‘The McDouble’ is back at MFL MarMac as Bulldogs jump to Class 1A

It won’t be a cakewalk. It might be more like a burger run.

A level up in classification and a transition into one of the most difficult football districts in the state of Iowa are just two of the hurdles sixth-ranked MFL MarMac will have to clear this year. Fortunately for the Bulldogs, they have the right ingredients to do so.

Those ingredients? “The McDouble.”

“We’ve got (Cullen) McShane and (Gabe) McGeough, ‘The McDouble’ as the locals like to call them,” MFL MarMac Coach, and The Gazette’s 2019 coach of the year, Dan Anderson said. “McShane and McGeough, they’re in the backfield together, running back and fullback, and they both went for over 1,000 yards last year.”

McShane, now a senior, rushed for 1,477 yards and 20 touchdowns, averaging an absurd 11.5 yards per carry last season. While McGeough, also a senior, rushed for 1,100 yards, 10 TDs and 7.1 yards per carry in 2020. It was the first time MFL MarMac has had two 1,000-yard rushers in the same season.

“The McDouble” combined for nearly 75 percent of the Bulldogs’ rushing touchdowns in 2020 (30 of 41 to be exact).

“We pound the ball,” McShane said. “If they’re keying on me, that’s not a big deal, we’ll hit them right up the middle with Gabe. If they’re keying on Gabe, then we’ll hit them with me. You can’t really stop it.”

“We’ve been running the ball together since third grade in flag football,” McGeough said. “He blocks for me, I block for him. It’s give and take.”

Also on the Bulldogs’ menu is junior wing back Karter Decker, who’ll add some spice to the offense.

“With his (Decker’s) speed, last year I think the first five times he touched the ball he scored touchdowns,” Anderson said. “So we’ve got ‘The McDouble’ and we’ve got ‘Mr. Excitement’ (Decker). All three of those guys were all-state last year.”

The Bulldogs will need all three to stay hot to conquer this season’s challenges.

Following two consecutive trips to the state quarterfinals in Class A, MFL MarMac makes the jump to 1A this year.

Not only that, the Bulldogs will play in a loaded District 4 containing four teams (MFL MarMac, No. 5 Waterloo Columbus, No. 10 Cascade and Dyersville Beckman) that were either outright or co-district champions in 2020.

“We’re not afraid of taking on good competition,” Anderson said. “Whoever comes out of our district is going to be battle-tested and ready for anyone the state of Iowa throws at them in Class 1A football.”

McShane also is up for the challenge.

“The most exciting thing for me is that we’re going up to 1A instead of A,” McShane said. “This is our chance to prove we’re the real deal.”

Another plus for MFL MarMac is experience. The Bulldogs return eight starters on offense, including four linemen. The continuity upfront will be needed to protect sophomore quarterback Carver Blietz-Bentien, who takes over for graduated Max Havlicek.

“He’s a super hard worker with a strong arm,” Anderson said. “We’ve already told him, we don’t want to put the pressure on his shoulders here early in the season. We’ve got three all-state backs and skill guys, we’re going to feed those guys the ball.”

As good as the offense was last year, the defense may have been equally as impressive.

The 2020 Bulldogs were thieves, ranking first in Class A in takeaways (17 interceptions and 15 fumble recoveries).

And like the offense, the defense returns plenty of experience — nine starters.

“All four of our linebackers were all-district or all-state, and they’re all back,” Anderson said. “Our defensive line is undersized. But in our style of play running a 3-4, we can play with undersized defensive linemen. We just make sure to put as much speed on the field as possible.”

Kaden Stocker, who had six interceptions last season, will return to provide stability to the defensive backfield.

“We have a lot of all-district guys coming back, but at defensive back we’ve got a couple important spots to replace,” Anderson said. “And we’ve got guys competing and working hard for those two spots. We’ve got the speed back there, just not as much experience.”

With the talent and continuity returning to the roster, the sky’s the limit in 2021.

“Right now, there are pretty high expectations around the community, around our team and the coaching staff,” Anderson said. “If we meet our goals, we’ll be playing until the middle-to-end of November.”

“We expect to win every game we go into,” McGeough said. “District champs obviously first, and then I feel like the goal is definitely to get to the UNI-Dome and win a state title.”