Cedar Rapids Washington forces six Iowa City High turnovers in 30-14 quarterfinal victory

CEDAR RAPIDS – Cedar Rapids Washington survived a tough first-round game by pulling away late.

This time, the Warriors decided on a different method for another postseason victory.

Fourth-ranked Washington scored three touchdowns in the first half and kept No. 9 Iowa City High at bay for a 30-14 victory in a Class 4A quarterfinal Friday night at Kingston Stadium.

The Warriors will return to the UNI-Dome for the semifinals for the first time since a state runner-up finish in 2014.

'I can't wait,” said senior linebacker O'Rien Vance, who had one of three Warrior interceptions. 'It's a great feeling that we get another shot at it. Hopefully, we can pull through with it.”

They have been battle-tested, playing do-or-die games since a regular-season loss to Cedar Falls.

'We've played some darn tough competition,” Washington Coach Paul James said. 'Whether it shows up in games like this or last week where it was tied in the fourth quarter and then we scored two to bring it out. The pressure of the situation or the quality of the competition we're used to seeing. That is all a plus for us.”

The Warriors received an early boost when Drew Dostal returned a fumble 32 yards for touchdown on third play of the game.

'That was a huge play,” James said. 'It really got us off on the correct foot. It got the enthusiasm going even more.”

City High ran a short screen that the Warriors stuffed. The receiver didn't take care of it, allowing defenders to knock it out of his hands only for Dostal to scoop it up and run untouched to the end zone.

'I didn't expect it to be out,” Dostal said. 'I just saw it, picked it up and ran.”

Washington forced six turnovers including three fumbles in the first half. The Warriors turned two of them into 10 points, getting a 35-yard field goal from Andrew Hammer and an 8-yard run from Connor Malcolm.

'We basically set our goals to come out and play as a team,” Vance said. 'Play hard and be the best we can. We forced turnovers and kept them in check.”

Hammer made a key contribution, connecting on all three field goal attempts, including a 42-yard kick. He also had five touchbacks. Hammer's 26-field goal with 5:20 remaining put Washington up two TDs and two conversions.

'The second half we ran the clock a little bit,” James said. 'We couldn't get in the end zone but Andrew Hammer did a nice job of putting the ball through the uprights.

'If it stayed 27-14, that gives them a little more life. All but one kickoff went in or out of the end zone. That is really important.”

City High's Nate Wieland had 243 passing yards, despite the three interceptions, including a 72-yard touchdown strike to Vance Dillon that cut the deficit to 10-6 in the second quarter.

The Little Hawks made it a two-score game in the third on a Bryce Frantz 2-yard TD plunge and conversion run by Wieland.

Mistakes were too much to overcome for the Little Hawks, who end the season at 8-3. City High Coach Dan Sabers said it may sting a little for players to look back and realize they could have played with the Warriors by eliminating the miscues. Effort wasn't lacking.

'They came back and battled the second half,” Sabers said. 'I was proud of that, and overcame all the things that happened.

'I've been on the other side, too, where you get off to good starts because of turnovers and tonight it happened the other way.”

Washington faces another Iowa City opponent next round. Iowa City West topped Cedar Rapids Prairie, 38-21, to advance to the semifinals. The Warriors will need to play much cleaner than the 10-penalty showing Friday.

'They've gotten better and better as the season has gone on,” said James, noting West reversed a 19-point loss to Cedar Rapids Prairie to a 14-point victory in the quarterfinals. 'We're going to have to play at the top of our game and eliminate mistakes, which showed up in triple-digit penalty (yards) tonight.”

'You can't go for a championship of any sort if you're doing those kinds of things.”

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