Again, with the Valley talk

Week Zero seems like an eternity ago. That’s because, it was. 72 actually.

Go back to August 20, 2010. That’s the night Dowling Catholic and West Des Moines Valley opened up the 2010 season.

Some coaches, players, fans, media were saying playing this epic battle this early in the season isn’t a good idea.

Lisa Fernandez/The Register Valley makes their way onto the field during their game against Lincoln at Valley Stadium in West Des Moines Wednesday October 27, 2010. This was the first round playoffs for CIML football.

Those who thought it was too early are getting their wish. This time it will be November 1 for the rematch in the second round of the Iowa High School Athletic Association football playoffs. Valley beat Lincoln and Dowling beat Marshalltown 56-14 in the their opening round games.

Dowling dominated the first contest as many questions were looming as the season opened up. How will Connor Bravard do under center? How will the new defense gel? How will Valley respond following a “disappointing” by Valley standards season?

Darboh goes up for the reception in Week 0.

Bravard had a great start to the season with 101 yards rushing and 92 yards passing and he didn’t play much in the 2nd half as the Maroon defense also came to play allowing a single score in the game. Many of Bravard’s yards came on a hail mary play before the half when Amara Darboh grabbed the ball out of thin air. Also special teams were special that night in the 34-7 win for Dowling.

Coach Gary Swenson‘s Tigers used two quarterbacks that night, one the starter (and current starter) Jeff Pullen and backup Connor Blythe. Pullen has been the primary QB the last few weeks. Pullen is 54 of 88 passing for 517 yards, 1 TD and 4 INTs. He’s rushed it 52 times for 18 yards and 2 TDs.

The Tigers come in 7-3 with losses to Dowling (34-7), Ames (24-3) and Fort Dodge (15-12). All three of those teams made the playoffs and only the Dodgers have been eliminated.

Valley put together wins against Ottumwa (playoff qualifier), Indianola (playoff qualifier), Marshalltown (playoff qualifier), SC West, Mason City and Waukee (playoff qualifier). The Maroons also had 8 of 9 opponents make the post season.

The Tigers have outscored their opponents 276-94 or 27.6 to 9.4 points per game. The Maroons have put up 447 points and allowed 60 points per contest.

Lisa Fernandez/The Register Valley #5 Martin Looney dives to gain a few more yards during their game against Lincoln at Valley Stadium in West Des Moines Wednesday October 27, 2010. This was the first round playoffs for CIML football.

Des Moines Lincoln was the first round opponent of the Tigers and this one was close the entire way with Valley running out the clock to win 27-21. Running back Martin Looney is now the clear workhorse of this team with 31 carries for 249 and 3 touchdowns again Lincoln to up his season total to 178 carries for 1307 yards and 10 rushing touchdowns. As a team, the Tigers have gained 2310 yards on 405 carries for 28 TDs. The passing game is less than half that with 158 passes with 81 completions for 917 yards, 5 TDs and 5 INTs.

It is hard to beat a team twice in the same season. But you know the Maroons want to prove they can do it again.

Our broadcast pregame begins at 6p on AM 1150 KWKY or KWKY.com from Williams Stadium. That last fact has been a big talking point about this game as many outside of Dowling Catholic questioned the location. John Naughton of the Des Moines Register blogged this earlier in the week. There’s a good point about not playing Valley at Valley Stadium and being the ‘home’ team, to only have to sit on the visitors side. Drake Stadium is booked. Other options were not options, so this game will be at East High’s stadium. It is good enough for a university team (Grand View). Plus, East has been very accommodating. The press box is indoors and there’s plenty of seating. Kickoff is at 7p.

Tune us in on the drive in and drive home to hear color commentator Dave Marcoulier, sideline reporter Brian Morris and myself get you ready for kickoff and to have post game interviews and analysis. Romelle Slaughter will be active on Twitter.com/KWKYSports and chasing scores down for the broadcast.

The winner of this game will play the winner of Sioux City East and Ames. If Ames wins, the game will be at Williams Stadium. If SC East wins, get the maps out for a road trip to Sioux City on Friday night.

My name is Paul Yeager, see you at 6 on the radio.

Nothing wicked about this win(d)

The Dowling D swarms all over the Marshalltown. T-R PHOTO BY MARK PAWLAK

The West Des Moines Dowling Catholic 2010 football teams says they had nothing to prove in a rematch of last year’s semi-final loss to Marshalltown. As Coach Tom Wilson said in the pregame show, a win against the Bobcats doesn’t help Tommy Gaul, Spencer Navin or Grant Riesburg.

But a 56-14 win helps keep you warm.

Still, a little sweet revenge helped fight the bitter cold night at Williams Stadium. The wind was gusting around 40 miles per hour with a consistent speed of 25 MPH +, a perfect night for the first round of playoff football, right?

Or a perfect time for a distraction off the end goal.

Maybe that’s what threw off the Dowling defense. The 16th seeded Bobcats took the opening drive of the game 79 yards in for a 8 yard TD run by QB Austin Hauser. Everything Marshalltown worked, the pass, the run and misdirection. Darius Zeigler was a player on a mission with 62 yards of the drive. He would just gain 13 more yards the entire game.

But it didn’t take long for top-ranked and #1 seed Dowling Catholic to respond. 12 seconds actually. Connor Bravard would fake to Dalton Parrott and look to the far side of the field to find Amara Darboh who pulled the pass off the turf and scamper 69 yards for the score. It was Darboh’s longest catch of the season. He would finish with 3 catches for 106 yards.

The defense of the entire season that only allowed 46 points all season, threw a 3 and out and the Maroons were back to their old ways, scoring on their first 8 drives of the game.

Dalton Parrott would cap the next drive with a run of 2 yards for the score. He would run in from 47 (screen pass), 27 and 28 yards to finish with 14 carries and 114 yards plus 2 catches for 44 yards.

Jacob Stacy would score on the jet play that’s been successful for Eric Lee this season and Drew Zaun of last season. Stacy scored from 30 yards.

QB Austin Hauser is chased by #58 Jack Munro of Dowling Catholic. T-R PHOTO BY MARK PAWLAK

The Maroon machine would finish with 504 yards of total offense (300 rushing, 204 passing) and only give up 204 yards (82 passing and 122 rushing).

That was the first time the Maroons trailed all season. Through 36 quarters of football, the Maroons lead or were tied, but never trailed until the 37th quarter of the 2010 campaign.

Wednesday marked the 4th time this year the Maroons topped 50 points. The smallest point output came against Southeast Polk when the Maroons put up 24. That game also was the highest point total by an opponent, when the Rams scored 23.

The Bobcats finish the 2010 season with 7 straight losses with their last win coming on September 3rd for a final record of 3-7.

To read the Marshalltown Times-Republican version of the game, click here.

I did ask Coach Dave Holdiman about the injury to WR Alex Thompson. Holdiman said Thompson was taken to the hospital as a precaution after taking a shot to the mid-section in the 3rd quarter.

Lisa Fernandez/The Register Valley #5 Martin Looney dives to gain a few more yards during their game against Lincoln at Valley Stadium in West Des Moines Wednesday October 27, 2010. This was the first round playoffs for CIML football.

The Maroons will host the second round game against West Des Moines Valley at Williams Stadium on Monday night. The KWKY broadcast begins at 6p with our pre-game show. Kickoff is at 7p. The Maroons won the first match up this season back in Week Zero. Dowling beat Valley 34-7 on August 20th.

The Tigers beat Des Moines Lincoln 27-21 behind the legs of Martin Looney. Valley will bring a 7-3 record for the shortened week rematch.

Links to Iowa Candidates 2010

Earlier I told you about the forums we were hosting here at IPTV to hear what candidates from all parties have to say about why they should be elected on November 2nd, 2010.

We’ve recorded the programs a few days ago aired them the week of October 17.

The first program featured candidates from the 1st, 3rd and 4th congressional districts.
The link to the program is here.

This program featured Rob Petsche, libertarian, Manchester, Jason Faulkner, independent, both in the 1st district. Rebecca Williamson, Des Moines, socialist workers party, 3rd district. And Dan Lensing, Fort Atkinson, independent candidate 4th.

Also on the ballot in Iowa’s 1st is incumbent Bruce Braley of Waterloo. The republican in that race is Ben Lange of Independence. Here’s the link to their Iowa Press appearance.

The 3rd is represented by democrat Leonard Boswell of Des Moines. He and republican Brad Zaun of Urbandale were on Iowa Press for their exchange. View the program by clicking here. The two just had a good exchange on KCCI Monday night.

Incumbent Tom Latham of Ames and democrat Bill Maske of Truro were on this program. Latham is the current congressman for the Iowa 4th.

Our second Iowa Candidates 2010 program featured those seeking office in the Iowa 2nd and Iowa 5th.

Jon Tack (Constitution Party – Hiawatha), 2nd Congressional District; Gary Sicard (Libertarian – Robins), 2nd Congressional District; and Martin James Monroe (Independent – Sioux City) were on the program you can watch here.

Rep. Dave Loebsack is the current congressional representative for the Iowa 2nd. Mariannette Miller-Meeks is the republican candidate from Ottumwa running in the race. The Iowa Press program is here.

Rep. Steve King did not appear on the Iowa Press program, but the democratic challenger Matt Campbell did. That link is here to see the man from Manning sit at the Iowa Press table.

We then moved on to the race for governor. The first program featured Eric Cooper (Libertarian – Ames), Gregory James Hughes (Independent – Cedar Rapids), and David Rosenfeld (Socialist Workers Party – Des Moines). View that one here. Later in the week, Gov. Chet Culver and Terry Brandstad took the IPTV stage. Several clips are here. The entire debate is here.

The next program featured the races for Auditor of Iowa and Treasurer of Iowa.
Jon Murphy (Democrat – Des Moines) and David A. Vaudt (Republican – West Des Moines). The show link is here.

Michael Fitzgerald (Democrat – Waukee) and David D. Jamison (Republican – Ames) were on the show as well. Again, click here to watch.

Then we talk about the AG and AG races. Make sense? Francis Thicke (Democrat – Fairfield) is trying to unseat Secretary of Agriculture
Bill Northey (Republican – Spirit Lake). Also on the program was Attorney General Tom Miller (Democrat – Des Moines) and Brenna Findley (Republican – Dexter). View the entire program here.

The Ag race is gaining some national attention when author Michael Pollan said the Iowa Agriculture race is one of the most important in the country.

Our final Iowa Candidates 2010 program was about the Secretary of State race. Matt Schultz (Republican – Council Bluffs), current SoS Michael Mauro (Democrat – Des Moines) and Jake Porter (Libertarian – Des Moines) were on the stage. That program is viewable by clicking here.

Again, these were not called debates, but a chance to discuss the policy and politics of the races and hear from the candidates. That is our public service to you.

We recently recorded a WHO Radio debate in the United States Senate race between Senator Charles Grassley (R-New Hartford) and Roxanne Conlin (D-Des Moines). We recorded the work of Gary Barrett in the studios of WHO and had unmanned Iowa Public Television cameras capturing the action. Watch their hour-long exchange here.

The Drive to the Dome begins with the Bobcats

To reach an end goal, you have to take the first step.

That step, is in front of the Dowling Catholic Maroons on Wednesday night for the first round of the 2010 Iowa High School Athletic Association’s football playoffs. This marks the 33rd time in school history the Maroons are playing a 10th game.

First, they must exercise a foe from the past, the Marshalltown Bobcats. Last year, the 2009 Bobcats were writing school history and shocked the Maroons in the UNI-Dome in the semi-final game, 28-25.

Chanse Creekmur vs. Dowling in 2009 at the UNI-Dome. T-R photo by Ross Thede.

But this is a different time, season and team. No revenge factors, but gone is Chanse Creekmur. He already had thrown for 3,000 yards and 30 touchdowns coming into the semi-final game. This season, the Bobcats have yet to reach 3,000 total yards as a team and have only scored 23 touchdowns. Coming into the playoffs last year, the Bobcats were 9-0, this season, they haven’t won a game since September 3rd against Johnston.

The Bobcats have lost 6 straight. All but 1 of those losses were against play-off bound teams. That win over Johnston helped get them in the post-season, despite a 21-0 loss to Mason City last Friday night. Their wins came against Roosevelt and Des Moines North. The losses were to Valley, SC East, Waukee, Ames, Fort Dodge and Mason City.

Injuries have been one big reason for the only 4A school in Marshall County. Several spots have players with limited experience. But two of the sophomores in the starting line up, MLB Tyler Kluver and DT Pedro Gomez have started all 9 games this season.

Haven’t won since September 3rd against Johnston but that win helped get them in the playoffs. How they got in is explained in this Marshalltown Times Republican article.

Earlier this week, Marshalltown coach Dave Holdiman told the MTR that since his team got a second life, they’ve taken advantage in practice.

“We’ve come back with some resolve and have had really good practices,” said Marshalltown head coach Dave Holdiman. “Everything has been up-tempo and upbeat. It’s been an enthusiastic effort on the kids’ part, I think we’re on the rebound psychologically.”

The rest of the article is here.

Both the Maroons and Bobcats played Johnston (both teams beat the Dragons), Valley and Fort Dodge. DCHS won both while MHS lost both.

Lee Navin / For the Register (ph Marshalltown junior quarterback Austin Hauser (#11) hands off to junior running back Kyle Carnahan (#4) as the Marshalltown Bobcats (3-2) play the Waukee Warriors (2-3) during the CIML Iowa Conference Class 4-A high school Homecoming football game at Waukee Stadium in Waukee. Waukee won 31 to 14.

Austin Hauser is slated to start at QB. He’s thrown for 966 yards on 181 attempts and 89 completions. But don’t be surprised to see Blake Gimbel get some snaps. Top targets include Mark Duncan, Bryer Mason, Alex Thompson and Ty Steffensen. Many of these players have big-play potential and Maroon fans know how this team can make big plays.

Darius Zeigler is the featured running back. His 89 carries is good for 454 yards.

The Bobcats are averaging 19 points a game while giving up 25.6.

The Maroons haven’t played since October 15th when the beat Indianola 30-6. Several guys were able to take advantage of the bye week to heal and get ready for this stretch run in the playoffs. One starting change will be Nick Navin for Andrew Pick at running back.

We go on the air at 6p on AM 1150 KWKY in Des Moines or online at http://www.KWKY.com as we can stream this game and all games before the semi-finals. Then we’ll be not allowed to have a broadcast stream of the game on the internet. Romelle will be busy giving Twitter updates at Twitter.com/KWKYSports for those of you out-of-town or wanting updates.

Pumpkin Patch Day

Pumpkin Patch Day.

Noah’s daycare/preschool class took a field trip on Friday to the pumpkin patch.

I do like going on these field trips with him and it is fun to take some time from work to be a dad.

But Noah gets a little sad when either Amy or I go on a field trip or come to school during the day and then leave when the event is over. Noah gets sad. That’s what happened when we went to the Zoo back in May.

This time I was able to take the day off and spend it with Noah.

Here’s a little video with Noah following a trip to “The Box.” It is a dark place, almost like a training room for haunted houses. Several of his friends came running out in tears as they were scared, but Noah was a trooper.

And of course, what fall event in Iowa wouldn’t be complete with a corn pool. Instead of water, a large area is filled with shelled corn kernels and you can just walk around in it. You do get a little dusty, but it is like a big sandbox. There’s a large pool of corn at the Center Grove Orchard near Cambridge.

The kids started yelling cannonball and Happy Halloween as they jumped into the pile.

And of course we have to recap what we did. Noah and his friends go to pick a pumpkin and take it home with them.

Noah has his pumpkin after a big morning.

Here’s Noah and his pumpkin. This just says fall to me. The orange t-shirt is his classes field trip shirt. This helps keep the kids together and makes them easy to count. It also worked as a great windbreaker on this morning.

But really, his orange shirt was just getting him ready for Wartburg homecoming.

The next fall event is Halloween. Noah has a great costume and his brother will be his sidekick. Any ideas on what duo these two will be?

Perfection, Take 2

HOLLY MCQUEEN/THE REGISTER The Dowling Catholic High School boys varsity football team heads onto the field at the start of their game against Indianola High School Oct. 15 at Waukee Stadium.

Most teams would be more than thrilled with a 9-0 season.
For the Dowling Catholic Maroons of the 2010 football team, it is just a beginning.
They want to add 5 more wins to make a perfect 14-0.

They took another step Friday night with a 30-6 win over the hard-hitting Indianola bunch. The Indians played like there was no tomorrow and were not intimated by the state’s top-rated team. The Indians already took out the giant Ankeny earlier this season and started the game with Dowling playing error-free football.

Coach Eric Kluver said before the game he was planning on starting Kody Foust and Brad Boden at running back to keep Ryan McCoy and Branden Abernathy fresh for defense. That plan worked early, but it was starting QB Kale Render who was the big playmaker, both with his arm and feet. Coming into the game, Render only rushed the ball 27 times for 10 yards. He had 3 yards in two of the first 7 plays on the first drive of the game. Render would finish with 14 carries for 18 yards.

Indianola had started a few games with trick plays, but it was all basic football. The risk-taking came on 4th down. Facing a 4th and 5 from the Dowling’s 39, Coach Kluver ran Render for 9 yards. But the Indians would face 4th down again and this time the Dowling D would hold. 3 plays later the Maroons were celebrating in the end zone with a 62 yard touchdown pass from Connor Bravard to Eric Lee running a post across the middle of the field. That was after two passes to Amara Darboh went incomplete.

HOLLY MCQUEEN/THE REGISTER Dowling Catholic High School's Eric Lee (2) reaches to take down Indianola High School's Brennan Davey (20) during their game Friday, Oct. 15.

The Indians would run another sustained drive would end with a 39 yard pass play to Brennan Davey. The point after attempt would hit the uprights and the Maroons clung to a 7-6 lead. But the Indians would try the on-side kick and succeed, but on a fake punt, Eric Lee would step in front of a Render pass to stop the drive.

Not long after that score, Coach Tom Wilson called timeout to give his team a chewing. Our sideline reporter Brian Morris reported that Wilson called the time out. Wilson said later he was trying to help deliver an attitude adjustment to his team.

Ben Boesen would make a great defensive play to take the ball away from the Indians. The drive would be on a short field that the Maroons cashed in for points on a Bravard one yard run, but Mac Chapman, who didn’t start because of illness, would miss his first point after attempt of the season that left the Maroons leading 13-6 at halftime.

The Maroons got the ball to start the second half and would open up their bag of tricks for a half-back pass from Dalton Parrott to Eric Lee for another score. The senior combo made it 20-6 with 5:31 to play in the 3rd quarter.

Chapman added a 23 yard field goal and senior Connor Bravard would scamper 27 yards for a score to put the Maroons up 30-6.

The fresh defense strategy appeared to have worked in the first half as Abernathy seemed to be everywhere in the second half. The Indians would hold the Maroons to their 2nd lowest offensive point output since the SE Polk game. Dalton Parrott has had his lowest output of the season with 39 yards on 16 carries. The defense only gave up 210 yards, but offense only gained 255. No individual Maroon rushed, passed or received more than 100 yards, the first time all season that’s happened.

HOLLY MCQUEEN/THE REGISTER Indianola High School's Kody Foust (32), left, tries to move past Dowling Catholic High School's Josip Juric (70), right, during their game held at Waukee Stadium Friday.

The Indianola fans gave their team a standing ovation coming off the field following the game. As Dave Marcoulier pointed out, its likely the coaching staff was telling their players they can hang with anyone. That speech could come in handy if the playoff pairings and seedings stick, the Indians could get their rematch with Dowling in the playoffs.

Meanwhile, the off-week comes at a good time for Dowling. It gives the boys a break from football, a chance to clear their heads, heal their bodies and regenerate their interest in football.

The seniors at DCHS are now 39-1. That means as freshman, that freshman team didn’t lose, as sophomores, no loses and the only loss on their resume is 2009′s 4A IAHSSA state semi-final game against Marshalltown. 31 seniors suited up Friday night.

The Maroons will likely be the top seed in the western side of 4A. The first playoff game will be Wednesday night at 7p. That game will be on AM 1150 KWKY, but will not be streamed live if the IAHSSA stands by their previous on-line streaming policy. We’ll have in-game updates on Twitter.com/KWKYSports.

Iowa Candidates 2010 on IPTV

We’re getting ready for a big weekend of production here at IPTV. We will be busy on Sunday recording some conversations that you will soon be able to see. I’ll be sitting in the moderator chair for these. Should be interesting. Any questions you want asked?

-Update- Click here for the links to these programs and more.

Here’s the official release from IPTV.

Iowa Candidates 2010
October 12, 2010
Iowa Public Television will present a week-long series of programs featuring interviews with candidates for elective office in Iowa. Iowa Candidates 2010 airs October 18 – 23 at 6:30 p.m.

Iowa Candidates 2010 will give coverage of candidates running for federal and statewide office. The programs are hosted by Paul Yeager, and will feature candidates who will appear on the November 2 general election ballot. The schedule for the series is as follows:

Monday, October 18 at 6:30 p.m.

Rob Petsche (Libertarian – Independence), 1st Congressional District
Jason A. Faulkner (Independent – Maquoketa), 1st Congressional District
Rebecca Williamson (Socialist Workers Party – Des Moines), 3rd Congressional District
Dan Lensing (Independent – Fort Atkinson), 4th Congressional District

Tuesday, October 19 at 6:30 p.m.

Jon Tack (Constitution Party – Hiawatha), 2nd Congressional District
Gary Sicard (Libertarian – Robins), 2nd Congressional District
Martin James Monroe (Independent – Sioux City), 5th Congressional District
John Heiderscheit (Libertarian – Bettendorf), U.S. Senate

Wednesday, October 20 at 6:30 p.m.

Eric Cooper (Libertarian – Ames), Governor
Jonathan Narcisse (Iowa Party – Des Moines), Governor
Gregory James Hughes (Independent – Cedar Rapids), Governor
David Rosenfeld (Socialist Workers Party – Des Moines), Governor

Thursday, October 21 at 6:30 p.m.

Jon Murphy (Democrat – Des Moines), Auditor of Iowa
David A. Vaudt (Republican – West Des Moines), Auditor of Iowa
Michael Fitzgerald (Democrat – Waukee), Treasurer of Iowa
David D. Jamison (Republican – Ames), Treasurer of Iowa

Friday, October 22 at 6:30 p.m.

Francis Thicke (Democrat – Fairfield), Secretary of Agriculture
Bill Northey (Republican – Spirit Lake), Secretary of Agriculture
Tom Miller (Democrat – Des Moines), Attorney General
Brenna Findley (Republican – Dexter), Attorney General

Saturday, October 23 at 6:30 p.m.

Matt Schultz (Republican – Council Bluffs), Secretary of State
Michael Mauro (Democrat – Des Moines), Secretary of State
Jake Porter (Libertarian – Des Moines), Secretary of State

These programs will also be available online the week of October 18 at http://www.iptv.org.

We’ll have some coverage on Iowa Press of races as well.

David Meets Goliath

Looking at the Indianola Indians makes me wonder if David is getting ready to take down another Goliath.

Almost a month ago, Indianola took down Ankeny 21-10, the first time the Indians have won at Ankeny during Coach Eric Kluver’s time as coach. Ankeny is where Coach Kluver was then player Kluver and under the guidance of Jerry Pezzetti. But the Indians have dropped the next two games to move their record to 3-4 with a game against Urbandale next week likely to decide the two teams’ play-off fate. Last week SE Polk used 5 turnovers to put points on the board en-route to a 52-14 win.

Kluver calls that win a big one for his program. It was against a traditional power, on the road and they sustained long drives. It was good for confidence of his kids, all 26 that dress varsity.

That’s right 26 players.

Earlier this year, Indianola went through discussions about dropping down to 3A’s Little Hawkeye Conference. The shortage of numbers has forced some players to take snaps on both sides of the ball. At least three players will do that on Friday night. T/DE Levi Easter (6′ 175 SR), LG/DT Don Dawson (6′ 254 JR) and Spencer Bowers (6′ 210 SR) all will spend a lot of time on the Waukee Stadium turf. Two others, Brandon Abernathy (6’2 200 SR) and Ryan McCoy (5’9 193 SR) will start on defense at linebacker but will also see a lot of second half action at running back. Coach Kluver wants to keep Abernathy and McCoy as fresh as possible against the West Des Moines Dowling Catholic Maroons. It is also his chance at building some depth for his program.

The Indians run a Pro I offense with a basic playbook. They try to keep the game simple and execute their play calls. They like to run the ball, but Dowling has a history of stopping the run this season as they shut down big-state running backs Jake Sargent of SE Polk and Johnston‘s Nathan DePenning.

Kale Render is the quarterback for Indianola. He’s a junior signal caller with 40-92 passing for 882 yards and 5 touchdowns. His younger brother Keegan is a freshman and will start at RT.

Brad Boden will start at fullback and split time with Abernathy in the second half. Boden has rushed the ball 47 times for 154 yards while Abernathy has 12 carries for 128 yards and 3 touchdowns.

The tailback starter is listed as Kody Foust who has the team’s best with 99 carries and 358 yards and 4 touchdowns. Ryan McCoy will likely see 2nd half action and could add to his 42 carries and 198 yards.

Big stat receivers are Brennan Davey (12-403 2 TDs), Dylan Rankin (10-153), Chris Henry (10-148) and Steve Minderman (4-130).

The defense looks like a 5-2 on paper and sometimes on the field. Coach Kluver’s kids will also line up in a 4-3 depending on the situation with Dylan Rankin moving from DE to LB depending on the call.

Brandon Abernathy is the team leader in tackles with 62, Ryan McCoy has 60, Nick Smith 43 and Spencer Bowers has 28 tackles to lead the Indians.

A couple of random stats:

• The Indians have not tried a FG all season.
• The Dowling team has an average score of 45-5 this season. Take out the 23 points SE Polk scored and the defense is only giving up 2.4 points per game. 5 points allowed is tied for best in 4A with Cedar Falls.
• WR Amara Darboh was offered a scholarship by Notre Dame this week. This follows offers from Iowa, Iowa State and strong interest from Nebraska, Wisconsin, Michigan State, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Auburn. That information comes from this Hawk Central post. Iowa Preps posted this report earlier Thursday.
• QB Connor Bravard had 332 total yards in last week’s 42-0 win over Johnston. He’s now topped 1,000 yards passing for the season with 1,089 yards.
• K Mac Chapman is 42-42 on PATs.
• S Jason McMurray leads the Maroons in tackles with 36.

Indianola has 13 seniors and 19 juniors on varsity. The Maroons have 31 seniors and 41 juniors listed on their roster for a total of 72 varsity players. Kluver says that depth is hard to contend with. So is the speed of Dowling Catholic and physical nature of the team, according to coach. He says if you stop one play maker like RB Dalton Parrott then QB Connor Bravard will beat you. Or he’ll throw to one of the talented receivers like Amara Darboh, Eric Lee, Jake Yacinich or Ben Boesen. Stop one, you’ve got other weapons to contend with.

Friday is Senior Night with the 31 players being honored during pregame. Their record at Dowling High School is 38-1. This group of seniors has not lost a Freshman game, Sophomore game and only 1 varsity game up until this point. And those players would like to keep it that way. Also part of the festivities will be the 2000 State Championship team. Think there will be any advice passed on to this year’s squad?

Friday’s broadcast begins at 6p on AM 1150 KWKY or KWKY.com. We’ll have Twitter updates with our handle of @KWKYSports. Our man Romelle will be back in the booth. A big thanks to Libby Nelson for the help last week. She had more room standing 8 deep outside the press box than Dave Marcoulier and I had in the box. At least Brian Morris could roam the sidelines.

My name is Paul Yeager, we’ll see on the air at 6p from Waukee Stadium. Kickoff is set for 730p. Next week is a bye week with the first round of the playoff set to begin October 27th at a site to be determined.

A Tale of 2 Halves

Lisa Fernandez/The Register Dowling quarterback Connor Bravard breaks free from a tackle to score a touchdown during the Johnston/Dowling football game at Johnston High School Friday October 8, 2010.

The Dowling Catholic football team hasn’t needed 4 quarters this season to roll to a 8-0 start. Usually it is just a half or even quarter is all it takes.

Friday against Johnston, it was the 2nd half that left the impression.

The Maroons led 14-0 at the break.

But that’s why you play 2 halves to make a whole game.

The Maroons scored 28 points to roll to a 42-0 win, their 4th shutout of the season. It also is the second time in a row the Maroons have hung 42 on a CIML Central opponent. Last week Ankeny was the victim.

Dowling Catholic Head Coach Tom Wilson said after the game his half-time speech was only about finishing the deal. The Maroons had long drives in the first half, but it was a long 3rd down play that saw QB Connor Bravard turn a pass play into an 84 yard touchdown jaunt down the home sideline. That was the longest play from scrimmage this season and it may have been their longest drive of the 2010 campaign. Many, many times this season the Maroons have had a short field to work with.

Bravard would finish with 212 yards rushing, the majority on two plays, one for 84 and the other for 48 yards to start the second half onslaught against the Dragons. Bravard would also put up 120 yards passing to top 1000 for the season.

As a team, Dowling was getting yards in the first half, 257 total, so you knew something was working for the offense. The final output would be 447 yards, the season’s highest total by 2 yards, besting the effort at Council Bluffs Thomas Jefferson in week 1.

Lisa Fernandez/The Register Dowling #2 Eric Lee catches a pass in the first half during the Johnston/Dowling football game at Johnston High School Friday October 8, 2010.

Again the defense came to play. Not counting the last series of the game with many reserves playing, the Johnston offense never got past the Dowling 43 yard line. Eric Lee would make an interception to stop the Johnston opening drive that featured a 33 yard pass to Cameron Biondi. Johnston’s big-play running back Nathan DePenning was held entirely in check. He would only rush for 42 yards on 10 carries in the first half and actually carry the ball 3 times in the second half and lose 2 yards to drop to 13 carries for 40 yards.

Lee also returned a punt 69 yards to the house following a series of great blocks. Tommy Miller and Tommy Munro led the defense in tackles with 6 apiece.

Dalton Parrott rushed for 103 yards on 13 carries, topping the century mark for the third straight week. Amara Darboh caught 4 passes for 45 yards during Friday’s game, including one acrobatic catch, showing off his vertical leaping abilities.

The Maroons improve to 8-0 while the Dragons drop to 4-3.

Our pregame from Waukee for the home finale with Indianola begins at 6p on AM 1150 KWKY in Des Moines.

Another Super Soph at QB

For the 3rd straight week, West Des Moines Dowling Catholic will line up against a sophomore quarterback.

It is kind of scary to think what the CIML Central conference will look like the next couple of seasons as Southeast Polk‘s Kyle Starcevich and Ankeny‘s Joel Lanning get more seasoning. Both are great athletes, with huge upsides.

ADAM WILSON/HERALD-INDEX STAFF Johnston sophomore quarterback Michael Kinning throws a pass Sept. 24 at Indianola.

This week, Johnston sends out Michael Kinning who has put the ball up in the air 101 times for 57 completions and 798 yards, 8 TDs and 2 interceptions.

Coach Brian Woodley says he did not ask his QB to do too much early on this year, but allow him to grow into his role with this team. That has happened as the Dragons opened up with a win at Ottumwa (after being delayed a day because of heavy rain and storms) two losses to Council Bluffs Abraham Lincoln (#5 in 4A) and Marshalltown. Then the Dragon boat started to sail smoothly with wins over Urbandale (31-14), Indianola (42-7) and then Sioux City West (56-7).

ADAM WILSON/HERALD-INDEX STAFF Johnston junior Jeff Pavelka (91) and senior Nathan DePenning celebrate DePenning's second quarter touchdown run Sept. 24 at Indianola.

Kinning has a couple of big targets to throw to, but his biggest weapon lines up behind him at running back.

Nathan DePenning is a senior with 122 carries for 823 yards (7th best in 4A) and 14 touchdowns. DePenning is averaging 6.7 per carry, 137 per game and has run for a season best 239 in the loss against Marshalltown. He’s also had 5 touchdowns each of the last two games.

Back to those receivers, Cameron Biondi has 13 catches, DePenning 11, Justin Long 9 grabs and Garratte Williams has 8 catches so far this season.

ADAM WILSON/HERALD-INDEX STAFF From left, Johnston captains Zach Stitz (30), Michael Kinning (1), Jake Hermanson (66) and Joe Ridenour (56) walk toward midfield to greet the home captains Sept. 24 prior to Indianola's homecoming game Sept. 24 at Bill Buxton Stadium.

The Dragons, as a team, have 1155 yards rushing on 199 carries. The passing game is about 60% that with 61 of 112 for 841 yards.

Their defense is a 4-3 or 5-2 depending on the situation. The anchor of the D is the player who moves the most on D, Bradley Hagerla. He’s listed as a Defensive End or Outside LineBacker who’s made 40 tackles, 11 of them for loss.

Nick Newton has 33 tackles, Zach Stitz and James Garlock both have 28 and Matt Zinselmeier has 23.

This Johnston team matches up well physically with Dowling Catholic. The last time that happened was Southeast Polk and we saw how that game went. This team also had an extra day to prepare as they played last Thursday at SC West. They’ve got confidence and feel they have the team to give the Maroons everything they can to pull off the upset of the top-ranked team in 4A.

Again, my apologies for the horrible audio last week at Ankeny. We think we have the problem fixed the next time we’re on a cell phone, but this week we’ll be on a phone line. We go on the air 6p with the pre-game show. Coach Tom Wilson chats with us at 7p and kickoff is at 730p.