2011 IHSAA Football, Week 4

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the Little Rose Bowl.

With City High playing at Xavier tonight, my dad and I drove to West Branch to see the Bears play the Pekin Panthers. It was my much-anticipated first visit to West Branch’s “famous” Little Rose Bowl. I know nothing about the story behind the nickname, but now I have been to both the Big and Little Rose Bowl.

Unlike at the version in Pasadena, though, we were able to park right next to the stadium. It was a big plus for the Little version.

The stadium is an earthen bowl, much like Bates Fields, but the stands on both sides of the field are smaller. It is home to 1A football — true, small town high school ball that draws much of the community. The home stands were packed, people were watching the game from trucks parked on the street running alongside the stadium, and kids were running around and rolling down the hill.

Speaking of kids, they were annoying as hell. My old man and I sat on one of the benches placed at the top of the hill, and it was apparently in the middle of the elementary and junior high section. The West Branch pre-teens were running around and being annoying on the hill in front of us. It was driving me insane. Ugh! I have no clue why anyone wants to have kids.

Regardless, though, we still saw a good game. Neither team had any superstars or go-to guys, but it was evident that West Branch had the advantage. Though the Bears held a 20-18 lead in the third quarter, and Pekin had the chance to drive the field and take control, I never got the impression the game was ever in doubt. It was West Branch’s game to lose the whole time. Perhaps I felt that way because I had no emotional investment in the game. Or because we were sitting in the little kid section, where no one paid attention to the action on the field until one team was inside their opponent’s 10. After halftime, though, dad and I moved closer to the press box where the parents and adults were, and the mood was very different. They were focused and nervous. But I did not think they had anything to worry about.

There was, to my surprise, a lot of passing in the game. The forward pass has become a lost art on Iowa City’s east side, so it was nice to see a couple QB’s air it out.

Tonight was also cold. It was only about 55º, but it felt much colder. People were covered in blankets and wearing winter coats and stocking hats. After a summer of sweltering temperatures everyone is shocked by temperatures cooler than 65º. It takes some getting used to, but I am very excited that football weather has returned.