IOWA CITY - There is something about playing in Iowa City that brings out the best in the Cedar Rapids Washington football team.

Two weeks ago, the Warriors traveled to Iowa City High and took down the Little Hawks, who were ranked No. 2 in state at the time.

On Friday night, Washington was at it again and exploded on No. 9 Iowa City West, winning 66-37 at Trojan Field.

After a disappointing 56-7 loss to Linn-Mar last week, the Warriors bounced back in style against the speedy Trojans.

“You know what? Our kids rebounded really well,” said Washington Coach Tony Lombardi. “When I looked at this spot on our schedule and knew we had those three teams in a row, if we were to win two out of the three I would have been thrilled and we did so.”

Washington (5-3, 2-3) clinched a playoff berth with the victory, and Lombardi was excited to see his team come out and play with a chip on its shoulder.

“I’m very proud of them. Last week we didn’t play very well and Linn-Mar played terrific," he said. "I thought they battled and we did a lot of things today, we made a lot of adjustments and I was really pleased with them.”

The Warriors were dominant on the ground and ran for 368 yards. Senior tailback Will Griffin, who had a few workmanlike outings after coming back from an ankle injury three weeks ago, had a coming-out party Friday. He rushed 15 times for 168 yards and four scores with TD.

“We basically ran what their defense was giving us and that counter was there all night,” said Griffin. “The line did a great job of blocking and making holes for us. It was just a great win for the team.”

The Iowa City West defense gave the Warriors several different looks, but Washington was able to adjust and take advantage of Trojan flaws.

“We tried to just take what their scheme gave us, and then they kept changing their scheme so we had to keep changing what we were doing,” said Lombardi.

“We ran some option early and then they changed, so then we ran some power and counter. Then they were putting a lot of pressure on their linebackers trying to cover our fullbacks, so we snuck them out in the flat a little bit.”

One of the Washington fullbacks who benefitted from these changes was senior David Tann, who had five catches for 72 yards and a touchdown. He also rushed the ball 13 times for 79 yards and two scores.

Tann was playing for more than a victory. On Sunday, his grandfather Jerry Tann unexpectedly passed away. Tann honored his grandfather with a marvelous performance and helped his team clinch a playoff spot.

“This game was huge,” an emotional Tann said.

“It has been a tough week with my grandpa passing away and stuff, so this was the biggest game of my life," he said. "Coming off that City High win and then losing to Linn-Mar, getting a win against a quality team like this is huge.”

Washington came out in the first quarter looking good as its defense smothered West’s potent offensive attack on the opening series. The Warriors took the ball and marched down the field running the option, displaying an offensive set that featured wide receiver Flynn Heald at quarterback. Tann took a pitch from Heald and scampered 2 yards for the
game's first score.

“Our line was great,” said Tann. “Their assignments looked good and they blocked hard and we just kept running it.”

West (6-2, 5-0) answered on its next drive when Charles Rogers sprinted for a 16-yard touchdown to even the game at 7-7, but Washington pulled away from there. The Warriors kept to the ground and scored 24 unanswered points for a 31-7 cushion late in the second quarter.

Even though Washington’s defense gave up 37 points, the Warriors came up with some big stops and forced three turnovers. Warrior cornerback Ryan Cain intercepted Rogers twice and returned one interception for a touchdown.

“Our defense came up big with some huge stops and turnovers as well,” said Lombardi.

In the second half, West was able to get within two scores but the damage was already done. The Warriors kept pounding the ball on the ground and raced their point total to 66 late in the fourth quarter, the most points the Trojans have allowed in a game since 2007.

“They (West) are a good team and they have a lot of talent out there,” said Lombardi. “But we did a nice job tonight I am so proud of these kids.”

Washington finishes the regular season Thursday against Waterloo West at Kingston Stadium. Iowa City West travels to Cedar Falls to face the No. 2 ranked team in the state on Friday for the MVC Valley Division title.

WASHINGTON 66, IOWA CITY WEST 37

Washington    14  17  7   28 - 66
IC West           7   6  11  13 – 37

CRW     ICW
First Downs         18       17
Rushing             52-368   34-189
Passing             6-13-0   14-24-2
Passing Yards       80       209
Fumbles/Lost        0-0      2/1
Penalties           10-70    13-115
Punts               3-27.3   3-29.0


CRW- David Tann 2 run (Michael Daughtery kick)
ICW- Charles Rogers 16 run (Alex Troester kick)
CRW- Will Griffin 53 run (Daughtery kick)
CRW- Tann 33 run (Daughtery kick)
CRW- Daughtery 36 FG
CRW- Ryan Cain 25 interception return (Daughtery kick)
ICW- Jeremy Morgan 43 pass from Rogers (failed 2-point conversion)
ICW- Troester 27 FG
CRW- Tann 13 pass from Braedon Tovey (Daughtery kick)
ICW- Rogers 1 run (two-point conversion)
CRW- Mitchell Bredeson 10 run (Daughtery kick)
CRW- Griffin 17 run (Daughtery kick)
ICW- Morgan 13 pass from Rogers (Troester kick)
ICW- Rogers 5 run (kick failed)
CRW- Griffin 57 run (Daughtery kick)
CRW- Griffin 5 run (Daughtery kick)

Individual Stats

Washington

Rushing- Will Griffin 15-168, Mitchell Bredeson 13-78, David Tann 13-79, Flynn Heald 7-58, Walter Short 2-2, Braedon Tovey 2-minus 17.
Passing- Tovey 6-13-0, 80.
Receiving- Tann 5-72, Heald 1-8.

Iowa City West

Rushing- Charles Rogers 17-128, Richard Bryant 16-57, Anthony Brown 1-4.
Passing- Rogers 14-24-2, 209.
Receiving- Jeremy Morgan 5-102, Dondre Alexander 5-74, Mondo Williams 2-21, Jessie Peterson 2-12.