Douglas Miles

Your Prep Sports

IOWA CITY – Just when it appeared new-look City High would rule the day, West High found some magic.

Down 16-0 at halftime, the Trojans roared back with 15 points in each of the final two quarters and stunned City High, 30-29, in the annual Battle For the Boot prep football game Friday night at Trojan Field.

“Not a lot went right (in the first half), we just didn’t execute,” West High coach Garrett Hartwig said. “We didn’t have to make a lot of adjustments. Just play better. I’m so proud of the fight.”

After throwing for just 75 yards in the first half, West High senior quarterback Reece Wheeler found a reliable connection with senior standout receiver Neil James, whose 75-yard scoring reception got the Trojans on the scoreboard late in the third quarter.

“We just had to get one and we knew we were going to start rolling,” said Wheeler, who finished with 288 passing yards and accounted for four total touchdowns. “It just took one. I knew it. It was like, we have so many playmakers and I wasn’t getting the ball in Neil’s hands at the start. Then it was, ‘I am going to feed it into this dude.’ He does great things with the ball.”

West still trailed, 29-15, with less than five minutes to go when James set the stage for the comeback with a 27-yard touchdown catch.

Hartwig elected to go for two and as most of the kicking formation lined up close to the far sideline, junior kicker Jadon Vanderpuye took a direct snap and ran it in to get the Trojans within 29-23.

“I credit my offensive coordinator (Mike Kauzlarich), he does a great job with everything,” Hartwig said. “He had some gadgets ready to go. Just wanted to see how they lined up to it. We liked what we saw the first time we showed it. We decided to put the ball in the players’ hands and they made a play.”

After a defensive stop, the Trojans had one more chance to win the game.

On fourth down and eight yards to go at the City High 30-yard-line, James corralled a Wheeler pass and sprinted for the goal line before being wrestled down just shy of the go-ahead score.

“They blitzed (City High defensive back) Savion (Miller) the big hitter, he got me the play before,” Wheeler said. “Made me rush my release on that go ball across the middle. Coach was like, ‘He’s blitzing, you’ve got to take that. I had to take it and it was as simple as making the right throw.”

One play later, Wheeler scored from a yard away to give West High its first lead with 71 seconds remaining on the clock.

City High’s last-gasp drive ended with a James interception at the West 2.

“I just saw the ball in the air, so I had to go get it,” James said. “I knew it had to be me. I was the only one up there, so I had to go get it.”

James finished the game with seven receptions for 156 yards and the two scores.

West High (1-0) visits Dubuque Hempstead next week.

Miller ran for 149 yards and four scores for City High (0-1) which played two quarterbacks after Jackson Grabinski left the game due to injury.

      ICH                       ICW

First Downs                     19                          17

Rushes-yards                51-190                34-89

Comp-Att-Int                  16-33-1              17-33-0

Passing yards                303                       288

Total yards                       493                       377

Punts-avg.                        2-38.0                 2-39.5

Fumbles-lost                  1-0                         0-0

Penalties-yards            8-70                     3-30

City High               7   9    7   6  –  29

West High             0   0   15 15  –  30

ICH – Savion Miller 39 run (Sully Bright kick)

ICH – Miller 2 run (kick blocked)

ICH –Bright 34 field goal

ICW – Neil James 76 pass from Reece Wheeler (Atari Brown run)

ICH – Miller 11 run (run failed)

ICW – Cooper Bruxvoort 18 pass from Wheeler (Jadon Vanderpuye kick)

ICH – Miller 1 run (Bright kick)

ICW – James 27 pass from Reece Wheeler (Vanderpuye run)

ICW – Wheeler 1 run (Vanderpuye kick)

Individual Statistics

RUSHING – ICH: Savion Miller 30-149, Jackson Grabinski 19-39, Chris Kabaiza 2-2. ICW: Atari Brown 20-58, Reece Wheeler 14-31.

PASSING – ICH: Jackson Grabinski 8-19-0 138, Chris Kabaiza 8-14-1 165. ICW: Reece Wheeler 17-33-0 288.

RECEIVING – ICH: Savion Miller 1-8, Chayse Newton 10-153, Brayden Bickford 3-134, Blancy Lungikama 2-8. ICW: Cade Towler 4-62, Neil James 7-156, Tayten Wheeler 4-35, Atari Brown 1-17, Cooper Bruxvoort 1-18.

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