“Beyond Print” thoughts from Dispatch/Argus sports writer Steve Tappa
Even before the Illinois High School playoffs ended last weekend, I commented to a few of my fellow staffers that Quad-Cities football was well-represented in Champaign.
“Wrooooo?” you could just hear Scooby-Doo from afar, thinking I was just as stoned as his hippy-buddy Shaggy. After all, no local teams made it downstate this season.
But, you know what? I was dead serious.
Geneseo, Galesburg top first local hoops polls
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By Steve Tappa, stappa@qconline.com
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The Thanksgiving leftovers are hopefully a memory. Ditto for the prep football season.
With Illinois crowning gridiron champions in eight classes during the holiday weekend — and Iowa deciding its winners the weekend before turkey day — it’s finally time to talk hoops.
And, with the high-school basketball seasons hitting full stride this week for boys and girls teams on both sides of the Mississippi River, there’s no better time to unveil the first of this season’s local rankings.
That’s a final
Dakota is headed back to the Class 2A state finals for the second time in three seasons. Dakota remains unbeaten, stopping Orion, 34-7 in the state football semifinals. Great season by the Chargers and there should be more good things to come next season. Orion only loses six seniors from this team.Â
Well ….
As my old coach, former Bettendorf title-winner Merv Habenicht used to say, in starting off his post-game interviews …
Well … I called it. I said it would take three touchdowns to win this game and that’s exactly what top-ranked Bettendorf did … albeit scoring with 12 seconds remaining to claim Iowa’s Class 4A state football title, 21-16 against No. 4 Ankeny.
Great game. Can’t recall a better championship game finish in my life. Bettendorf wins its seventh state title since the Bulldogs first title-game appearance in 1980. It’s a shame somebody had to lose this game, especially after Ankeny nearly drained the entire fourth-quarter with their running game.
Congrats to both teams on a final that will live forever in a lot of people’s memories. Now, does anybody have a tape I could copy? Wow.
By Marc Nesseler, Sports Editor, Dispatch/Argus
A 2nd-half statement: Joliet Catholic 33-7
Did Joliet Catholic just wear down the Rocks? Or did the Hilltopper talent just come to the fore in the second half? The Rocks trailed just 12-7 at halftime, and looked to have some momentum heading into the second half. However, Joliet Catholic just dominated over the final two quarters, and pulled away to a 33-7 victory.
The Rocks just couldn’t generate the offense necessary to put JCA in a hole. By midway through the fourth quarter, the Rocks had just six first downs, and two of those came because of Hilltopper penalties.
Plus, Rock Island just had no answer for JCA runningback Tyler Hudetz. There won’t be any saying “Who Dat?” when it comes to Hudetz. He finished the game with 221 rushing yards on 21 carries. Ironically, Hudetz didn’t score a TD. Instead, Connor Krisch stole all of that glory with three short scoring runs of 6, 1 and 1.
Given the talent level of the Hilltoppers, the Rocks have nothing to be ashamed of. For a first half, it looked like the Rocks could take them. On this night, though, the cream did rise to the top. Joliet Catholic could be on the way to a 13th state title.
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Title game set
Ankeny held on for a 14-7 win, intercepting a late West Des Moines Valley pass. That means the Little Hawks are headed to next Friday’s Iowa Class 4A state final, opposite Bettendorf. The Bulldogs survived a semifinal slugfest with Cedar Falls, 6-3 in overtime. Next weekend’s 7:30 p.m. kickoff should be a dandy. Remember to check with us then for thoughts and moments. And, a reminder: Sports editor Marc Nesseler will be blogging from Saturday night’s Illinois Class 6A quarterfinal between Rock Island and Joliet Catholic.Â
