City High wins fifth straight with shutout of Burlington

IOWA CITY – Dan Sabers has Iowa City High on a roll before the biggest game of the year.

The Little Hawks held Burlington to only 69 yards and five first downs in a dominating 38-0 shutout Friday night at Bates Field.

City High (5-2, 3-0) has won five straight games, but the real test is next week: a showdown with fifth-ranked Cedar Rapids Washington (6-1, 3-0) for the district lead.

'There have been a lot of great games here and we're hoping to make that a great game next week,” Sabers said. 'We want to keep going and I think it's good timing to play a great squad like Wash. We know we're going to have to be at our very best.”

City High, which clinched a playoff berth after a rare postseason miss last season, racked up 465 yards and led 31-0 at halftime.

Quarterback Jared Taylor, starting again for the injured Nate Wieland, threw for 191 yards and two touchdowns – including a nicely thrown fade to Jason Jones for a 34-yard score.

Sabers stressed defense in practice this week after City High gave up 21 points in a win last week against Cedar Rapids Prairie.

The Little Hawks gained more first downs than Burlington (1-6, 0-3) had yards until midway through the second quarter. The Grayhounds had seven three-and-outs as City High earned its first shutout since 2012 – a 33-game span.

'Tonight we did a much better job,” Sabers said. 'We certainly emphasized that.”

The Little Hawks dominated this one from the start.

Bryce Frantz ran for a 21-yard touchdown on City High's opening drive. The junior added a 4-yard TD run at the end of the first quarter.

Earlier in the first quarter, City High tight end Charles Johnson caught a short flip pass from Taylor and rumbled 44 yards for the score. The 6-3, 250-pound Johnson broke at least three tackles on the play, including two down the sideline in the open field.

Macio Gordon added a 63-yard TD run in the third quarter that started the continuous clock.