Metro Sports Report

David Parry enjoys life at No.5 Stanford

Iowa or Stanford.

David Parry had two choices for college football when he was a senior at Linn-Mar High School two years ago.

He could stay close to home and play for the Hawkeyes, or he could move closer to his second home in California and play for Stanford.

Both schools invited him to join their programs as preferred walk-ons, but neither one offered a scholarship.

He picked Stanford.

"I have a bunch of relatives throughout the Bay Area in California. Both of my parents are from out here in Daly City, which is pretty close," Parry said.

"I came out here a lot growing up. In a sense it was almost like coming back home."

Parry, a 6-foot-2, 295-pound defensive tackle, has not regretted his decision for a second.

Stanford (5-0) is ranked No. 5 in the country, he's getting to play as a redshirt freshman and Coach David Shaw gave him a scholarship before the 2011 season began.

Benchwarmers benefit bottom line

Bake sales and car washes once were the staples of high school booster club fundraising efforts. They still may be viable, but more and more schools are banking on Benchwarmers to line the athletic department coffers.

Benchwarmers is a raffle card with prizes awarded based on how many points three National Football League teams score each week. A card costs $25 and is good for the 17-week NFL season. Teams are drawn randomly by a computer.

Typically, the highest three-team point total wins $300 a week, with $125 for 2nd, $75 for 3rd, $50 for 4th and $25 for 5th. The lowest point total each week gets $25. Based on these payouts, schools are awarding $10,200 in prize money during the NFL season.

Jefferson, Kennedy and Washington booster clubs have Benchwarmer programs, and they have been a fundraising godsend. Card buyers may designate a contribution to a specific sport, with $3 of each card going to that sport.

“It’s invaluable for us,’’ Kennedy activities director Aaron Stecker said. “With the booster club and other support, we’re able to provide our sports teams anything in terms of equipment and training aids. It’s an extra opportunity to create a great experience for our kids.’’

Kennedy began participation in the Benchwarmers program in 2007 in conjunction with Dyersville Beckman High School. Beckman and Iowa City Regina both offer larger prize pools, with winners each week getting $500. A year later, Kennedy went off on its own.

Kennedy's 'good run' ends in 4th place

IOWA CITY – The six seniors on the Kennedy boys golf team were hoping to close their stellar high school careers with a state championship but settled for a fourth-place finish Saturday in the Class 4A meet at the Finkbine Golf Course.

“I don’t want to use the word disappointed, because that doesn’t sound right for this group of kids,” said Cougar Coach Mark Wilden.  “Still, I know they would have liked to have done better than fourth.

“But they finished in the top four in the state four years in a row. That’s not bad. They’ve had a good run.”

Their season-long pacesetter, Cody Bell, started the second day of the tournament tied for 11th place after an opening-round 79 but came back Saturday with a 75 to tie for sixth.  He placed fourth in the state last year.

“I drove the ball a lot better today,” Bell said Saturday afternoon following two days of balmy, but windy weather.  “And I hit my irons really well. I just didn’t have a real good feel for the greens. I could have played a lot better.”

In reality, neither he nor his teammates had much of a chance to overcome the contingent from West Des Moines Valley.

Led by medalist Jeff Swegle, a sophomore who shot an even-par shot 144 par over the 36 holes, Valley took the team title with a total score of 607, 17 strokes better than runner-up Waukee.  Dowling Catholic of West Des Moines was one stroke behind at 625 for third, and Kennedy came in at 634.

Linn-Mar, the only other Metro school in the 12-team tournament, finished in next-to-last place with a 660 total, seven strokes in back of Iowa City City High and three better than Bettendorf.

No. 3 Lions demolish Warriors, 56-7

The Linn-Mar Lions have been getting the love in the Associated Press football poll with a No. 3 ranking, but they've been hearing the whispers about the quality of their schedule.

The Lions were undefeated but had played only one team with a winning record heading into Friday night's game against Washington, which was fresh off an upset of then-No. 2 Iowa City High a week earlier.

"We can't control the things we can't control and the schedule is one thing we can't control," Linn-Mar senior Mark Atwater said of the 8-29 mark sported by Linn-Mar's previous foes. "They give us people and we just go play them."

Make that maul them.

Linn-Mar's Andy Henry returned a punt for a touchdown and caught three scoring passes from Atwater and the Lions routed the Warriors, 56-7, in a Mississippi Valley Conference Mississippi Division game at Kingston Stadium.

"This game meant a lot to us, just because there had been some things said about us and whether we had played good teams or not," Linn-Mar Coach Bob Forsyth said.

The win was Linn-Mar's 24th in its last 29 games and ran the Lions' record to 5-0 in the division and 7-0 overall. The Lions, who have outscored their opponents by a combined 312 to 74, clinched at least a tie for the Mississippi Division title. They can claim it outright with a win next Friday night against No. 5 Iowa City High (4-1, 6-1).