Wed - 01 Feb
Written by Jim Ecker
They battled back from broken bones to post stunning road victories over Iowa City High and Linn-Mar this season.
Now eight members of that talented and determined senior class at Cedar Rapids Washington will get a chance to play college football next season, and there could be a ninth or 10th player on a college team before it's over.
Seven of them sat on a long dais in the Washington cafeteria Wednesday afternoon, their parents at their side, to sign letters-of-intent and receive a final round of applause from their friends, teachers and fans.
In alphabetical order they are Sean Bredl, Ryan Cain, Will Griffin, Flynn Heald, Paul Nash, Michael Peterson, David Tann and McCauley Todd. Heald sat in the audience, rather than at the main table, because there's been a slight delay in his paperwork, but he plans to sign with William & Mary this week.
Braedon Tovey could become the ninth Warrior from this year's club to play in college with Central College and Simpson in the picture. Tyler Burrell and Stohrm Henry could make it 10 or 11 Warriors from this senior class on a college football team next season, but they apparently will skip sports in college and concentrate on their studies.
"This has been, by far, the deepest team I've had here," said Washington Coach Tony Lombardi. "It was a wonderful team, a wonderful ensemble."
Three of the Warriors will be playing their college football in Iowa. Tann is joining the Iowa Hawkeyes as a preferred walk-on, Peterson is headed to Drake and Nash is going to Iowa Western Community College.
Three of them are heading west with Todd going to Montana, Cain to North Dakota and Bredl to South Dakota. Griffin will be joining Winona State in Minnesota and Heald is headed to school in Virginia.
It's rare for any high school to send eight players to college programs in one year, but these guys love the game and enjoyed playing for Lombardi and the Warriors.
"One big thing we have is heart. We were determined," said Griffin, who gave the Warriors a boost at tailback during the second part of the season after missing five games with a serious ankle injury.
Nash returned to the offensive line during the latter part of the year after breaking his leg. Cain missed games at the start of the season with a broken collarbone. Peterson missed his junior campaign with a broken foot. Most of the others had assorted aches and pains as well.
"They've been through a lot of bumps in the road," said Lombardi.
They came back and stunned Iowa City High on the road. Then they stunned Linn-Mar in the Class 4A playoffs, also on the road. Both of those clubs were ranked No. 2 in the state at the time, and the Warriors won both games in the final seconds with dramatic plays.
"Paul had to have a big enough heart to come back from a broken leg," said Griffin. "McCauley had to have a big enough heart after people said 'no' to him and said he wasn't good enough. And I know David is going to take that walk-on at Iowa and give it everything he's got to get on the field."
Lombardi could put an entire 11-man unit on the field if Tovey, Burrell and Henry join the group in college. He'd have a quarterback, running backs, receivers and offensive linemen.
The Warriors posted an 8-4 record and reached the quarterfinals of the state tournament, where a pair of turnovers against Cedar Falls in the fourth quarter ended their season. Lombardi thinks they could have given Bettendorf a good game in the semifinals, but they never got that chance.
It's not over yet, however. College football is next for a group of guys who overcame injuries and beat the odds.
"I think their best days of football are ahead of them," said Lombardi.
