Susan Harman

Your Prep Sports

IOWA CITY – Friday night’s season-ending game showed how much the Battle for the Boot means to City High and West High.

Two teams with middling records that knew they would miss the playoffs played a nip-and-tuck game with five lead changes on a cold night in front of a big crowd, and the difference came down to the execution on points after touchdowns.

West High converted on each of its PATs, whether for two points or one, while City High failed on four resulting in a 36-32 Trojan victory.

It was the third consecutive win for West in the series.

“This is the greatest thrill of my life,” West junior receiver Grahm Goering said. “It’s the coolest thing in the world.”

“I’m proud of our guys and the way they battled,” City High coach Dan Sabers said. “We talked to them about how it’s time we put four quarters together. We were finally able to do that. We didn’t quite get the outcome we wanted, but a lot of things were very good.”

Neither team ever led by more than one score.

West High clung to a 22-20 lead at halftime as the teams combined for one punt and six touchdowns.

City High took the second-half kickoff and drove 63 yards in 14 plays for a touchdown while consuming 8:43 off the clock.

The 26-22 lead was short-lived.

The kickoff went to Goering on the sideline at the 20-yard line. He broke through the first wave of defenders and out-raced the rest all the way to the end zone.

“We had some great, outstanding blocks from our big guys up front, and they set it up perfect for me,” Goering said. “I went right to the house; it was great.”

So West led 29-26, but City High answered with an eight-play, 67-yard drive that included a couple of big passes, not something that City High normally features.

Sophomore wide receiver Gable Mitchell tossed a 28-yard pass to Kolby Kucera, and quarterback Raph Hamilton hit Mitchell on a 23-yard play-action pass for the touchdown.

“We were able to establish the run so obviously that creates a few more opportunities for some pass plays,” Sabers said.

City High led 32-29 early in the fourth period, but of course West High (4-5, 4-1) answered with what proved to be the winning drive.

While junior Fabian Brown rushed for 95 yards in the first half, West High turned to Marchaun Hoover in the second.

The two combined for 139 yards rushing on 23 carries.

“We came in with the mentality that we’ve got to bring it home, we’ve got to win,” Brown said. “We had to really work.”

“That was big; in this game we were trying to set up the pass with the run,” quarterback Marcus Morgan said. “We were moving guys up front, and we were making holes and our running backs were seeing them.”

Hoover was a big part of the Trojans’ eight-play, 70-yard drive to take the lead for good.

West High had to convert a fourth-and-one at the City High 32 to keep the drive alive.

Morgan faked into the line and ran left around the end for three yards for the first down. On the next play Morgan’s 29-yard play-action pass to Goering put the Trojans ahead for good.

 “I ran a vertical,” Goering said. “He was pressing all game. I told my quarterback I was going to beat him. Our offense executed every single time. We came back with the same plays, and they couldn’t guard us and it worked.”

“I’ve got receivers that can make plays,” Morgan said. “I know throwing it up there they’re going to go get it. Them playing man, we knew it was going to be there tonight.”

City High High (2-7, 1-4) had a chance late in the fourth quarter to take the lead when it drove from its own 5 to the West 45.

With 1:48 left Tonka Hickman carried the ball for the 38th time, but after a nine-yard gain fumbled and West High recovered.

It was a cruel ending for a player who was the beating heart of City High’s offense throughout the night.

Hickman gained 193 yards on his 38 carries and was hit hard from every conceivable angle yet dropped the ball only once.

City High gained possession one more time, but only 29 seconds remained when the Little Hawks took over at their 27.

West High’s Anu Dokun intercepted City’s first pass and that was that.

“We were grateful for the opportunity that we had to have a game nine like this against your arch-rival with the Boot on the line, and if we go out and play hard we have a chance to win this thing,” Sabers said. “We didn’t quite get there, but everything else was there.”

                                               ICW                ICH

First downs                            16                    22

Rushing-yards                       31-122             49-248

Comp-att-int                          9-13-0              4-8-1

Passing-yards                         126                  93

Punts-avg.                              3-33                 0-0

Fumbles-lost                           1-1                   1-1

Penalties-yards                        5-35               2-28

West High      8   14   7   7  –  36

City High        8   12   6   6  –  32

ICH – Tonka Hickman 3 run (Hickman run)

ICW – Fabian Brown 2 run (Grant Henderson pass from Marcus Morgan)

ICW – Morgan 3 pass from Brown (Owen Smith kick)

ICH – Hickman 18 run (run failed)

ICW – Brown 1 run (Smith kick)

ICH – Gable Mitchell 30 pass from Raph Hamilton (run failed)

ICH – Hamilton 10 run (run failed)

ICW – Grahm Goering 80 kickoff return (Smith kick)

ICH – Mitchell 23 pass from Hamilton (kick failed)

ICW – Goering 29 pass from Morgan (Smith kick)

Individual Statistics

RUSHING – ICW: Fabian Brown 15-95, Marchaun Hoover 8-44, Tate Crane 1-9, Marcus Morgan 7-(-26). ICH: Tonka Hickman 38-193, Raph Hamilton 10-54, John Klosterman 1-1.

PASSING – ICW: Marcus Morgan 8-12-0-123, Fabian Brown 1-1-0-3. ICH: Raph Hamilton 3-7-1-65, Gable Mitchell 1-1-0-28.

RECEIVING – ICW: Grahm Goering 4-71, Mikey Crutcher 3-41, Tate Crane 1-11, Marcus Morgan 1-3. ICH: Gable Mitchell 3-65, Kolby Kucera 1-28.

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