West beats Kennedy on fourth-and-long

IOWA CITY - Cedar Rapids Kennedy's offensive line dominated the line of scrimmage, but it was Iowa City West that seized the moment last night.

Trailing 9-0 midway through the third quarter with a moribund offense hampered by penalties and turnovers, the Trojans somehow managed to put together two touchdown drives and win the season opener for both teams, 12-9.

The key play was a fourth-and-15 from the Kennedy 33. Kennedy sent a blitz but the Trojan offensive line gave West quarterback Aaron Bleil time to find junior receiver Gabe Huinker in the middle of the field. With the defense spread, Huinker was able to juke his way free and take a serpentine path into the end zone with just 1 minute, 59 seconds left.

The score shocked the large crowd after Kennedy had seemed to be in control with the dominance of its line. Kennedy ground out 178 rushing yards using primarily three runners.

But with the Cougars up 9-0, West responded with a 54-yard drive set up by a nice John Milani kickoff return. The key play in that drive was a 24-yard pass down the sideline to Xavier Koch on a third-and-14.

The winning drive started at the West 27 with only 2:45 left to play. A slant to Koch for 10 and a 15-yard penalty for a personal foul set the Trojans up at the Kennedy 48. They moved it to the 28 but were set back by a procedure penalty. Three incompletions left them with a do-or-die situation. When West's line picked up the blitz that gave Bleil time and Huinker room to maneuver.

The Trojans had trouble moving the ball on the ground but Bleil threw for 187 yards. Oliver Martin caught eight passes for 112 to lead the passing attack.

Kennedy led 6-0 at halftime after two quarters of mishaps. Both teams threw an interception and lost a fumble. Both had near catastrophic center snap snafus. Kennedy's scoring drive came after a snap sailed over the punter Connor Gordon's head, the second such mistake for West.