North Fayette Valley unconcerned with class

It doesn't really matter to North Fayette Valley head coach Bob Lape what class his team is in.

The Class 2A No. 2 Tigerhawks moved up from Class 1A last year to 2A this year, and haven't missed a beat, starting 2-0 with a 52-14 dismantling of Independence on the road. Why haven't they missed a beat? Because Lape didn't change his scheduling habits when they moved down to 1A starting with the 2012-13 school year.

'We don't consider ourselves moving up a class,” Lape said Saturday morning. 'We've played 2A football for years, our enrollment dropped a little so we dropped to 1A, but to be honest we feel like we're back where we're comfortable.

'Everybody on our schedule, we've played in the past, so it's not like it's all brand new.”

It's a competitive thing, Lape said.

He purposefully scheduled a 2A-heavy schedule during the 1A seasons to keep his program at the level he wanted it. And that level is not shying away from tough competition in those years like Waukon, New Hampton and Center Point-Urbana.

That trend continued with scheduling Decorah and Independence to start this season. Tough games, he said, let you know who you are.

'We've always looked at the first two games as a barometer to see how good we can be, what do we need to work on, what do we need to get better at,” Lape said. 'I think we're going to be OK if we stay away from injuries. We're not throwing the ball like we need to yet, (though) offensively we've been able to move the ball and we're getting better on the line.”

As good as the first few weeks have been, though, Lape and the Tigerhawks know it's not going to get easier. They're included in a Class 2A District 3 that also has No. 1 New Hampton (2-0), Center Point-Urbana (2-0) and Dyersville Beckman (1-1). Even with perennial playoff-contender Waukon starting 0-2, Lape knows the path to the playoffs isn't going to be easy.

'We have to play (tough teams) every week,” Lape said. 'It's tough, it's going to be a tough road. Most years you have three tough games, maybe. We've already played two hard ones with Decorah and Independence, and it's not going to get any easier this week with Center Point(-Urbana). It's certainly not going to get easier when we play Waukon and Osage, either.”

North Fayette Valley travels to Center Point to play the Stormin' Pointers on Friday at Rogers Field.

W.D.M. Valley rolls past I.C. West

With the switch away from conference to district football in Class 4A on the east side of the state, it set up some high-profile early-season matchups.

One such game was Class 4A No. 8 Iowa City West travelling to No. 7 West Des Moines Valley, where both entered 1-0 in the second to last game before district play gets rolling. The Tigers stifled the Trojans throughout the game, cruising to a 27-6 win.

The Trojans were gashed on the ground, to the tune of 275 total rushing yards from Valley, 191 of which from Tigers' running back Drew Gray. Conversely, West could only muster 51 team rushing yards on 18 carries.

Rocky Lombardi, son of former Cedar Rapids Washington head coach Tony Lombardi, finished with 171 yards through the air, including a touchdown pass to Carlo Marble, son of former Hawkeye Roy Marble.

West faces No. 4 Cedar Rapids Washington, which beat Cedar Rapids Kennedy, 41-7, on Friday at Kingston Stadium.

CPU stays unbeaten with big win

Headed into this season, the Center Point-Urbana football team knew it would have a solid defense, but wondered if its offense could do enough to propel them to wins.

After a bit of a slow start in Week 1's 10-7 double-overtime win against Clear Creek Amana, the Stormin' Pointers rode the rushing game to a 2-0 start with a 32-12 road win against Union.

CPU's Brandon Kinsey rushed 34 times for 204 yards and four touchdowns, carrying the bulk of the offensive load. Quarterback Alec Burke had the team's other rushing touchdown. Defensively, the Stormin' Pointers continued their stalwart ways, registering four sacks, 10 tackles for loss and two interceptions.

CPU hosts Class 2A No. 2 North Fayette Valley on Friday at Rogers Field in Center Point.

l Comments: (319) 368-8884; jeremiah.davis@thegazette.com