Bulldogs look to close out district

It may have been senior night last Friday at Touvelle Stadium, but the sentiments did not last long enough for the Little Hawks of Iowa City High. After the Bettendorf seniors were honored before the game, the Bulldogs went right to business, cruising to a 52-0 victory.

The standouts for the game include quarterback Carter Bell, once again, for his outstanding performance in the passing game. He want 8/10 on passing for 98 yards total along with two touchdowns on the night. Bell is sizing up to be one of the most consistent quarterbacks in the state, sitting third in completion rate for starters in 4A. Bell also sits at 11th for passing TD’s, has yet to throw an interception this season, and has the second best QBR in the state of those who start (fellow Bulldog quarterback Justin Wehr has a better QBR than Bell by just four points). Bell is setting a great standard of play that has become more and more efficient as the season has gone on.

Also standing out from last Friday’s win over City High is senior receiver Ben Wilson with 50 yards and junior Brandon Tillman with a 23-yard touchdown reception. In a change of pace, instead of the receiving yards being spread out evenly among the core, the rushing yards were very diverse last Friday. Six different players for Bettendorf totaled 20 yards or more on the ground and four different players carried the ball into the end zone. This is in contrast to most of Bettendorf’s games this season where Bell along with senior Nijel McIntosh has dominated the rushing yards.

On the other side of the ball, senior Jatten Kuhrt had another impressive night. Kuhrt totaled six tackles along with one tackle for loss. Kuhrt leads the team in total tackles this season with 39.5 as well as tackles for loss with nine. Senior Desani Carter picked up a fumble recovery against the Little Hawks and a pair of interceptions was made by junior Cole Smith and senior Blake Rollinger.

The Dogs now move to 7-1 on the season and are still undefeated in district play moving into the final game of the regular season. Bettendorf will finish the district season this Friday at Brady Street Stadium against the other undefeated team in the district, Davenport Central. Central currently sits at 6-2 and has dominated the district just like Bettendorf has. The two teams have already clinched their playoff berths and are playing this Friday for home field in the first round of the postseason.

Central’s main point of offense this season has come from running back Jatoviay Hill. Of Central's total points this season, 45 percent has come from Hill and 57 percent of Central’s touchdowns have come from Hill as well. The key to winning for the Bulldogs will be to shut down Hill’s run game and force the Blue Devils to look to create offense with other factors.

Friday will be a key game for Bulldogs to prepare for the postseason for multiple reasons. Central is the most talented opponent Bettendorf will play since Pleasant Valley back in mid-September, and this game determines the outright victor of the district, so there is serious pride on the line for this game at Brady Street on Friday. Bettendorf has defeated Davenport Central consistently for over a decade now, but this Blue Devils team could potentially be the best one the Bulldogs have ever seen.