Iowa high school football rewind: MFL MarMac clinches championship in rugged 1A District 4

CEDAR RAPIDS — Dan Anderson has a question.

“Is there a 1A district that’s got more solid teams that 1A-4?” the MFL MarMac football coach asked.

Don’t reply, because he already has the answer.

“I don’t think so,” he said.

The district has, or at least had, five quality teams who have spent the last month beating on each other in an attempt not only to win a championship but just to secure a top-four spot and a 1A playoff berth.

MFL MarMac secured the district title Friday night with a 33-20 win over Cascade. The Bulldogs pulled away in the second half after the game was tied at halftime at 13.

Cascade also has cinched a playoff spot, though second, third and fourth place is still in the air between the Cougars, Sumner-Fredericksburg and Waterloo Columbus. Dyersville Beckman, which The Gazette had ranked No. 1 in the state in 1A after Week 3, has lost two in a row and three of four, beset by the unavailability of multiple key players for non-injury reasons.

The Blazers will not even make the playoffs. Beckman and MFL MarMac conclude the regular season next week against each other.

“We wanted our team to just kind of go in and wear (Cascade) down,” Anderson said. “We’ve got a pretty strong running game, and we can throw the ball a lot better this year. We came out and the speed of the game was a little fast for us at first.

“Last week, we played Postville, and Postville’s not very good this year. You play Postville, then you play a team like Cascade, I was a little worried about maybe having a hangover. Because I’ll be honest with you, every team that has played Postville has beaten Postville but lost the next week.”

Wyatt Powell leads MFL MarMac with 743 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns. Carver Blietz-Bentien, moved from quarterback last year to fullback this season, is next with 547 yards rushing and five TDs.

The Bulldogs have rushed for just under 2,000 yards as a team.

“Our style of football, we believe that we can just grind it out in the second half,” Anderson said. “It’s just like chopping away at a tree, eventually it’s going to fall. That’s what happened (Friday night). The second half, the first three drives we had, we scored. We were able to pound the ball at them physically; get first downs. Threw some passes in there, too.

“Good solid win.”

MFL MarMac lost its season opener to a good 2A team from New Hampton, 22-19. That’s been the only official blemish, though the Bulldogs did initially lose to Osage (another good 2A team) in Week 3, 28-22.

Osage ended up forfeiting that win after self reporting to the Iowa High School Athletic Association that it had played a kid in too many quarters, in both the JV and varsity games.

“I’m proud of our communities,” Anderson. “I’ve got great assistant coaches that help me out, that really care. We work well together. There was 26 years of losing football at MFL MarMac, never had a winning season. Now we’ve been to the quarterfinals three years straight. Who knows what will happen this year, but our team is very confident. We’ve got good football players, and they believe in our system. They’re hard workers.”

This and that

— Carter Henderson had 151 yards rushing and two touchdowns as Linn-Mar kept its Class 5A playoff hopes alive with a 35-7 win Friday night at Ottumwa. Quarterback Austin Waller threw two touchdown passes for the Lions.

Linn-Mar is 4-3. The Lions came into this week ranked 18th in the IHSAA’s RPI.

The top 16 qualify for the playoffs.

— Watts McBride rushed for a pair of touchdowns as Cedar Rapids Washington won at Class 4A eighth-ranked Newton, 21-0. The Warriors held Newton to 166 total yards, possessing the football 42 minutes and 7 seconds to Newton’s 15:40.

It was an important win for Washington (4-3), which is 2-1 in District 4. Should it win its final two games over Oskaloosa and Pella, both 1-6, it would gain at least second place in the district and earn a Class 4A playoff spot.

— Alburnett quarterback Mason Neighbor continued his incredible roll Friday night in his team’s 52-7 win over Wapello. The senior completed 21 of 24 passes for 272 yards and three touchdowns.

Alburnett is 6-1 and plays this Friday against Columbus Community (7-0) for the Class A District 5 championship.

In his last four games, Neighbor, who primarily was a defensive back last season, has completed 53 of 63 passes, with 14 touchdowns and zero interceptions.

— Speaking of great quarterback performances, check out what Mount Vernon’s Joey Rhomberg did in a 49-7 win over Maquoketa.

The junior threw six touchdown passes, all in the first half. He completed 19 of 28 passes.

Mount Vernon is 7-0.

— Maquoketa Valley’s Lance McShane continued a terrific junior season in a 38-24 win over Starmont.

The junior back rushed 35 times for 230 yards and two touchdowns and caught two passes for 43 yards and a TD. Just for good measure, he also had an interception he returned for score.

McShane has 1,154 yards and 18 touchdowns rushing this season. Maquoketa Valley is 5-2.

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