Potent offense poised to Rail on Maroons

BILL NEIBERGALL/THE REGISTER Lincoln's #3 Colezell James , center, looked to break open a big run but was tackled from behind by East's #15 Cameron Slothouber.

Monday’s Class 4A football playoff game between Dowling Catholic and Des Moines Lincoln may be the biggest game in the history of the Railsplitters’ gridiron program. At least, in the post-season history of Lincoln football.

Prior to Wednesday’s night’s opening round playoff game with DM East, the Rails had never won a playoff game.

They took care of the Scarlets for the second time in six days, 52-14 to avenge that hurdle.

Some of this story line may be personal for Coach Tom Mihalovich. The Dowling alum also coached in the Catholic Youth Football League. So for him, it is personal.

But it also is a coming of age for this program.

The Rails have won 9 straight since a 48-13 Week 0 loss to Southeast Polk. Since that game on August 19th, the Rails have made changes. Many key players are in different positions and there’s been a notable subtraction from this team. When KeeVon Bernstine was kicked off the team for misconduct, he was the team’s leading rusher at the time of his dismissal.

BILL NEIBERGALL/THE REGISTER Lincoln's #34 Kippie Ward, left, tried to break to the outside but was brought down by East defenders, including #15 Cameron Slothouber, right, in football game played at Lincoln High School Stadium on Friday night Oct. 21, 2011.

This Lincoln team leads Class 4A in rushing with 4,381 yards on 494 attempts, both tops. The closest team in rushing yards in City High with 3,137 and almost 12-hundred yard difference. The Rails also are tops in 4A for rushing TDs with 61. They also lead in total offense with 4,849 yards, just 206 yards ahead of pass-happy Marshalltown and with touchdowns and 70.

Their passing attack is 3rd worst in 4A for yardage with 468 on 25-56 passing. Only Davenport West (0-9) and their 428 yards and Mason City’s (2-7) 340, have fewer yards.

The Maroons are 378-2245 in rushing, 15th best in the class.

Kippie Ward, already a featured back in the offense, started to get more carries. He’s now the team’s leading rusher with 1,358 yards on 124 attempts, 17 touchdowns. That pencils out to be 11 yards per carry.

BILL NEIBERGALL/THE REGISTER Lincoln's #8 Rashid March, left, broke away from East's #4 Austin Bellis and #10 Blake Cunningham.

Rashid March has more carries, 135, but an even 1,000 yards and 9 touchdowns. Both he and Ward are extremely talented and able to break big runs, or put on big hits.

Jordan Cheatem has seen more action as well, racking up 503 yards on 44 carries. Jake Goble gets a few snaps as well with 33 carries worth 221 yards.

QB Michael Downing missed that Week 0 clash with Southeast Polk due to family reasons. Ward ran the offense that week, but Downing continues to develop in Coach’s eyes. Downing has put the ball in the air 48 times for 24 completions and 446 yards, 8 touchdowns and 4 interceptions. Downing’s running stats are 37 carries for 36 yards, but four scores.

The offense is a Wing T approach, with some Flex Bone and similar Georgia Tech influence. This is also an offense that can put up some points on the board including every win over 39 points. the biggest tally was an 86-28 victory over DM North. The Rails scored 70 on Hoover, 61 on East and 60 on Sioux City East. They even scored 13 in the loss against SEP, the Maroons only scored 9 points in their loss.

The defense will line up 5-3, but also have to drop off the line one player to cover the Maroon spread attack.

Trevon Young started the year as a wide receiver, then DE and now linebacker. Coach calls him a Spiderman-type who can make great plays wherever he’s at on the field. He’s got 52 tackles on the season. He’s the anchor of the Lincoln defense and coach calls him a “truly special player.”

DE Trey Alessio leads the Rails in tackles with 59 and is the Steady-Eddy of the squad.

Kippie Ward started the corner back, but now is at linebacker where he’s made 39 tackles. That switch happened mid-season.

There are two sophomores on this side of the ball that start. Jordan Brysona 5’10”, 165 pounder and now Tony Drayton (5’11″, 275 lbs.) at nose tackle following the ejection of the regular starter.

The KWKY pregame show begins at 6p on 1150 or KWKY.com. We hope you tune in our radio broadcast. The winner of this game plays the winner of Valley and Urbandale Friday night.

Darboh returns, same result: Maroons win 43-3 against Ames

BILL NEIBERGALL/THE REGISTER After scoring Dowling Catholic's first touchdown on a pass reception against Ames, #15 Amara Darboh, right, celebrated with #67 T. J . Palme, left, and #76 Mark Kenkel, center, in Class 4A first round playoff football game played at East High School Williams Stadium on Wednesday night Oct. 26, 2011.

West Des Moines Dowling Catholic started slow but finished fast against Ames in an opening round win in the 2011 Iowa High School football playoffs. The Maroons improved to 8-2 with a 43-3 victory to Ames’ season at 4-6.

Amarah Darboh returned to action to grab his longest TD of the season with a 45 yard catch and set the pace for the night. He grabbed 4 during game worth 81 yards. If not a huge stat line, it was a morale boost to a team that went 3-1 since his departure at Southeast Polk on September 23rd.  The Michigan, Florida, Notre Dame, Wisconsin and Iowa recruit will be a vital part of the Maroons march to defend their 4A football title.

Since that SE Polk game, the Maroons have built depth at receiver with Matthew Haack and Brandon Ogden. The pair was used heavily in Coach Tom Wilson‘s game plan with Ogden catch 5 passes and scoring a 14-yard TD just before halftime. Haack was used more in the running game, carrying it 4 times and 25 yards. The Maroons would finish with 267 yards rushing and 190 yards passing.

Dowling Catholic also developed a double QB/TB combination with the emergence of freshman Ryan Boyle and Chase Dowell. Boyle would run the option style attack with Dan Hartlieb used more in the passing offense. Boyle provided a spark in the regular-season finale at Indianola and did so again against Ames. His 7 carries were worth 87 yards. A couple of those jaunts set up touchdowns and the freshman did put the last points on the scoreboard of the game on a 1 yard plunge.

BILL NEIBERGALL/THE REGISTER Dowling Catholic's #11 Jon Wisnieski, right, looked up in thanks as touchdown was signaled after a minute delay, after his 70 yard interception return against Ames. A flag had been thrown on the play, but was against Ames.

Dowell put his head down and popped a few Little Cyclones during the contest. He finished with 10 carries for 75 yards and a blocked punt.

Ben Goaley started, played and continued to carry the load, but he’ll likely be used as needed to keep him as healthy as long as possible. He finished with 9 carries and 56 yards.

Jon Wisnieski played primarily on offense, but he made the most of his defensive opportunities when he stepped in front of a Alex Brammer pass and ran it back 70 yards for a score. Wiz would grab a score in the north endzone on a pass only he could catch for a 22-yard score on a drive that went 98 yards on 6 plays.

BILL NEIBERGALL/THE REGISTER Dowling Catholic quarterback #3 Dan Hartlieb dropped back to pass against Ames.

Dan Hartlieb would get a TD following 2 great runs by Boyle in the no-huddle offense. That drive changed the tempo of the game and the firmly put the momentum in Dowling’s corner.

Michael Gillotti picked of a pass in the next drive to add to his season of accomplishments at cornerback. That defense held a beat up Ames team to 38 yards rushing on 22 carries and 102 yards passing on 35 attempts and 10 completions.

The Maroons advance to Monday’s game at Des Moines Lincoln. The Rails advanced with a 52-14 victory against DM East.

Our KWKY broadcast begins at 6p with kickoff slated for 7p on 1150 AM or KWKY.com.

Second season begins in defense of a title

Lee Navin / Special the Register Dowling Catholic senior linebacker Sam Herold (#49) puts the pressure on Johnston junior quarterback Michael Kinning (#1) as the Johnston Dragons (4-2) battle against the tenth-ranked Dowling Catholic Maroons (5-2) in a CIML Central Conference Class 4-A game at Drake Stadium in Des Moines. Dowling won 27 to 14.

Throw the records out the window, it is time for the second season.

The Iowa High School Football playoffs begin Wednesday night across the state. And on-cue, the weather is about to make things interesting from Decorah to Red Oak with a cold snap.

Who will ‘shock the state’ with an upset or who will be put to pasture to get ready for basketball and wrestling?

West Des Moines Dowling Catholic begins, in earnest, their defense of the 4A football crown. The Maroons finished the regular season 7-2 with losses to top-seeded West Des Moines Valley and 3 seed Southeast Polk. They last played 13 days ago in a 21-7 victory at Indianola. They 10-week schedule of 9 games gave the Maroons a bye last week to heal and prepare for the stretch run.

Wednesday’s 7p kickoff at Williams Stadium at East High School should see the return of super-prep Amarah Darboh. The 6′, 200 pound senior FL missed the last 4 games with a shoulder injury suffered in that loss at Southeast Polk. The Maroons went 3-1 in his absence with the season’s signature win against Ankeny.

The KWKY pregame show begins at 6p Dave, Brian, Paul and Romelle. You can hear the game on 1150 KWKY or KWKY.com.

Even with missing 4 games, Darboh still leads the team in receptions (30) receiving yards (442) and receiving touchdowns (6).  Brandon Ogden is second in catches and yards by going 25-366.

How much does Darboh get used Wednesday night? That is up to Coach Tom Wilson and how well that shoulder holds up. Darboh was in street clothes against Indianola, but was playing catch with teammates in warm-ups.

Another injured senior who could be ready for the second season is Matt Merfeld. The 5’9″, 185 pounder was injured in the Des Moines East game back on September 2nd. He missed the final 6 games of the regular season. Merfeld also contributed with 23 tackles, which is still 9th best on the team.

LEE NAVIN/FOR THE ANKENY REGISTER & PRESS CITIZEN Ankeny senior defensive end Ryan Woods (#37) sacks Ames sophomore quarterback Sam Straub (#4 ) as the Ames Little Cyclones (1-0) battle against the fifth-ranked Ankeny Hawks (1-0) during Week 2 in a CIML Conference Class 4-A game at Northview Middle School in Ankeny. Ankeny won 45 to 7 and will play the North High Polar Bears next week in Des Moines.

Ames is 4-5 and has seen their share of injuries. Receivers Adam Maher, Luke Wandling and Bo Brammer have been sidelined. Safety Jake Mills went out earlier in the season as well. Plus, QB Sam Straub, who missed 2 starts because of a broken thumb, injured his leg in last week’s 26-0 loss in their regular season finale against Waukee. According to that same Ames Tribune article Mike Mayberry played QB in Straub’s spot before giving way to freshman QB Matt Flummerfelt. The sophomore starter, Alex Brammer was unavailable to be used because he played 4 quarters of the sophs game earlier that night.

Mayberry is the team’s leading receiver with 32 catches worth 518 yards. He and his second cousin Nick Mayberry were featured earlier this year in an Ames Trib story. Both are juniors. Mike has 4 TDs in the leading receiver spot. His career night came against Marshalltown when he had 171 yards in 9 catches.

Overall the Little Cyclones rushing stats are 232 carries for 1,032 yards and 15 TDs. The passing game, is 121-268 for 1,298 yards, 15 INTs and 8 TDs. The offense has been sputtering a bit, only scoring 19 points in their last 3 games while allowing 123 in that same span. They’ve lost 4 straight to Waukee (26-0), Marshalltown (56-19), Valley (41-0) and Ft. Dodge (28-20). Coach Bruce Vertanen‘s last victory came on September 16th against Mason City. They started the season 4-1.

LEE NAVIN/FOR THE ANKENY REGISTER & PRESS CITIZEN Ankeny senior safety Cory Myers (#9) makes the open field tackle on Ames senior running back Hanson Breitling (#28) as the Ames Little Cyclones (1-0) battle against the fifth-ranked Ankeny Hawks (1-0) during Week 2 in a CIML Conference Class 4-A game at Northview Middle School in Ankeny. Ankeny won 45 to 7 and will play the North High Polar Bears next week in Des Moines.

Straub is a sophomore and so is Spencer Shane. He’s had to learn the varsity speed of the game early, grabbing 7 catches for 137 yards. For the season he’s got 10 grabs and 170 yards. Hanson Breitling has 25 catches for 145 yards. His primary role is to run the ball. He’s the team’s leading rusher with 149 attempts for 730 yards and 10 TDs.

Defensively the top tackler is Ryan Griffith with 44 stops. Tom McClelland is next with 43 tackles followed by Dean VanEvery‘s 38.

The defense that’s allowed 30.75 points per game will be put in the hot seat agains the Maroons who’ve been averaging 21 points a game the last four contests.

The winner of this contest plays the victor of the week 9 rematch of DM Lincoln hosting DM East. That game will be Monday night.

Slow and steady ends in win

Indianola on the drive against Dowling Catholic. 2011.

The Indianola Indians followed the same script as the 5 of their last 7 games. Start well, hold the opponent to only a few or no points, then see the opponent come to life late in the 3rd quarter and win it in the 4th. The exact thing Coach Eric Kluver was hoping against.

History repeats itself as Dowling Catholic came back for a 21-7 win Friday night at Simpson College’s Buxton Stadium.

Indianola would get out of the gate, keeping the football for 18 of the game’s first 22 plays, scoring on that last one when Kale Render found Chris Henry in the back of the endzone for a 7-0 lead. The Maroons had zero yards of offense in that stretch.

Coach Kluver called for the on-side kick, stunning the Dowling return team, and recovering the ball. That drive would stall in three plays before the Indians were forced to punt the football. A great punt to the Maroon 5 put the offense on alert. DC would punt, and watch the Indians drive all the way down to the Dowling 7 when Sam Herold picked up a fumble to change the momentum of the game.

Dowling Catholic would finally get a drive to move more 15 yards. The Maroons’ 3rd drive would feature Ben Goaley left, right and up the middle before an interception by Joey Gioffredi ended that possession. Goaley would end the night with 115 yards on 28 carries. He would top the 1,000 yard mark for the season, early in the 2nd quarter.

Indianola would hold the Maroons to 2-10 passing for 25 yards. Dan Hartlieb and Ryan Boyle each had a completion. Goaley’s74 yards on 15 carries was the lone bright spot for Coach Tom Wilson‘s squad. Indianola held the advantage in total yardage with a 172-140 margin.

But the Indians saw that 7-0 halftime lead over Dowling disappear on a 65-yard QB keeper by Ryan Boyle with 7:37 to play in the 3rd quarter. Boyle would see a lot of second half action, trying to jumpstart the team. He’d finish with 6 carries worth 106 yards.

The game would remain tied until the first drive of the 4th frame when Chase Dowell took a toss sweep left, cut it against the grain and score on 3rd and goal to cap a 11 play, 79 yard drive. The Maroons would put a defensive bow on the score when Alex Kramer picked up a fumble and scored what he said was his first high school touchdown.

Dowling’s defense would keep the pressure on, forcing the Indians to go backwards on their last drive of the game. The final play of the drive was a 4th and 40 yards to go situation. Sacks by Nick Navin, Sam Herold and Matthew Formanek would allow QB Dan Hartlieb to take a knee for the with seconds remaining to ice away a 21-7 win.

The offense gained 267 yards rushing on 41 carries and were 5-15 passing for 76 yards and a total of 343 yards.

Indianola was 46-137 rushing and 11-24 passing for 153 yards and 290 total.

The victory gave the Maroons a share of another CIML Central title. That adds to their titles in 2000, 2001, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010 and now 2011.

They finish the regular season 7-2 and have a bye in week 9. The Indians fall to 0-8.

Winless and dangerous

LEE NAVIN/PHOTOS FOR THE REGISTER Indianola junior running back Matt Mitchell (#16) heads upfield.

A team without a win is a dangerous team. They’ve got everything to gain and nothing to lose.

A team in the CIML Central without a win is traditionally better than their record indicates. The Indianola Indians do have two wins this season on the field, but they were taken away for something off the field.

Regardless, they play in a tough conference, have played everyone tough, but haven’t gotten over the hump in their 0-7 season.

Cue the upset alert music.

Last season the Indians shocked Ankeny in a conference game. Will the Dowling Catholic Maroons be this year’s Ankeny for Coach Eric Kluver‘s squad?

MICHAEL ROLANDS/RECORD-HERALD ST Indianola senior quarterback Kale Render stiff arms Southeast Polk senior Mike Pavon during the first half of an Oct. 7 game in Indianola. Southeast Polk defeated Indianola, 31-7.

They are led by a senior quarterback, Kale Render. He’s 43-94 for 616 yards 6 TDs and 7 INts passing. His rushing stats are 54 carries, 203 yards and 3 TDs.

Senior RB Kody Foust gets the majority if the carries in the offense. He’s had 105 rushes worth 362 yards, 6 TDs, and two catches for 13 yards. Matt Mitchell also has 33 carries and 181 yards.

Render’s targets in the passing game include TE Dylan Rankin (24-390), WR Chris Henry (7-108) and sophomore Joey Gioffredi, (6-56).

The offensive line is big in size Blake Beard 6’2″ 256, Dan Moline 6’2″ 215, Grant Beeler 6’4″ 220, Keegan Render 6’3″ 310 and Don Dawson 6’1″ 276. Keegan is a sophomore and the brother of QB Kale.

Defensively the Indians feature Kyle Coghlan at the end position. He leads the team in tackles with 56, 26 of them solo stops. He plays the mike linebacker position even though he’s only 6’1″ 180 pounds. Coghlan played mostly JV last season as a junior as Brandon Abernathy was in that spot. Now its Kyle’s chance to play and he’s making the most of it.

The Indians are small in numbers with 20 seniors, 13 juniors and 4 sophomores on the varsity roster. Coach Kluver knows when you pull of sophomores it can have a lasting impact on your program. Many players will line up on both sides of the of the ball. Blake Beard, Don Dawson are in the lineup. But Dan Moline and Grant Beeler have played a lot of snaps this season as well.

Indianola held Southeast Polk to seven first half points last week before losing 31-7. The Indians led Johnston at half before dropping the contest 14-7. Coach Kluver says both games his team was in position to score several times, but just couldn’t punch it in for points.

The Maroons come off a 27-14 win last week against Johnston. We go on the air on 1150 KWKY at 6p with kickoff scheduled for 730p. The game will also stream at KWKY.com and look for updates on our Twitter feed of @KWKYSports.

Less intensity, same result, a win for DCHS

Lee Navin / Special the Register Dowling Catholic senior quarterback Dan Hartlieb (#3) sprints to a 11-yard first-half touchdown as the Johnston Dragons (4-2) battle against the tenth-ranked Dowling Catholic Maroons (5-2) in a CIML Central Conference Class 4-A game at Drake Stadium in Des Moines. Dowling won 27 to 14.

A lot of factors were in the corner of the Johnston Dragons coming into Friday night’s matchup against West Des Moines Dowling Catholic.

The Maroons were coming off an upset win of previously unbeaten Ankeny, it was senior night meaning a break in the pregame routine, and the sophomore game ran long and kickoff moved back to just before 8 PM. Players and the head coach said they were playing uninspired football.

But good teams find ways to win and Dowling Catholic did that in a 27-14 win at Drake Stadium Friday night.

The Maroons continued to unveil wrinkles in their offense. Last week, it was the use of freshman QB Ryan Boyle doing his best Connor Bravard impression. This week it was Boyle throwing a pass, Dan Hartlieb running the ball and an extended use of the no-huddle offense in the football game.

Dowling still tried running the ball, employing Ben Goaley for 25 carries worth 112 yards and Boyle’s 5 rushes worth 17 yards. The Hartlieb run was a called pass play, but with good Johnston pass coverage, Danny improvised for an 11-yard run to the endzone. The Maroons finished the night with 181 yards rushing on 38 attempts.

Lee Navin / Special the Register Dowling Catholic senior wide receiver Addison Bennett (# 84) hauls in the 39-yard touchdown pass as the Johnston Dragons (4-2) battle against the tenth-ranked Dowling Catholic Maroons (5-2) in a CIML Central Conference Class 4-A game at Drake Stadium in Des Moines.

The passing game also looked really good on a couple of plays Friday night. The game’s first score was a Hartlieb to Addison Bennett for a 34-yard TD pass. The catch was Bennett’s first touchdown of the season.

Johnston tied the game on a 1-yard run by Connor Yocum at the 10:17 mark in the 2nd quarter. The drive was set up after the Dragons recovered a Dowling fumble and only had short, 37-yard field to play with.

The next drive for Dowling would feature big plays on an something-out-of-nothing run by Goaley for 31 yards and a Boyle’s first varsity pass, a nice, into the wind toss to Matthew Haack for 33 yards. Two plays later, Hartlieb was back in the game and in the endzone.

Hartlieb was throw another beautiful pass to Brandon Ogden for a 13-yard score to give the Maroons a 20-7 halftime lead.

Johnston QB Michael Kinning would find Cullen Maahs for a 13-yard TD strike to pull the Dragons within 6 at the 7:53 mark in the 3rd Quarter.

The next drive featured the play of the night. Dan Hartlieb, one of 37 seniors playing in his final regular season home game, would make the highlight reel on a 52-yard TD pass to Haack. Haack had 7 catches worth 141 yards. Hartlieb would finish the night 10-18 passing for 209 yards.

Lee Navin / Special the Register Dowling Catholic senior linebacker Sam Herold (#49) puts the pressure on Johnston junior quarterback Michael Kinning (#1) as the Johnston Dragons (4-2) battle against the tenth-ranked Dowling Catholic Maroons (5-2) in a CIML Central Conference Class 4-A game at Drake Stadium in Des Moines. Dowling won 27 to 14.

The defenses would hold up the rest of the night and the score would hold up at 27-14.

Dowling Catholic had 422 yards of total offense while Johnston had 285. The run game of the Dragons did not yield much fruit with only 40 yards on 26 carries. Yocum had 54 yards on 18 carries. The difference in yardage total is due to a couple of QB sacks and a snap that went over the QB’s head.

The Maroons improve to 6-2 with a regular season finale at Indianola on Friday. Johnston is now 4-3 and faces Ankeny this week with Southeast Polk to follow.

Dragons fire up for final 3 games

LEE NAVIN/PHOTOS FOR THE REGISTER Johnston junior running back Marcus Montgomery (#32) breaks a few tackles.

The CIML schedule makers have saved the toughest for last for the Johnston Dragons. Ankeny and Southeast Polk finish out the schedule for Coach Brian Woodley. But first, it is a road trip to face Dowling Catholic.

The Dragons come into Friday’s home-finale for the Maroons sporting a 4-2 with wins over Ottumwa, Council Bluffs Abraham Lincoln, Indianola and Sioux City West. The losses were to Marshalltown and Urbandale. As I talked to coach, you can hear frustration about the two losses. But considering the team was battling injury and illness, they’re just happy to be upright, healed and ready for the Maroons. During both Marshalltown and Urbandale game, the Dragons moved the ball, but just couldn’t cash in on many opportunities.

Marcus Montgomery was slated to be the featured running back coming into the 2011 campaign. But he was sidelined for most of the Marshalltown game and has been primarily used on defense. Still, his 95 carries for 431 leads the team. The junior also has 7 TDs for the season.

LeLEE NAVIN/PHOTOS FOR THE REGISTER Johnston senior running back Connor Yocum (#41) breaks through the line

Now the featured back is Connor Yocum. The senior has 62 rushes for 327 yards and 1 touchdown. It is likely the backfield will include Yocum and Montgomery on some formations.

This will mark the third straight week Dowling has faced a sophomore quarterback in his second season of starting. Michael Kinning runs the offense and has a stat line of 21 rushes for -4 yards and 101 completions on 163 attempts and 1,045 yards.

The Dragons usually send three receivers out on a play. Look to senior WR Zac Boals. He’s the team leaders in receptions with 22 and 229 yards. Boals is also known to run the ball as he’s done that three times this year. Cullen Maahs has 18 catches, 190 yards and 2TDs. Also look for Eric Bass to see some balls thrown his way as he’s caught 9 passes for 105 yards and 2 scores.

The Johnston Defense is senior dominated up front. The front four are all seniors and so are two of three linebackers. Andre McKay is the team leader in tackles with 16 solo and 34 total stops. His twin brother Marcus plays LE for the Dragons. The non-upperclassman in the front 7 is sophomore Brandon Sexton. Also from the class of 2014 is Mitch Boals at the weak side cornerback position.

MLB Nick Newton, SC Matt Zinselmeier and SS Kyle Arnold also have noses for the football. Keep an eye out for them.

Coach Woodley said earlier this week he’s watched all of Dowling games this season. One thing he likes about facing the Maroons is the more traditional approach to offense Dowling brings to the table.

But with a new-old offense emerging in last week’s 28-16 win over Ankeny, the possibilities are endless on what exactly the Dowling offense will look like this week.

You can find out at 730p from Drake Stadium for the home-finale for the Maroons. Our KWKY pregame show begins at 6p on DowlingWebcasting.com and 1150 KWKY.

Amara who? Don’t ask Ankeny

Dan Hartlieb in action against Ankeny. (Des Moines Register photo)

West Des Moines Dowling Catholic Head Coach Tom Wilson found out what life is like without Amara Darboh on his team last week in a loss at Southeast Polk. He lived the real-time adjustment of a football game plan.

Fast forward a week and Wilson had a full seven days of preparation of a new 2011 offense to throw at unbeaten and 4th ranked Ankeny.

Dowling Catholic came out and threw multiple formations, personnel and plays at the Ankeny defense en route to a 28-16 win Friday night at Drake Stadium.

Dan Hartlieb started the game and got a workout running from the huddle to sidelines as freshman Ryan Boyle came in to run an offense that looked a lot like the 2010 offense, one that featured among many things, running quarterback Connor Bravard.

The Maroons’ first play from scrimmage was a pass to TE Jon Wisnieski, but a chop block penalty would bring it back. DC would see this happen a few times during the course of the night, a big play wiped out by penalty.

But new wrinkles would be stopped on a 4th and 1 on a great defensive play by Cole Myers in the opening drive.

Ankeny would have a short field but would be forced to punt.

Brandon Ogden scored on 2 pass plays for DCHS. (Des Moines Register Photo)

Hartlieb’s strength is throwing the football. He found SE Brandon Ogden who made a move to get the ball, then a juke to the outside and he was gone for a 75-yard TD run for the game’s first score. Ogden would add another TD pass reception on the second half. Hartlieb was 8-12 passing for 139 yards and 5 of 35 rushing. Ogden had 6 catches over 123 yards and 2 TDs for his stat line Friday night.

Dan Hartlieb would cap a drive with a touchdown set up by Ben Goaley’s 63 yard run to put the Maroons up 14-3 with 9:51 to play before halftime. Goaley had 100 yards at half, finishing with 126 yards over 23 carries for the game.

Ankeny would start possessions on their 49, 41, 42 and 45 and only get 9 points coming on the leg of kicker Cole Netten. Those drives featured a few big pass plays to Marshall Clark, but Joel Lanning was limited in his effectiveness against the Maroon defense all night. He would finish with 15 carries and only 29 yards. His passing stats were a little better going 20-41 for 203 yards.

Lanning engineered a drive that went 72 yards in 8 plays he would cap on a 3 yard run. The drive took very little off the clock.

Coach Jerry Pezzetti elected to kick the ball deep and not go for the on-side kick trailing 21-16 with 2:51 to play and no timeouts. The strategy worked as the Maroons were forced to punt from their own endzone after going three and out.

Alex Heckman didn't hear the "get down, get down" yells. He just kept running for the endzone. (Des Moines Register photo)

Lanning came into the game having thrown no interceptions. That stat changed late in the second half when Alex Heckman stepped in front of a Lanning pass and cashed in his pick six card to put the final tally on the board and the game in the win column for Dowling.

The Dowling Catholic win muddies up the CIML Central with three teams now on top with only 1 loss, to each other. Ankeny beat Southeast Polk, the Rams beat the Maroons, you get the idea. DCHS is now 5-2 overall with Ankeny falling to 6-1.

Freshman QB Ryan Boyle had 6 rushes for 36 yards. Chase Dowell would have 5 carries and 29 yards. The Maroon rushing effort finished with 222 yards over 41 carries. The passing game was worth 139 yards on 8-13 passing. That’s 361 total yards of offense to the Hawks’ 302.

Dowling closes out the regular home season against Johnston Friday night at Drake Stadium. Our KWKY pregame show begins at 6p. This game will also be on DowlingWebcasting.com