Cedar Rapids Washington downs Cedar Rapids Jefferson in season opener

CEDAR RAPIDS — With about two minutes left in the opening half Friday night at Kingston Stadium, Cedar Rapids Washington’s defense recovered a Cedar Rapids Jefferson fumble deep inside J-Hawks territory.

The clock curiously kept running despite the change of possession. It seemed an inadvertent mercy mistake by the scoreboard operator.

Naturally Washington ended up scoring on the final play of the half anyway.

Very few, if any, of the previous football games between these longtime Metro rivals have been more one sided than this 79-0 Warriors victory. Honestly it was kind of expected considering Wash’s No. 4 ranking in Class 4A and Jeff’s lack of players.

The J-Hawks dressed just 21 guys for this game, a lack of numbers for a variety of reasons that initially threatened the varsity season. You’ve got to give those hardy 21 a plethora of credit, despite the outcome.

“Who wants to be in that situation?” said Washington Coach Mo Blue. “Their kids played their butts off. But they’ve got 21. I don’t know what the hell is going on over there, but the problem is much bigger than them (the coaches).”

What was learned about Washington in this blowout? It was kind of hard to tell, though it seems the Warriors, who dropped down from the largest class in Iowa this season because of dwindling school enrollment, have the potential to be pretty darned good.

Wash scored on all seven of its first-half possessions, racking up 345 yards in a balanced way: 212 rushing and 133 passing. Miles Thompson and Jabari Dobbs make a nice tailback combo, with each scoring a pair of touchdowns in the first half.

Quarterback Reid Ortiz completed 5 of 6 first-half passes, two of those for TDs. He also had a two-point pass.

Washington Warriors' Michael Blank (17) escapes the tackle of Jefferson J-Hawks' Shavez Batts (2) during the first half of their Mississippi Valley Conference football game at Kingston Stadium in southwest Cedar Rapids, Iowa, on Friday, August 27, 2021. (Jim Slosiarek/The Gazette)

“Our ones did what they should have done,” Blue said. “Offensively we scored every time. Defensively it was three-and-out every time. You can’t ask them to do any more than that.”

“I think we learned how good we can be,” said Washington lineman Noah Allen. “What our potential is, that if we execute, we can keep doing what we’re doing. We know what we can do, which is important as a team.”

Washington’s 3-4 defense was dominant against a Jefferson offense that showed little ability to pass. The Warriors held the J-Hawks to minus-14 yards in the first half and zero first downs.

The final yardage total was 504-24. Brisahn Fields, who has been a wide receiver but moved into a third-string tailback position in this game because of the score and the need to rest starters, had four second-half touchdowns for Washington.

He ended up leading the Warriors in rushing with 113 yards on eight carries.

Cedar Rapids Washington 79, Cedar Rapids Jefferson 0

At Kingston Stadium

CRW CRJ

20 First Downs 1

30-371 Rushes-Yards 29-4

133 Passing Yards 24

6-7-0 Att.-Comp.-Int. 3-7-1

0-0 Punts-Avg. 4-27.8

5-40 Penalites-Yards 1-5

1-0 Fumbles-Lost 5-4

C.R. Washington 20 28 13 18-79

C.R. Jefferson 0 0 0 0-0

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING-Washington: Brisahn Fields 8-113, Miles Thompson 6-73, Jabari Dobbs 5-66, Donovan Jagnow 3-59, Michael Blank 2-33, Watts McBride 3-22, Jaden Harris 1-5, Reid Ortiz 1-4, Team 1-(minus) 4. Jefferson: Rusimbana Budederi 10-14, Kay’Zure Lewis 11-10, DeShaun Robinson 6-0, Davonn Tamayo 1-0, Team 1-(minus) 20.

PASSING-Washington: Reid Ortiz 5-6-0-132, Donovan Jagnow 1-1-0-1. Jefferson: Kay’Zure Lewis 2-5-1-9, Davonn Tamayo 1-2-0-15.

RECEIVING-Washington: Jabari Dobbs 1-55, Aiden Williams 2-41, Chase Mahoney 1-21, Jaden Harris 1-15, Parks McBride 1-1.

Comments: (319)-398-8258, jeff.johnson@thegazette.com