Washington High School - Cedar Rapids, Iowa

Cougars hammer Warriors, 41-28

Kennedy got nailed in its first two football games of the season, but turned the hammer loose Friday night and surprised cross-town rival Washington.

Junior Alex Hillyer ran for 208 yards and three touchdowns and senior Trevor Heitland also scored three touchdowns to lead the Cougars past the Warriors, 41-28, in a Mississippi Valley Conference game at Kingston Stadium.

Kennedy (1-2) came into the game with just 81 rushing yards after losses to Xavier and Linn-Mar. The performances prompted Kennedy Coach Tim Lewis to make a few personnel changes and challenge his team to play a more physical game.

"I try to pick a different theme each week and this week I talked about us being the hammer and not the nail," Lewis said. "We were definitely the nail the last couple of weeks and I think they showed tonight that we can play that hammer type of football."

The Cougars ran the ball 57 times for 307 yards against Washington (2-1). Heitland, who was switched from running back to flanker at the start of the week when Lewis decided to make Hillyer the feature back, still ran 16 times for 74 yards and two touchdowns. He also caught six passes for 100 yards and a touchdown.

"(Coach) got on us, especially the seniors, about keeping our heads up and come out and keep fighting and working hard because this season will turn around," said Heitland, who rushed for more than 900 yards a year ago. "That's what we did. We just kept fighting."

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Tann loves playing both ways for Warriors

David Tann wasn't sure what to expect when he left Fort Dodge St. Edmond High School two years ago and joined the Cedar Rapids Washington football program.

"The jump from 1A to 4A was a pretty big jump," he said Tuesday.

As it turned out, it wasn't too big at all.

Tann established himself as a premier defensive back for the Warriors last season, and this year he's emerged as one of the top ballcarriers in the Metro area as well.

Tann has rushed for 207 yards on 20 carries, a healthy average of 103.5 yards per game and 10.3 per try. He's second in the Metro in rushing behind Xavier tailback Carter Valentine, who's collected 312 yards in two games.

Two things are unusual about Tann's success as a runner. First of all, he's a fullback, not a tailback. And secondly, he didn't play a single down on offense for the Warriors last year. Not a lick.

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Warriors steamroll J-Hawks

The play is 732 trap.

And Washington ran it again and again and again ... and again.

Washington rolled up 277 yards of rushing offense and steamrolled Jefferson, 35-6, in a Mississippi Valley Conference football game played at Kingston Stadium.

Washington senior fullback David Tann ran the ball 12 times for 133 yards and two touchdowns. Juniors Walter Short had 11 carries for 53 yards and a touchdown and Mitch Bredeson rushed 14 times for 77 yards.

"We wanted to keep it balanced and open up the passing attack, but the run was there so we stuck with it," said Tann, who scored on runs of 8 and 10 yards in the third quarter that boosted Washington's lead to 35-0.

But it was in the second quarter when Tann did his most damage, carrying the ball three straight times for runs of 11, 14 and 37 yards to put the ball at the Jefferson 6. Flynn Heald caught the first of his two touchdown passes from Braedon Tovey to make it 14-0 with 9:15 left in the half. Heald caught six passes for 73 yards.

"My linemen were creating big holes and opening it up," Tann said. "It was nice."

Seniors Sean Bredl, Storhm Henry, McCauley Todd and Tyler Burrell, and junior Zac Gillis were paving the way for the Warriors' running attack.

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Heald made the All-Madden Team (no kidding)

Washington receiver Flynn Heald was named to the All-Madden Team this summer, but it wasn't some Xbox competition with his high school buddies.

This was the real deal.

Heald made the prestigious All-Madden Team at the IMG Madden Football Academy in Bradenton, Fla., where 130 of the top high school players in the country gathered in late July to test their skills and learn more about the game.

Twenty-eight players were selected for the All-Madden Team, based on performance, and Heald was one of only three wide receivers named to the squad. The All-Madden Team is named for John Madden, the former NFL head coach and broadcaster.

Chris Weinke, a former Heisman Trophy quarterback at Florida State, is the director of the IMG Madden Football Academy. Former NFL quarterback Vinny Testaverde, former University of Miami quarterback Ken Dorsey and former NFL receiver Mark Carrier were among the instructors.

Heald learned one important lesson in Florida: He has to keep working hard, because at 6-foot and 185 pounds, his size alone is not going to open any doors.

"Out-working someone is the best way to go, because you have to find somebody in front of you and just keep working your way up the ladder," he said Monday after practice. "I think that's kind of my motto and kind of what I live by."

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