A good sign for I.C. West football

IOWA CITY - The Iowa City West football team capped off spirit week a homecoming victory.

A 42-14 win over Davenport Central was the Trojans' first of the season, but the record might be deceiving.

The Trojans have faced the stiffest competition in the state to begin the year. They have played three teams in the top 10 - C.R. Kennedy, West Des Moines Valley and C.R. Washington. They fought through the annual Battle of the Boot game in tough conditions with two delays due to lightening and rain throughout the night, but fell short during the second half of the game.

It was an impressive offensive performance in all areas for the Trojans on Friday. Senior quarterback Alex Henderson had the best game of his career with 368 passing yards along with six total touchdowns - five passing and one rushing.

Henderson hooked up with junior Devontae Lane for three scores and junior Oliver Martin for two.

West also had a stout defensive performance. The Trojans allowed 14 points in the first half, but pitched a shutout in the second half as they were able to pull away from Davenport Central (1-4).

This is a good sign for West after struggling on the defensive side of the ball in its first four games. West will attempt to follow up this win with another on Friday when it faces Bettendorf on the road.

Bettendorf (5-0) won the meeting between the two last year, 28-27, in a thrilling game that was decided in overtime.