IHSAA Football Playoffs: Third Round

The deeper you go in the playoffs, the tougher the competition gets. At least in theory.

It was another undefeated match-up at Bates Field tonight: Cedar Falls versus City High. The MVC is split into two divisions (the names escape me) and CF always seems to dominate the northern part and City High the southern. However, Cedar Falls always gets the short end of the straw since they play in the mythical “Highway 20 conference.”

While the Little Hawks are battling it out with Xavier, Prairie, and Washington, CF spends their season beating up on the two neighboring Waterloo schools and the three conference schools in Dubuque. CF does play a couple interdivision games (I know for sure they played IC West this season), but they are not enough to prepare the Tigers for the kind of talent and adversity they will face in the playoffs. CF always seems to reach the playoffs undefeated and on a tear, but quickly crash out when they face an opponent who actually pushes back. (I read all this in a CRG blog a few weeks ago. Many of the comments were from CF parents and former players who agreed the “Highway 20 conference” should be disbanded.)

So tonight’s game looked like an epic match-up on paper, but in reality it was a Little Hawk beat down.

Just 29 seconds into the game, City High was up 14-0. The Little Hawks took the opening kickoff somewhere inside the CF 30. On their first play of scrimmage, City High’s QB lofted a pass into the end zone, where one of his receivers reached for the ball, caught it, bobbled it while still in the air, and then secured it for the score. On the ensuring kickoff, CF fumbled the squib and the Little Hawks recovered. The very next play, City High’s bruising running back ran untouched past the Tiger’s right side to the sideline and the end zone.

It was a dream start — the kind of thing that only seems possible in NCAA Football. The CF fans were stunned, though they did not lose spirit. I have to give them huge props. They were not as annoying as other fans this season, and actually stuck around for the entire slaughter. Of course, what the hell else could they do? There’s nothing to do in Cedar Falls.

On their first offensive possession, the Tigers methodically moved the ball down the field on the coattails of their star running back. He did not have breakaway speed, but he got the job done, especially against CHS’ porous D. CF had the ball inside the Little Hawk five-yard line and looked to be going in for six. But their QB fumbled the snap and City High recovered on their own four. The Little Hawks then slowly matriculated the ball 96 yards for seven of their own, pushing the score to 21-0. At that point, it was the very beginning of the second quarter.

Both sides were eating up a lot of clock. CF could not do anything. Their offense stayed on the field for a 4th-and two but one of their guards jumped early and they punted after the ball was moved back five yards. The Little Hawks added another TD before halftime to push the score to 28-0.

The second half was just a formality. CF scored their first points of the game on the first possession of the second half, but it was a futile effort. CF could not stop the Little Hawk running game. CHS gained 396 yards on the ground, 151 of which came from their senior scatback. The final was 49-28.

Unless my old man really wants to go to The Dome for the championship game (if City High can get there), this was probably my last taste of the Friday Night Lights this season. It’s been a good run, and I really wish I had gone to a West Branch game. I think it would have been awesome to see a game at “The Little Rose Bowl.” But that is now a goal for next fall if I am still in IC. (I don’t see myself leaving the area anytime soon, but you never know.)