Schedule stiffens drastically for C.R. Washington starting tonight

CEDAR RAPIDS - Call this Acceleration Thursday for Cedar Rapids Washington.“The speed of the game is going to get a lot faster,” said Warriors football coach Tony Lombardi. “Everything is going to be moving at a new pace.”After feasting on second-division teams through the first five weeks of the season, the Class 4A sixth-ranked Warriors (5-0) face a gigantic step up in competition. No. 3 Iowa City High (5-0), the defending state champion, comes to town Thursday for a Mississippi Valley Conference showdown at Kingston Stadium.Kickoff is scheduled for 7:15 p.m.“I think we're ready,” Lombardi said. “This is the kind of game that you prepare for. We're excited to play.”It's homecoming week at Washington. Lombardi isn't concerned about the distractions that go with it.“I've come to the conclusion that this is an important part of the high school experience, so I think it's a good thing,” he said.City High carries a 19-game winning streak, a run that featured two wins over the Warriors last year. The Little Hawks plastered Washington, 65-21, in the regular season, then earned a 35-14 triumph in the playoffs.A.J. Derby was the 4A all-state captainlast year. He has been succeeded ably at quarterback by Andrew McNulty, who engineered a last-minute, length-of-the-field drive that ended in Drew Cornwell's field goal to beat Cedar Rapids Xavier, 26-24, in Week 4.Washington has outscored its first five opponents by a 213-62 margin, but those five opponents are a combined 3-22. Three of them - Cedar Rapids Prairie, Cedar Rapids Jefferson and Dubuque Senior - are winless.Alex Carr scored each of the first five times he touched the ball in last week's 62-7 win over Senior. The Warriors led, 55-0, at halftime. Carr has rushed for 906 yards and 18 touchdowns.

Tonight's game