Chalk talk in the battle for West Des Moines football bragging rights

BILL NEIBERGALL/THE REGISTER West Des Moines Valley's #2 Trey Lewis, right, reached out with a stiff arm to get away from Waukee's #7 Beau Easley, left, on Valley's first possession of game played at Waukee High School's Stadium on Friday night Oct. 14, 2011.

For those of you that like to fill out NCAA Tournament brackets, you know what chalk means.

That’s when you pencil in the Final Four as the #1 seeds in each region.

This year’s 4A Iowa High School football playoff bracket looks almost like chalk. Ankeny (10-1), Southeast Polk (10-1), West Des Moines Valley (11-0) are the top 3 seeds remaining. It is West Des Moines Dowling Catholic (9-2) that crashed the party, wearing the #5 seed as Lincoln was the #4 seed in the tournament.

Valley Coach Gary Swenson is not surprised at who is still standing in the playoffs. He felt the teams mentioned were the best in this portion of the state.

Many think his Tiger team may be the best of the bunch.

Valley spent much of the season ranked #1 in polls. Others listed Cedar Falls, but when they lost their regular season finale, Valley vaulted to the top spot.

Last year at this time, it was the Dowling Catholic Maroons in the top spot. Again, the two teams meet in the post-season. Last year the Maroons won in dramatic overtime fashion.

BILL NEIBERGALL/THE REGISTER West Des Moines Valley quarterback #20 Jeff Pullen was tackled by Waukee's #11 Nick Peters.

Then the Tigers returned the favor in Week 0 of the 2011 season, winning 28-21. The Maroons turned the ball over 3 times in that loss. They also lost Michael Palme on the first play of the game and Jacob Stacy re-injured his knee in the game at Drake Stadium.

Friday night at Valley Stadium the two meet again, this time, with a trip to the UNI-Dome and a spot in the semi-finals, on the line. KWKY will have coverage beginning at 6p with our pregame. Kickoff is scheduled for 7p. Listen at 1150 KWKY AM or KWKY.com. Say hello to us on Twitter.com/KWKYSports.

It will be the 63rd time these two Iowa High School titans meets on the gridiron.

The Tigers feature an outstanding front offensive line anchored by Trevor Hanson. The 6-6 278 pound senior is a dominant force up front, leading two other seniors up front. Hanson is a three-year starter and could play football on Saturday’s if he wants to.

DAN HODGES/PHOTOS FOR THE REGISTER Valley's Tyus Mason #4 gets tripped up during second half action of Monday night's game. Urbandale vs Valley, Class 4A second round playoff football game played at Valley Stadium. Monday, October 31, 2011. Valley 38-13 over Urbandale.

Trey Lewis scored the go-ahead touchdown late in the 4th quarter in the season opener. It was his back up, Tyus Mason, who gave him a breather and a change of pace in running styles for the Dowling D to contend with. That slight change changed momentum in the contest.

The Maroons have their own new wrinkles. They possess two offenses now, one running, one passing. Each featuring a different QB.

Lewis has had an outstanding season  with 1,597 yards on 198 rush attempts. He’s scored 24 touchdowns with his longest of the season being a 49 yarder.

Mason almost half the carries and yards with 99 and 762, respectively and 17 TDs. FB Brandon Ellingson keeps defenses honest with his 25 carries worth 210 yards.

Jeff Pullen has thrown for 1,111 yards on 76 of 127 passing, 8 TDs and 4 INTs. His biggest targets are: Brody Baumann (23-291,1 TD), Tanner Hinkle (24-277 3 TDs), Clint Boffelli (13-232, 3 TDs) and Quentin Smith (11-174 and 1 TD).

The Tigers trailed two times at halftime this season. One against Indianola the other against Marshalltown. Both games turned into routs in the in second half, but Coach Swenson says those were good tests and help build character in his team.

BILL NEIBERGALL/THE REGISTER Waukee quarterback #9 Cole Pederson, left, looked for running room against West Des Moines Valley's left to right: #23 Eric Cushing, #61 Ryan Knoff and #58 Sam Raridon.

This team has also been held below 40 points twice this season, one by Dowling (28) and the other, Urbandale. The J-Hawks kept the Tigers at 38. The most they tallied was the 55 against Mason City and Waukee.

The defense continues to be a strong suit. Marshalltown scored the most points on this team with 24. The Maroons’ 21 is second best.

Tarin Phillips leads the team in tackles with 79. Spencer Hellman has 72 stops. Jacob Bell is at 44 while Eric Cushing is at 42.

How deep are these teams? How will the Dowling D respond to the pounding running style of Lewis? How will Vally handle the two-headed QB monster and a healthy Amara Darboh?

We’ll find out if our bracket is busted or if we live to play another day. The winner plays next Friday in the semi-final.

No Weak Zeroes for 2 greats; Valley at Dowling

Justin Hayworth/The Register Dowling head coach Tom Wilson accepts the championship trophy as his team starts to celebrate their 38-31 victory over Iowa City City High during the Class 4A Championship football game at the UNI-Dome in Cedar Falls Friday night. (Justin Hayworth/The Des Moines Register)

If Tom Wilson felt his team had a target on their back last season, he ain’t seen nothing yet.

When you’re the defending 4A football champion, everyone wants a piece of you. Including the team that you beat twice last season, which is also your biggest rival.

Last season the West Des Moines Dowling Catholic Maroons took out the West Des Moines Valley Tigers not once, but two times. The first meeting was in Week 0 while the second battle was in a playoff game in which Dowling trailed at halftime and won in dramatic fashion in overtime. It brought out the Wahoo Marcoulier.

Friday will mark the 62nd time these two powerhouses in Iowa High School Football have clashed on the gridiron. The Iowa Sports Connection ranks Dowling Catholic #1 in 4A with Valley at #5. So, another great match-up on paper. The Maroons have won 14 straight games, tied for second best in the state, and 21 straight regular season games. Also, since 2000, 7 of the 11 4A state championships have been won by Dowling (3) or Valley (4).

New season, new team. Gone are strong players QB Connor Bravard, RB Dalton Parrott, Flanker Eric Lee and some great lineman. Not to mention good defenders in Jason MacMurray, Ben Boesen, etc.

Darboh goes up for the reception in Week 0. (Des Moines Register)

Here now, a guy named Amarah Darboh who’s on nearly every coach’s radar who plays in front of 60,000 fans or more each Saturday. His acrobatic catches are highlight worthy. Darboh is one of three returning offensive starters. T.J. Palme is back on the offensive line and so is Evan Barkley.

The defense has even fewer returning players. Jacob Stacy moves from corner to safety and linebacker Matthew Formanek.

Johnston's Marcus Montgomery and Dowling's Dan Hartleib look to fill the shoes of star players that graduated last year and keep their teams in the hunt for the playoffs. / JUSTIN HAYWORTH / REGISTER PHOTO

The Maroons will send out new quarterback Dan Hartlieb to lead the team. The son of former Iowa Hawkeye signal caller, Chuck Hartlieb, will get his first varsity start and his first round of playing time since tearing his knee last season. Coach Wilson says his arm is not a question. But his size and speed may be unknowns at this point.

Many guys are players you’ve not heard of like center Mark Kenkel who dropped 40 pounds this off-season to go along with his 6-1, 270 pound frame, or RT Jimmy Barsetti and SE Brandon Ogden. Those three will see significant time this season and look to carry the “next man in” mantra. Ben Goaley will be the featured back and is described a tough, angry runner.

The offensive line is bigger than in years past. T.J. Palme will play both sides of the ball. Others, like NG Alex Kramer will have a baptism by fire Friday night at Drake Stadium.

The linebacking corps of Matt Merfeld, Nick Navin, Michael Palme and Jon Wisnieski looks to be solid. Nick, is the younger brother of Spencer Navin, now playing baseball at Vanderbilt University. Navin will also start at FB, but will Reed Flood will see action later in the season at that position as well.

A player to keep an eye on is junior Bandit Linebacker Jon Wisnieski. The 6-4/210 pounder is tough, according to Coach Wilson. He’s the same height as standout Ben Boesen from last year’s state championship squad, but already carries more muscle on his body. Look for “Wiz” to be all over the field. He’ll also line up at TE, just like Boesen, and could be the key to offense as teams key on Darboh.

Another option for Hartlieb will be flanker Matthew Haack. The 6-1, 180 pound junior is listed behind Amarah on the depth chart, but will see plenty of time on offense. Haack will also play RCB.

The West Des Moines Valley Tigers are used to playing in the post-season and playing well into November. Coach Gary Swenson enters his 37th season as a head coach (280-89 career record). The Tigers bowed out at 7-4 losing only to playoff teams of Dowling, Fort Dodge and Ames.

Coach Swenson told KXNO radio Thursday afternoon he likes to have seniors on his squad on the field. This year, he’ll have 10 returning starters beginning at QB with Jeff Pullen. Also OT Trevor Hanson, OG Austin Stephens, WR Brody Baumann, FB/LB Brandon Ellingson, TB Trey Lewis. The defense brings back DL Sam Raridon, LB Spencer Hellman, DB Nolan Lodden and DB Jake Nitz.

Pullen split time behind center last season to finish with 570 yards passing, but was effective when he would tuck it and run. Coach Wilson predicts Pullen to be more of a run first QB this season.

Seniors Adam Maher, of Ames, Brandon Ellingson of Valley and Cole Pederson of Waukee believe their times might make some noise this season. Mary Chind/The Register / /Mary Chind/The Register

Trey Lewis will be the featured back of the offense. Ellingson should be a nice, big target for Pullen to throw to.

Like Dowling, Valley is replacing a top runner in Martin Looney who rushed for more than 1,500 yards last season.

We go on the air at 6p this year on the radio on AM 1150 KWKY. You can listen online at KWKY.com and for the first of five times this season, watch the game on-line. The production will feature our radio audio and multiple cameras. You can watch at http://www.dowlingwebcasting.com or by clicking here.

We will again be operating the KWKYSports twitter feed. Romelle will be busy tweeting out scoring and game updates. We also want to hear from you, so send us your question for our ask the announcer segment of the pregame show.

The varsity game will begin around 7:30 PM which follows the sophomore contest at Drake Stadium.
Join us Friday night.

“Yahoo”, Dowling wins in OT

Justin Hayworth/The Register Dowling players dog pile onto Dalton Parrott after he scored the game winning touchdown in overtime to beat Valley 23-20 during their Class 4A playoff game at Williams Stadium Monday night. (Justin Hayworth/The Des Moines Register)

The saying goes, what doesn’t kill you will make you stronger.

Coach Tom Wilson of the West Des Moines Dowling Catholic Maroons hopes that is the case following a 23-20 come from behind win in overtime over rival West Des Moines Valley in the 61st meeting between these two teams. This was only the second time these two teams played at Williams Stadium, the first back in 1979. It was also the first OT game between these two since 1998 when Dowling won that one as well, 10-7.

Justin Hayworth/The Register Valley's Martin Looney loses the ball after he is hit by Dowling's Tommy Munro and Eric Lee in the first quarter during their Class 4A playoff game at Williams Stadium Monday night. Dowling recovered the ball and ran it in for a touchdown. (Justin Hayworth/The Des Moines Register

The Maroons struck first on a great defensive play as Tommy Miller ripped the ball out from Martin Looney’s hands and before it hit the ground Eric Lee ran 20 yards into the end zone for a touchdown and at a blink of an eye Dowling led 7-0.

Valley would score on their next two possessions, first a 13 yard TD pass to Brody Baumann and a 47 yard FB by Kevin Sheldon. Both were long, sustained drives. The Tigers would run 64 plays, 52 rushes and just 12 passes Monday night. The Maroons ran the ball 23 times for 72 yards and passed it 24 times with 14 completions and 213 yards for a 275 yards of total offense. The Tigers finished with 266 yards of offense. QB Jeff Pullen would run the ball 11 times for 19 yards to finish the season with 1 yard rushing for the season.

Justin Hayworth/The Register Valley's Martin Looney runs away from Dowling's Tommy Munro and Jason McMurray during their Class 4A playoff game at Williams Stadium Monday night. (Justin Hayworth/The Des Moines Register)

But Martin Looney was the workhorse of the Valley team. He ran the ball 35 times for 200 yards to end his career with over 1500 yards this season.

The Maroons trailed most of the game, as much as 10 points, before mounting a comeback for the ages.

The Tigers took a 10 point lead with 2:46 to play in the 2nd quarter on a Jeff Pullen QB sneak to cap a 12 play, 75 yard drive following a missed FG. The Maroons would go into half trailing by 10 and wouldn’t score again until a screen pass TD reception by Dalton Parrott with :32 left in the 3rd quarter.

Then Mac Chapman would get another chance to kick a field goal with 9:30 to play in the game. His kick was good from 39 yards and we were tied at 17.

Valley would mount an incredible 16 play drive that started at their own 4 after a muffed kick off return. Pullen would somehow keep the play alive as he was nearly sacked in the end zone. But the Tigers would convert on 3rd and 8, 3rd and 3, 3rd and 2 but would not convert on 3rd and 7 which set up a 45 field goal attempt by Sheldon. The Maroons would make take the ball to the 15 as time expired in regulation on a huge heave downfield caught by Boesen but the play would end and we went to overtime.

Each team gets 4 tries from the 10. Valley would have a pass play on 3rd down fall incomplete and then Dowling went to work running the football.

Justin Hayworth/The Register Dowling's Dalton Parrott celebrates after scoring the game winning touchdown in overtime to defeat Valley 23-20 during their Class 4A playoff game at Williams Stadium Monday night. (Justin Hayworth/The Des Moines Register)

Dalton Parrott who had 2 carries for -4 yards in the first half got three straight calls in OT. He would finish with 11 carries and 25 yards, the last two scoring the winning touchdown, 23-20.

Here’s the call from Paul Yeager and Dave Marcoulier. This is where the title of the post comes from. It may be more Wahoo, than Yahoo, but still, Dave is excited, as well he should be following this play.

This was a great game that both teams will remember for a long time.

Valley finishes at 7-4 with two of those losses coming to Dowling this year. That makes three straight the Maroons have won. The last time one of these two teams beat the other twice in the same season, was 2008. That year Valley would go on to win the state championship.

This will be another short week as the quarterfinal game will be back at Williams Stadium on Friday night. Kick off is at 7p with our KWKY pregame show with Wahoo Marcoulier, Brian Morris and myself beginning at 6p on AM1150. This will be the last game we can stream on KWKY.com this season as any games in the Dome come from the IAHSAA.

Ames is a very good football team with a 9-2 mark. They beat Sioux City East Monday night 24-14.

Not a bad way to start November with a win in the playoffs.

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.

Westside night sees Dowling thump Valley 34-7

Dowling Catholic fans start to assemble at Valley.

Friday nights in Iowa are special.
It is the beginning of the weekend, the night East Side Night happens at the Iowa State Fair and it’s also known as Football Night in Iowa.

Friday night was Westside Night at Valley Stadium where West Des Moines Dowling Catholic dropped arch-rival West Des Moines Valley 34-7.

Its the second straight win for Tom Wilson‘s Maroons over Gary Swenson‘s Tigers.

Nearly 10,000 stood around the stadium to see the debut of Connor Bravard and the high-octane offense full of receivers like Amara Darboh, Eric Lee and Jake Yacinich. Darboh made a grab before half on a hail-mary heave to the end zone to set the tone for the rest of the game. Yacinich blocked a punt in the first quarter that was more of an interception. He just flat-out caught the ball off the punter’s foot. Lots of special teams plays were clicking Friday night.

The defense had questions marks coming into the season with only 3 returning starters, but that unit quickly rose to the challenge and shut down the likes of Looney and Lewis. There also was a QB change for Valley as Jeff Pullen started, but Connor Blythe finished the game. Valley was shut out until 1:27 left in the game. Most of the Valley starters were still in, which you could justify because they were working with their likely new quarterback.

The fake punt with Dowling leading by 30 points did raise some eyebrows, we’ll see who remembers that one later. That is usually a set play where the punter looks for a certain check point in coverage, if it’s not there, he takes off running for the first down.

Dowling finished with 161 yards rushing, 84 yards passing. Valley tallied 83 yards rushing and 55 yards passing.

Tom Chapman, Paul Yeager and Brian Morris in the press box at Valley. (Romelle Slaughter photo)

Dowling travels to Council Bluffs on Friday to play Thomas Jefferson. We’ll be on the air at 6 with the pregame show. Hopefully we’ll have Dave Marcoulier back in the booth after a bout of illness on Friday. You know it was serious when Dave couldn’t go. A big thanks to Tom Champan for filling in as our color commentator. He was to be in the booth anyway as he won an auction last year to be a part of the broadcast team. He thought he’d be able to watch his son Mac kick from the back row of the press box, he instead got a front row view of the action. A bit thanks to him and our trusty sideline reporter Brian Morris. Also thanks to Romelle Slaughter for his work on the Twitter feed and keeping us up to do on scores.

There are some other sources of information if you’re interested. One view is from the No, Its Iowa website I referred to in Friday’s broadcast. A plug for Jesse Gavin‘s site is to check in this week as he goes to see the head coaching debut of Alex Pollock and the Aplington Parkersburg Falcons. Alex’s older brother Andy is a new varsity assistant on this year’s Maroon squad.

A preview story on CBTJ will post Thursday or Friday ahead of the game. You can listen to the game online at KWKY.com or on AM1150 KWKY Des Moines.