Iowa City West takes care of business against Cedar Rapids Washington to stay in 5A playoff picture

IOWA CITY — It was a game Iowa City West simply had to have.

Sitting at No. 15 in the Class 5A RPI rankings (the top 16 qualify for postseason play), the Trojans needed a home victory Friday to boost their playoff position before facing two ranked opponents (No. 5 Pleasant Valley and No. 10 Cedar Rapids Prairie) to close the regular season.

West did what it needed to do — and then some.

The Trojans (4-3) defeated Cedar Rapids Washington (1-6) in a 58-8 rout at Trojan Field.

“There’s so much parity in the state right now,” Iowa City West Coach Garret Hartwig said. “Any 5A team you play has good players, good coaches, so you always enjoy one win at a time.

“We know who we face next week — they’re going to be good. It’s going to be a huge challenge. We just have to put the work in and continue to build off of what we’ve done the last couple weeks.”

Eight players contributed to at least one touchdown for West.

Ashton Honore rushed for two and Izaiah Loveless caught two. Jack Wallace and Erik Caperon both threw for one, while Marquise Rose, Jacob Gilliam, Aaron Honore and Butali Butali all had rushing scores.

Butali had an impressive game, leading the Trojans in rushing yards with 214 on 17 carries.

“I didn’t expect to come out here and just do all this, but it feels pretty good,” Butali said. “I think it was just the grit and grind. I was just trying to get through and get all the yards I can.”

Ashton Honore and Rose weren’t far behind Butali, running for 96 and 85 yards, respectively.

“It starts with our O-line,” Hartwig said. “They’re a senior-laden group and they’ve been through some ups and downs this year, but they continue to work.”

Evan Anderson got the Trojans on the board early, hitting a 24-yard field goal with 7:39 left in the first quarter.

On West’s next possession, Ashton Honore broke several tackles on his way in for a 23-yard TD, capping a 10-play, 68-yard drive.

One play after Colin Whitters recovered a muffed snap at Washington’s 25, Wallace flipped the ball to Caperon who tossed it to a wide-open Loveless in the end zone, giving West a 16-0 lead.

Loveless struck again shortly after, hauling in a 49-yard TD pass from Wallace.

“Jack is really good — he has a real grasp of what we’re doing,” Hartwig said. “Setting up the run game makes the pass game a lot easier, so we’re able to take our shots when they’re available.”

Rose added a 12-yard score to give West a 30-0 lead with 4:59 remaining in the second.

The Warriors kept fighting as Grady McGuire led the offense down the field and found Montarious Beard for a 9-yard score, capping a 5-play, 61-yard drive.

West led 30-8 at intermission.

Ashton Honore added his second score of the game on the Trojans’ opening second-half drive. Butali then punched in a 2-yard TD to cap his impressive day.

Jacob Gilliam and Aaron Honore both added late scores.

West rushed for 469 yards and held the Warriors to a negative rushing total.

The Trojans will travel to No. 5 Pleasant Valley next week.

“We certainly have the potential to bring it up offensively,” Butali said. “I think that our team can keep bringing up the effort and for these next two games we can show our real offensive talent. We can show PV and Prairie what we’re all about.”