

Comments: k.j.pilcher@thegazette.com