Friday Night Lights 2013: First Round
Note to self: get a pair of rain pants.
It’s playoff time! Tonight, City High hosted the Muscatine Muskies in a rain-soaked and competitive first round game at Bates Field.
There was only a light drizzle at kickoff. City High received and the Little Hawks muscled their way down the field. Xavier Washpun, City High’s go-to running back, stiff-armed two Muskies en route to the end zone to finish the drive. And with the ensuing extra point, City High’s kicker broke the state’s all-time scoring record for a kicker. The kid has been kicking for the varsity squad since his freshman year and has had quite a career. I was at the Xavier–City High game in 2010 when, after missing two extra points, he kicked the game-winning field goal to redeem himself.
Anyway. Muscatine took over and I was very eager to see what the Muskies could do on offense. Gashing City High’s defensive with a quick running attack, the Muskies impressed me. Their offense featured an agile running back and a QB who was quick on his feet. Muscatine seemed to be the City High of the Mississippi Athletic Conference. They punched the ball into the end zone on their first drive but botched the extra point to make the score 7–6. On the next drive, the Muskies stopped City High on fourth down and then moved the ball down the field for seven points, taking the lead 13–7.
City High answered with a 76-yard drive and another Washpun TD to retake the lead, 14–13, then added a 45-yard field goal at the end of the half to make the score 17–13.
At halftime, the rain started and the umbrellas were opened. My Triclimate shell kept my head and torso dry, but my jeans were useless. Out of the blue, a friend saved the day by letting my dad and I use her massive golf umbrella. (She had rain pants and a rain jacket, so it was a miracle she brought an umbrella, too.) The wet weather kept a lot of fans away; there were maybe 150 fans on the home side. My dad was sure there were more Muscatine fans at the game.
A wet ball made for sloppy play in the second half. City High fumbled on their first drive of the second half but the Muskies were unable to capitalize on the turnover. They were, if I remember correctly, stopped after an impressive, Oregon-esque fourth down play call. The Muskies first lined-up in shotgun with backs flanking the QB, then the backs, guards, and tackles shifted to the far left side of the field leaving a wide receiver on the far right and the center and QB in the middle. City High adjusted well, shifting defenders to the bunched linemen and backs but keeping the middle of the field covered. The center snapped the ball and the QB rolled right. He had a lot of room, and I thought for sure he would tuck and run for the first down, but he threw toward the end zone and over the head of his intended receiver. Phew! City High then rolled down the field for another score, pushing the lead to 24–13.
The Little Hawks were playing without their usual punter, who broke his collarbone last week, so they were at a massive disadvantage on fourth downs. They gambled twice on fourth in the first half and converted once, but twice in the fourth quarter the Little Hawks faced a fourth-and-long deep inside their own territory. It was time to punt and who assumed the duties? Washpun. The kid can do it all, it seems. His two punts were not the longest, but they got the job done.
Though the rain had slowed to a light drizzle in the third quarter, ball protection was still an issue in the fourth. The Muskies drove inside the City High 30 and then lost a fumble. A few plays later, the Little Hawks fumbled and the Muskies recovered. They pushed the ball toward the goal line and City High held, bringing up a pivotal fourth-and-goal. With around six minutes left, Muscatine needed a touchdown and two-point conversion. They got the touchdown on a 5-yard QB run, but not the conversion, tightening the score to 24–19.
City High needed to kill the clock, which is what they did. Muscatine took all three of its timeouts with more than three minutes left, hoping to get the ball back. Muscatine hurt themselves with a 15-yard unsportsmanlike penalty to keep the drive alive. (It was hard to tell what happened there. It was second down, I believe, and Muscatine looked to be blitzing. With both sides set, and the offense draining the play clock, the Muskies started pleading for a false start penalty, pointing at a City High lineman. One of the Little Hawks did jump early after that, but, after the referees conferred (one of the refs yelled “Get these guys back!” when the players started lobbying) the penalty went against Muscatine, likely for all the chatter and coaxing.) After that, the Little Hawks continued to slowly move the ball down the field and was able to burn the rest of the clock. The final was 24–19.
I was very impressed with Muscatine. The Muskies were a good team despite their final 5–5 record. Much as the 4A schools in Western and Central Iowa did a few years ago, there is talk of switching to district play in Eastern Iowa so City High and Muscatine could be playing each other in the regular season. I do not think that would be a bad thing.
City High advances to play Cedar Rapids Xavier. The game will be in Cedar Rapids and I bet the Little Hawks’ season will end there. West Delaware plays at Solon on Monday night and I would like to go just to get one last game in. We’ll see, though.
