Short-handed Hawks come up short at WB

WEST BURLINGTON — There were moments that Doug Dodds wished the Central Lee football team could have back in Friday’s 42-22 loss to West Burlington-Notre Dame.
It was the third consecutive defeat for the Hawks (2-3 overall, 0-2 Class 2A District 6), but there were signs that they had taken to heart Dodds’ challenge after last week’s loss to West Liberty to become a more physical team.
“I think we did a great job on offense moving the football tonight,” Dodds said. “Defensively, we made them work, and that's what we had to do. You just can't give up the home runs, and when we were able not to give up the home runs and big plays, I thought we did a great job.”
The stretch that hurt the Hawks the most came at the end of the first half and the beginning of the second half. Central Lee was within 14-8 when WB-ND’s Kellan Porter hit Tatum Warner down the middle of the field for a 34-yard touchdown pass.
That momentum carried into the second half, when a short kick and then an onside kick were recovered by the Falcons and converted into touchdowns.
Sam Dzawo’s 9-yard touchdown run with 9:33 left in the third quarter, followed by Porter’s 3-yard run three minutes later, put WB-ND up 35-8.
“The kickoffs were really costly,” Dodds said. “We needed to be aware on those plays.”
The quick strikes were similar to how the Falcons (4-1, 1-1) started the game. Dzawo had a 32-yard touchdown run on WB-ND’s opening possession for a 7-0 lead, then Jayden Nanthan had a 9-yard run for a 14-0 margin.

But the Hawks got going in the second quarter when quarterback Brett Cook scored the first of his three touchdowns, a 2-yard run with 4:22 left.
“I think it took us just a little bit to get ready to start with the game,” Dodds said. “I think once we finally settled in and realized what we're capable of, we were physical.”
Cook scored twice in the second half, sandwiched around a 3-yard touchdown run by WB-ND’s LJ Harris, for the final margin.
The Hawks were missing four starters, either for injuries or personal reasons, but Dodds liked what he got out of players who hadn’t seen much varsity action this season.
“We had some guys who had to really step in, but they hadn't gotten a lot of time until tonight, and I think that was the other thing,” Dodds said. “Once they kept getting some more experience and getting more comfortable, a lot of good things happened.
“I told the guys I'm proud of everybody who was here tonight. We can't look at them and have any disappointment in the way they played, and most importantly, the way they represented the Central Lee community. There were some situations there during the game when they could have made some poor choices, but they didn’t, and I was proud of them.”
Central Lee plays at Mid-Prairie next Friday.
“A lot of our kids made choices to get better and keep working, and that's going to be important,” Dodds said. “I mean, the gauntlet's still coming with this schedule. It just keeps getting harder. We’ve got to make the choice to keep getting better and improving every day.”