Kennedy Football

Lizarraga nearly perfect in Kennedy loss

Chico Lizarraga was given the keys to the Kennedy offense Thursday night at Kingston Stadium and he played a near perfect football game.

Because of the defensive adjustments Iowa City West was making, Kennedy Coach Tim Lewis told Lizarraga, the Cougars' senior quarterback, to survey the set and call the play at the line of scrimmage.

Lizarraga responded with a career-best 347 passing yards and two touchdowns.

But the only blemish in his breakout performance proved to be fatal. A second-quarter fumbled pitch resulted in an Iowa City West touchdown that gave the Trojans a two-touchdown advantage. Kennedy never got closer than seven points the rest of the game and the No. 9 Trojans won, 35-28.

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'Little' brother leads the way in Kennedy win

It's not true that the dinner table at the Heitland household slopes away from Trevor and toward younger brother Drew.

It just seems that way.

Kennedy sophomore center Drew Heitland opened holes for his older, smaller brother, Trevor, that produced a pair of touchdowns and the Cougars whitewashed Jefferson, 32-0, Friday night in a Mississippi Valley Conference football game at Kingston Stadium.

Junior Alex Hillyer also rushed for 109 yards and two touchdowns for Kennedy. The Cougars (3-3) capitalized on three bad Jefferson snaps out of punt formation that produced a touchdown and two safeties. The Cougars also were the beneficiaries of excellent field position. They had first-half touchdown drives of 65, 29, 16 and 25 yards that helped them to a 30-0 lead by halftime.

The loss extended Jefferson's losing streak to 19 games. The J-Hawks (0-6) own the longest current losing skid in Class 4A.

Trevor Heitland showed no ill effects from a broken finger suffered a week ago in the Cougars' 34-13 loss to City High. He carried the ball 14 times for 75 yards and caught four passes for 41 yards. He also ran the Kennedy offense at quarterback out of the Wildcat formation during a second-quarter touchdown drive.

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Thompson, Little Hawks roll over Cougars

Kennedy Coach Tim Lewis said his Cougars played their best football of the season Thursday night against No. 2 Iowa City High.

And then came the second half.

Ronald Thompson ran for four second-half touchdowns to power City High past Kennedy, 34-13, in a Mississippi Valley Conference football game at Kingston Stadium.

The win was the 33rd straight in regular season play for City High (5-0). Kennedy (2-3) had its two-game winning streak stopped.

Despite running only 15 plays in three first-half possessions, Kennedy trailed only 6-0 at halftime. City High sophomore Drew Cornwell kicked field goals of 33 and 26 yards.

"That was as good of football as I've seen our kids play in the first half," Lewis said. "The problem is you play four quarters, not two.

"I don't think (City High) did anything in the second half, adjustment-wise."

City High Coach Dan Sabers said the Little Hawks did not make any adjustments. They just came out and ran the ball hard.

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No spies needed: Heitland is double-threat for Cougars

Kennedy has a big football game with No.2 Iowa City High Thursday night, and for a while Tuesday it looked like somebody was spying on the Cougars during practice.

Coach Tim Lewis has seen him there before, perched on the deck of a condominium that borders the western side of the Kennedy practice field, peering at the Cougars through binoculars.

Lewis was startled the first time he spotted him. Now he laughs about it, because it's just a Kennedy fan with a keen interest in the team. He's not spying, he's just watching.

So no, the Iowa City Little Hawks are not spying on the Cougars. They don't have to, because Lewis is perfectly willing to share part of his game plan with anyone who asks.

There's nothing top-secret about it.

"I like our game plan," he said. "We're going to do what we do, what our kids are comfortable with.

"I thought we ran the ball well on them (the Little Hawks) last year. The key is to keep their offense off the field, so we'll take our time and make sure we don't snap the ball with 20 seconds left on the play clock."

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