Perennial Powers Black Raiders and Maroons Meet for District Showdown
Road trips can be long and boring. Don’t tell that to Sioux City East. They are accustomed to putting on the headphones, cue up the iPod, and making the trip eastward from the Siouxland to Central Iowa.
It’s “Eastbound and Down” for the Black Raiders as they bring a perfect 5-0 record to West Des Moines on Friday to take on the Dowling Catholic Maroons in this week’s CenturyLink Game of the Week.
Coach Bob Goodvin’s Black Raiders rallied from 14 and 13 points respectively to beat Des Moines Roosevelt, 30-26 last Thursday in Sioux City. Alex Stueve, the leading rusher in Class 4A, rushed for 106 yards and scored 1 touchdown. Quarterback JJ Stephens went 29-37 for 238 yards and two touchdown strikes, both to Austin Ahrendt.
Dowling shook off the hangover from the loss to Valley by scoring 37 unanswered points in a 51-10 win over Lewis Central last week. Dowling’s special team and defense scored 23 points by blocking a punt for a score, a safety, ran a punt return for another score, an interception return for a touchdown, and forced a fumble that resulted in a Max Kasap rushing touchdown. Kasap and Cole Deskin combined for 158 yards in place of an injured Isaiah Patton. Eric Fardal grabbed 5 catches for 111 yards from Ryan Boyle, who was 8-15 for 142 yards.
Will the road warriors conquer the demons of Valley Stadium or will Dowling fend off another tough district opponent?
Who: Sioux City East (5-0) at #3 Dowling Catholic (4-1)
Where: Valley Stadium, West Des Moines, Iowa
When: Friday, September 26th, 7:00 pm kickoff (note the time change)
The Facts: Dowling bounced back with a 51-10 win over Lewis Central last week. Sioux City East rallied from a 20-7 deficit to knock off Des Moines Roosevelt, 30-26 last Thursday.
Things to watch:
- Can the Black Raiders and the Maroons cut down on penalties?
- Will Sioux City East finally get a win at Valley Stadium?
- Bubbles or handoffs, which will happen more in the Black Raider offense?
- Which Dowling offense will be featured, the feet or arm of Boyle, the legs of new RBs or someone else?
Sioux City East – Project Starting Lineups
Offensive starters – QB JJ Stephens, TB Alex Stueve, FB Austin Ahrendt, SE Dom Flemister and Ty Benson, TE Jacob Wiley, T Andrew Miller and Ethan Fahrendholz, G Manny Zertuche and John Alexa, C Jose Deanda
Defensive starters – DT Charlie Marquez, NG Thomas Dunlap, LE Alex Stibbs, RE Albert Saul, CB Ross Godfrey and Black Schmidt, SLB Dakota Blatchford, MLB Keaton Lewis, BLB Cole Schoenfeld, WS Kaleb Hanks, FS Connor Koza
Special Teams: P Connor Koza, K Jared Admundson, H Ty Benson, PAT LS Jose Deandra, Punt LS Alber Saul, KR Alex Stueve and Dom Flemister, PR Grayson Brower
Dowling Catholic – Projected Lineups
Offensive starters – QB Ryan Boyle; TB Max Kasap, FB Gray Gochenour; SE Eric Fardal; FL Charlie Schulte; C Cole Wymore, G Joe Brett and Kevin Vaughn-Carber, T Elijah Swehla and Conner McPhee, TE Ben McNeal
Defensive starters – FS Nick Wilson, CB Dante Campero and Michael Zachary, LB Kevin McMurray, Ross Otte, Rodney Harris, and Gray Gochenour; DE Brawnte Wells and Jo Jo Jok; T Ross Carpenter; NG Quinn Sonntag,
Special Teams- P/K Nick McLellan, Holder Frankie Mauro, LS Quinn Sonntag, PR Michael Zachary, KR Joe Gorsche
The live pregame show will begin at 6:30pm, with kickoff to follow at 7:00 pm on Central Iowa Sports Network (centraliowasportsnetwork.com).
Join Paul Yeager, Taylor Bennett and Jim Kirby for the call of the game. You can follow us on Twitter @CISportsNet for updates throughout the night.
Our Audio Game of the Week will have Dar Danielson in Ankeny for the Hoover vs. Ankeny Centennial game, presented by Scheels. Our partners at High School Cube will have the live online stream of other area games of interest and we’ll be offering links to games in eastern Iowa as well through QC Sports Net.