Dallas Miller on Iowa City Liberty’s Week 1 win over Iowa City West
Iowa City Liberty beat Iowa City West, 56-45, in Week 1 of Iowa high school football. It was the first win over the Trojans in Liberty history.
Marc Ray
The endless chorus of whistles, a hyped student section and the clash of pads could only mean one thing: Iowa high school football was back.
The Iowa City area was treated to a Week 1 rivalry matchup Friday between Iowa City Liberty and Iowa City West, two teams that wanted to start the season on a positive note.
The winning edge belonged to the Lightning, who earned a 56-45 win over the Trojans on Friday.
“We’re tired of Liberty being disrespected,” said Liberty’s Sutton Koller. “This feels just great because it feels like we’re really showing people that we do this. Stop disrespecting us every year. We have so many returning starters on offense that were great last year, and we get no credit for it, so it feels really good.”
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Heading into Friday, the Trojans were able to fend off the Lightning in each of their last two meetings, but the roles were reversed this time around.
Iowa City West scored its first touchdown of the game on a 10-yard run by Butali Butali, but Liberty countered shortly after.
After the Liberty defense spoiled a two-point conversation, the offense scored a go-ahead touchdown thanks to a 15-yard connection from quarterback Reece Rettig to Landon Bell.
When West got possession, Wallace found Julian Manson for about 20 yards. Two plays later, the senior quarterback sprinted into the end zone for a 9-yard score to give the Trojans a 13-7 first-quarter lead.
The Lightning answered. A deep snatch by Dallas Miller helped put the Lightning at the one-yard line. Owen Drapeaux put on the finishing touches with a touchdown.
That momentum didn’t last long thanks to University of Iowa commit Mason Woods. Shortly after, the 6-foot-2 senior fielded a kickoff return and broke free down the middle. He made a couple of shifty moves and found himself down the right sideline for a touchdown to shift the advantage to the Trojans, 19-14.
“We’ve had history of stuff like that … too many mistakes on special teams. That was really the focus heading into the game: limit special teams errors,” Koller said. “We just had to punch back after that and keep our heads up because we can’t let something like that ruin our mojo and how we’re playing in our game.”
And Liberty did just that. Early in the second quarter, the Lightning went deep into their playbook. Rettig threw a backwards pass to Miller, who shifted to the right, set his feet and threw a 50-yard dagger to a wide-open Collin Decker, who sprinted down to the right side of the end zone. It gave the Lightning a 21-19 advantage.
After marching down the field, the Trojans found themselves at the one-yard line on third-and-1 after a couple of clutch stops by the Liberty defense. But Wallace connected with Woods for a one-yard touchdown to regain the lead.
Down 26-21, Rettig leaped up in the air and found Koller on a screen pass that went 22 yards. A couple of plays later, Drapeaux bulldozed his way down the middle for a four-yard touchdown.
With about two minutes left before halftime, a Landon Bell interception inside the 50-yard line gave the Lightning the momentum they needed. A couple plays later, Koller walked in a 4-yard touchdown to make it 35-26 at halftime.
Liberty carried that momentum over into the second half. Their running game, powered by a strong defense, helped the Lightning strike again. After forcing a three-and-out, Liberty used their run game to march down the field. A two-yard run by Drapeaux pushed the score to 42-26 with about four minutes left in the third quarter.
“Just being able to run the football consistently allows you to create those big plays,” said Iowa City Liberty coach Scott Chandler. “Running the football, protecting the football and no turnovers is big.”
A 26-yard touchdown from Wallace to Manson cut West’s deficit to 10 points near the end of the third quarter. At the start of the fourth quarter, Wallace was looking for Woods on a deep pass only to have Miller play receiver and pick off the Minnesota State commit. It paid dividends later with an 11-yard touchdown by Koller.
“I just felt that (Mason Woods) wasn’t going to stop and it was just right to me. He overthrew the ball, luckily, and I just got it,” Miller said. “We struggled in the start on defense but the end of second quarter into the third quarter, they couldn’t really do anything and we just played really good and disciplined.”
Wallace managed to rush for another touchdown for the Trojans, but it wasn’t enough. A 46-yard pass from Rettig to Miller sealed the game for the Lightning.
“I just couldn’t be more proud of our guys,” Chandler said. “They trusted in me and that’s all you can ask for in a coach.”
Run game and defense: a recipe for success
Like any true rivalry, it was a seesaw battle for momentum for a majority of the first half. Both offenses had success stretching the field.
Liberty’s offensive carousel that includes Drapeaux, Decker and Bell drove in much-needed scores to keep it a tight game. Woods, an Iowa City West senior who committed to Iowa in the offseason, showcased his playmaking abilities with two touchdowns to show for it. Add Wallace and Butali’s willingness to put their head down and run to the mix and the Trojans were able to keep their offense afloat.
But it’s hard to win football games when offensive turnovers and defensive breakdowns play hand-in-hand. It proved costly for the Trojans, and Liberty were the ultimate opportunists on those mistakes down the stretch.
It was the Lightning’s ability to run the ball and score off turnovers that won out. You can also credit Rettig, who got the start at quarterback, for extending plays with his mobility and sidearm throws.
“He’s a tough kid; he just finds a way,” Chandler said. “A little undersized (and) people doubt him but he finds a way. I can’t say enough about how he operated our offense today … understands what we want, understands the offense and just went out there and operated.”
It was Liberty’s first win over the Trojans in program history. The Lightning will look to carry that momentum over as they travel to Iowa City High in Week 2. Iowa City West will play host Urbandale next Friday.
“I think this is huge because it sets us up for success in the future,” Koller said. “We win four more games, we get to the playoffs. We want more than that; we want to win seven or eight, but that’s just huge to get a start like that.”
Marc Ray is the high school sports reporter for the Iowa City Press-Citizen. He can be reached at MARay@gannett.com , and on X, formerly Twitter, at @themarcszn.
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Publish date : 2024-08-30 17:47:00
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