Matt Coss

Your Prep Sports

IOWA CITY – After Jack Wallace connected with Ethan Headings for a touchdown in the waning moments of the fourth quarter Friday night, fireworks filled the sky beyond the south bleachers at Trojan Field.

The light show was fitting on West High’s Senior Night.

West High lit up the scoreboard with seven touchdowns and 569 yards of offense in a commanding 49-35 triumph over Class 5A third-ranked Pleasant Valley.

“We executed everything pretty much like we wanted to tonight,” West High coach Garrett Hartwig said. “I feel our offense is in the groove we want to hit this time of year.”

Other than turning the ball over on downs once in the first half and running out the clock in the final 2 minutes, West High (5-3) scored touchdowns on every other possession.

Wallace was flawless.

The senior quarterback completed 22-of-27 passes, threw for five scores, ran for two and accounted for 440 total yards.

“It was complete focus and confidence,” said Wallace, who eclipsed 2,300 passing yards for the season. “It is confidence because of these offensive coaches. They’ve instilled confidence in me this year, and I’m playing at a rate I’ve never played at before this year.”

PV had no answers for West High’s skill and athleticism on offense.

Receiver and Iowa commit Mason Woods hauled in 10 receptions for 213 yards and a score.

His sidekick, junior Julian Manson, had six grabs for 77 yards and two touchdowns.

“To have guys like Mason and (Julian), it feels like a cheat code sometimes out there,” Wallace said. “You throw a 5-yard pass and they take it 80 yards.

“I feel we’re dangerous.”

This was a signature win for the Trojans, something that has been missing in recent seasons. Ranked 14th in this week’s Ratings Percentage Index, the win strengthened West High’s playoff positioning heading into next week’s regular-season finale at Cedar Rapids Prairie.

“We were definitely ready for the moment,” Woods said. “Obviously in past years, we haven’t done so hot in big moments. I feel like we definitely stepped up and this team is so much more different than any other team.

“We’re coming for it all.”

The win snapped a four-game losing streak to PV and was West High’s first win over a ranked opponent since its state quarterfinal season in 2020.

“We’ve been on the brink of it the last couple of years,” Hartwig said. “This school and this program has been through a lot with (Liberty High) opening up. We keep sticking to the process and the kids put the time and work in.

“We’ve had signature wins like this in our history, so we know how it is done.”

It was more than just Wallace, Woods and Manson that excelled in this one.

Tailback Butali Butali compiled 122 rushing yards and Headings caught two touchdown passes. The offensive line created holes for the run game and gave Wallace ample time to throw.

Regardless of whether it was through the air or on the ground, West High was accumulating yards in big chunks.

The Trojans had nine pass completions go for 20 yards or more. They had seven runs register at least 12 yards.

“That felt amazing,” Wallace said. “We knew we were capable of that coming into this week, but to do it on the field, it feels great.

“We took what they gave us. We took the short ones, which opened up everything else.”

West High did quite well containing PV’s triple-option attack, especially in the first half.

The Spartans (6-2) were limited to just one score, 94 rushing yards and six first downs in the opening half.

PV punted once, was stopped on downs twice and Woods picked off a pass deep in West High territory.

“I got torched (on that play),” Woods said. “I was expecting the (quarterback) to pitch it back, and then I saw my man 20 yards down the field. I just booked it.

“I thought I was cooked, but went up and got it.”

The Spartans finished with 200 rushing yards, almost 120 below their season average.

“The start of the season wasn’t good defensively,” Hartwig said. “There were a couple games we should have won, but the season is a long grind and a long process. We’ve kept working.

“It is a credit to the defensive coaches for continuing to tinker and put guys in the right spot and keep hammering away.”

Wallace did it with his arm and legs.

His 44-yard run late in the first quarter set up the Trojans’ second touchdown to make it 14-7.

Then midway through the second quarter, Wallace found Manson on a flea flicker for a 41-yard reception. Wallace, a Minnesota State recruit, punctuated the drive with a 1-yard scoring run.

The Trojans added another touchdown – Wallace to Manson from 5 yards – to extend the margin to 28-7 at halftime.

“(Jack) is one of a kind,” Hartwig said. “I’ve been fortunate to coach a lot of players that I can say that about, and Jack has carved his own legacy into our program.

“I’m glad I get to keep coaching him for more games.”

Just 15 seconds into the third quarter, West High padded the lead to 35-7 when Wallace found Woods on a short pass.

Woods stiff-armed a defender, broke multiple tackles and darted 80 yards for the touchdown.

PV never got closer than 14 points the remainder of the contest.

“We’ve been trying to bring it all year, but we knew we had to pick it up these two weeks to get into the playoffs,” Wallace said. “This is really the boost and the start for what we’re going to be this year. I feel like we can build off this and continue to win games.”

Excitement aside, the Trojans plan to turn the page quickly. A win at Prairie solidifies a playoff berth for the first time since 2020.

“We’ll celebrate this for 24 hours,” Woods said. “We can’t let ourselves get too happy. Complacency kills.”

PV                   ICW

First downs                 20                    20

Rushes-yards              46-200             29-195

Comp-Att-Int              15-24-1           22-27-0

Passing yards              167                  374

Total yards                  367                  569

Punts-avg.                   1-26.0              0-0

Fumbles-lost               0-0                   0-0

Penalties-yards           6-41                 7-44

Pleasant Valley          7          0          14        14 — 35

West High                  14        14        14          7 — 49

ICW – Ethan Headings 20 pass from Jack Wallace (Adam A Salem kick)

PV – Harrison Fierce 1 run (Jack Reiter kick)

ICW – Julian Manson 8 pass from Wallace (Salem kick)

ICW – Wallace 1 run (Salem kick)

ICW – Manson 5 pass from Wallace (Salem kick)

ICW – Mason Woods 80 pass from Wallace (Salem kick)

PV – Joey VanWetzinga 1 run (Reiter kick)

PV – Camryn LeMoine 39 pass from Fierce (Reiter kick)

ICW– Wallace 1 run (Salem kick)

PV – VanWetzinga 1 run (Reiter kick)

ICW – Headings 15 pass from Wallace (Salem kick)

PV – Fierce 5 run (Reiter kick)

Individual Statistics

RUSHING — PV: Elijah Rodney 21-103, Harrison Fierce 13-41, Evan Barr 3-29, Joey VanWetzinga 6-19, Micah Herlich 1-6, Ben Birkel 1-3, Team 1-(-1). ICW: Butali Butali 19-122, Jack Wallace 8-66, Mason Woods 1-9, Team 1-(-2).

PASSING — PV: Fierce 15-24-1 167. ICW: Wallace 22-27-0 374.

RECEIVING — PV: Camryn LeMoine 7-84, Rodney 3-38, Herlich 1-13, Barr 1-13, Birkel 1-12, Trey Bahnks 1-6, Max Schmeltzer 1-1. ICW: Woods 10-213, Julian Manson 6-77, Ethan Headings 3-46, Chase Bopp 2-41, Henry Elser 1-(-3).

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