Douglas Miles

Your Prep Sports

IOWA CITY – Urbandale entered the prep football playoffs with one of the stiffest defensive units in the state.

The most points the Class 5A ninth-ranked J-Hawks allowed in any game during the regular season was 21.

Urbandale held six opponents under 10 points, including two shutouts.

Then came City High.

“When we play with great passion and great energy, we’re a hard team to play with,” first-year City High coach Mitchell Moore said after the fourth-ranked Little Hawks beat Urbandale, 47-21, in a prep football first round playoff game Friday night at Bates Field. “We just got some turnovers early and then momentum of that first half, we just kept rolling with it.”

City High (9-1) posted a whopping 34 points in the first half by posting touchdowns on four of its five first half offensive drives.

When the J-Hawks dared to cut into a 20-0 deficit with a touchdown of their own, City High senior Jamari Newson promptly returned the ensuing Urbandale kickoff 99 yards for another Little Hawks’ touchdown.

“That kickoff was just so huge,” Moore said. “One of our more explosive players.”

Urbandale (7-3) emerged from the halftime locker room on the wrong end of a 34-7 score, but junior quarterback Peyton Rottinghaus began utilizing the height advantage of 6-foot-4 junior receiver Kai Black, who recorded 123 receiving yards and two touchdowns in the third quarter that pulled the J-Hawks within 34-21.

“We had a slow start to our third quarter,” City High junior tight end/linebacker Ben Kueter said. “It is what it is. We bounced back and that is what matters. Last year’s team would have just folded. It was good to bounce back.”

Kueter – a University of Iowa commit for both football and wrestling – gave his team some much-needed breathing room with a 54-yard scoring reception from senior receiver/safety Gable Mitchell that extended the City High head to 40-21 with 11:36 left in the game.

“We just decided, ‘Hey, they are coming up real hard on runs and screens’,”  said Mitchell, an Iowa baseball commit. “We thought we could sneak one by and it worked.”

It was the second touchdown connection between Mitchell and Kueter of the game.

The pair also stood out on defense as Kueter recorded a sack and Mitchell intercepted three Urbandale passes to go with his two touchdown tosses.

“That kid is unreal,” Kueter said. “He just does everything right. He is a great kid and he is also a better teammate. It is just fun to be around him.”

Kueter and the City High defense made life difficult for Urbandale with a relentless pass rush. Senior linebackers John Klosterman and Gabe Orris each notched a pair of sacks, while senior defensive lineman TaeShon McDaniels helped ice the game with a fourth-down sack midway through the fourth quarter.

“We did what we have been doing all year and that is just bringing pressure,” Kueter said. “They were keying on me a little bit, which is fine. If I am getting keyed and have two, three guys on me, then someone else is free. It is good stuff and it is fun. We are just having fun with it right now.”

City High senior tailback Darren Richardson ran for a game-high 144 yards, including a 45-yard touchdown burst on the first play following the McDaniels sack.

Senior tailback Joey Bouska accounted for three total touchdowns in the first half with runs of three and 44 yards, plus an 18-yard reception from quarterback Drew Larson.

“Just play our brand of football,” Bouska said. “That is all.”

The victory delivers City High to a state quarterfinal playoff game next Friday at Kingston Stadium in Cedar Rapids against top-ranked and unbeaten Cedar Rapids Kennedy (10-0).

“Ever since we lost to (Pleasant Valley) a couple of weeks ago, we have really turned things around,” Mitchell said. “We have got to keep it going, keep rolling and we are ready to go.”

                                    URB                ICH

First Downs                18                    13

Rushes-yards              30-19               39-227

Comp-Att-Int              17-40-3           12-22-1

Passing yards              268                  200

Total yards                  287                  427

Punts-avg.                   4-28.0              4-33.3

Fumbles-lost               2-0                   1-1

Penalties-yards           6-45                 14-150

Urbandale        0   7   14  0  –  21

City High         14  20   0  13 –  47

ICH – Joey Bouska 3 run (Kongalo Mwenemkamba kick)

ICH – Bouska 44 run (Mwenemkamba kick)

ICH – Ben Kueter 8 pass from Gable Mitchell (Kick failed)

URB – Graham Friedrichsen 24 pass from Peyton Rottinghaus (Hayden Marks kick)

ICH – Jamari Newson 99 kickoff return (Mwenemkamba kick)

ICH – Bouska 18 pass from Drew Larson (Mwenemkamba kick)

URB – Kai Black 27 pass from Rottinghaus (Marks kick)

URB – Black 7 pass from Rottinghaus (Marks kick)

ICH – Kueter 54 pass from Gable Mitchell (Pass failed)

ICH – Darren Richardson 45 run (Mwenemkamba kick)

Individual Statistics

RUSHING – Urbandale: Dillon Kuehl 1-0, Jordan Sturdivant 1-3, Peyton Rottinghaus 10-(-33), Benjamin Booth 17-47, Cole Garwood 1-2. City High: Ben Kueter 1-(-4), Joey Bouska 11-58, Drew Larson 3-19, Darren Richardson 22-144, Quinton Tran 2-10.

PASSING – Urbandale: Peyton Rottinghaus 17-39-3 268, Jordan Sturdivant 0-1-0 0. City High: Drew Larson 8-14-0-137, Quinton Tran 2-6-1-1, Gable Mitchell 2-2-0-62.

RECEIVING – Urbandale: Graham Friedrichsen 4-46, Jaylen Ziegler 2-23, Kai Black 7-144, Cole Garwood 2-39, Beau Carenza 1-14, Isaac Hoyt 1-2. City High: Jovan Harris 2-22, Jamari Newson 1-(-6), Ben Kueter 3-68, Joey Bouska 2-33, John Klosterman 1-44, Darren Richardson 1-0, Akili Mattox 2-39.

Did you enjoy this subscription free article? Help keep Your Prep Sports free by donating.