Conservative Sports

Ryan Stonebraker, Sports Editor

From The Cheap Seats: By Ryan Stonebraker

September 25, 2013

Page 11

Call 563-886-2131 ext. 15 E-mail conservativesports@hotmail.com

Class 1A District 5
North Cedar Tipton Maq. Valley Clayton Ridge Bellevue Alburnett Durant District Overall PF PA 2-0 4-0 155 28 2-0 3-1 147 66 1-0 4-0 108 53 1-1 3-1 142 37 0-1 2-2 75 88 0-2 2-2 95 106 0-2 0-4 39 144

Friday September 20 Tipton 48, Bellevue 3 North Cedar 35, Durant 6 Maquoketa Valley 41, Jesup 6 Clayton Ridge 28, Alburnett 6 Friday September 27 Tipton at Mid-Prairie North Cedar at Bellevue Durant at Clayton Ridge Alburnett at Maquoketa Valley

Compete Or Get Out Of The Way

In thinking about a column this week, I kept coming back to the word compete. It affects most of our lives in some way every day. Though I dont put on a jersey from one of our local schools covered in the newspaper here, there are still competitive aspects of my day and how I live. Personally, I compete with other newspapers in various intensity and scope on a weekly basis. Some are friendly rivalries, some are not. The competition offers opportunity to do what I do better. In a way to quote author Pat Williams, Competition makes you do, what you should be doing, but didnt until the competition forced you to can touch everyone, even me. In a way, to me, it means dont rest on what you have done. Dont rest, period. No, dont work 90+ hours, but come on, you get the point. If you have built something or a team that you are on has built something, dont rest, keep competing and getting better. For me, sure, I would like to have a sports section that takes up 5-6 pages, but, realistically, that is, if ever, a long, long way off. But, I dont roll over, quit or mail it in. I do what I can do with what I have and what our paper so graciously affords the sports department each week. I say this, because despite the Tigers 3-1 start to the season, there are some that think that they have tasted victory for the last time this season after their 48-3 win over Bellevue Friday. They see the weaknesses that the team has and think that they are too much to overcome over the final five games of the season. I concede that there are weaknesses that I dont know how will work out. Before I get any phone calls from players or coaches on this, everyone has a weakness otherwise they would be on a lengthy winning streak like Iowa City Regina is currently on and even then, Regina has some weaknesses too. Where I differ is something that in a way goes back to a philosophy that I have. You are either competing or recreating. Your athletic program is either competeting or just rolling out the balls and playing recreationally. Ill leave the verdict of local teams and where they stack up in that philosophy to you, the reader, but if you are honest with yourself you likely know without too much evaluation. The Tigers can only work with what they have. Sure, if you ask anyone, they would have loved to beat Wilton in the opening week and put a stamp on the season right out of the gate. But, with three straight wins, they didnt rest, they competed. Not only the team, but the coaches as well competed and didnt rest, didnt quit and didnt give up on this group of Tigers. So, I dont have a crystal ball and I really do not have an idea of where the team will finish this year, but I would ask the fans to keep competeting. Dont rest. follow our guys to Wellman this week, North Cedar next week and later to Maquoketa Valley in Delhi. Dont quit. Keep cheering, keep being passionate about the team and at games. Keep getting better. Keep talking with each other, bouncing ideas off of each other at Caseys, Tiffanys Tipton Bakery or the Tipton Family Restaurant. And most of all, stay together. Win or lose, these guys are our boys out there. Statistical Leaders Im not sure how many of you know this, but Tipton senior running back Chandler Harden is putting up some impressive numbers this season. Entering this week, Continued To Page 12.

Tipton-Bellevue Box Score

Score by Quarters Bellevue Tipton 1 2 3 4 Score 0 3 0 0 - 3 28 7 7 6 - 48

Tiptons Josh Smith, center, runs through the Bellevue defense last Friday during the Tigers 48-3 homecoming win. Smith rushed for two second half touchdowns, one each in the third and fourth quarters. Tipton rushed for 283 yards in the game and had 434 yards of total offense. Photo by Darren Miller.

Axberg Return Sets Tone In Tigers 48-3 Win

TIPTON The Tipton Tiger football team won their third straight game after winning a lopsided 48-3 homecoming game with Bellevue. Tipton senior Taylor Axberg set the tone for the night by returning the opening kickoff 85 yards for a touchdown, sending excitement through the full stands at Diedrichsen Stadium. The opening run back opened the flood gates for points to be scored as the Tigers dropped 28 points on Bellevue in the opening quarter. There was nothing new in the beginning. It was just our kids executing what we want to do. We controlled the tempo of the game and our guys worked hard out there. The kids just executed better and that is all there is to it, said Tipton head coach Josh Bahr. Tipton would score touchdowns on each of their three first quarter offensive drives. This, while keeping Bellevue from crossing the 50yard line until the closing minutes of the first quarter. We had a good week of practice and cleaned up what we needed to do. Im happy for them, he said. Tipton used big plays to score their second and third touchdowns. Chandler Harden rushed for a 42-yard touchdown to give Tipton a 14-0 lead with 9:26 left in the quarter and an Alex Wiley 80-yard touchdown pass to Taylor Axberg put the Tigers up 21-0 after their second consecutive one-play drive. Later in the quarter, Harden capped a four-play, 56-yard drive with his second touchdown run from 15-yards out to give Tipton a 28-0 lead. Bellevue took their final possession of the first quarter into Tipton territory, ultimately driving to the Tiger 5-yard line, but, that is where the drive stalled out as the Comets turned the ball over on downs. Tipton answered the long Comet drive with a long drive of their own that scored points and took the air out of Bellevues sails. Tipton took a 35-0 lead with 6:18 left before halftime after capping a 14-play, 95-yard drive with a 9-yard Jordan Challis touchdown run. Bellevue finally got on the scoreboard with 2:58 left before halftime on a 35-yard field goal by Ben Larwre to put the score at halftime 353. Tipton added to their lead with two Josh Smith touchdown runs, one each in the third and fourth quarters to get the score to the final tally of 48-3. Tipton had 434 yards of total offense including 283 yards rushing and 151 yards passing. Chandler Harden led the Tigers rushing attack with 152 yards on 10 carries for a 15.2-yard average. He scored two touchdowns. For the season, he has rushed for 811 yards in four games, a total that leads all of class 1A. He averages 9.7 yards a carry and he has 11 touchdowns. Josh Smith rushed for 58 yards on only five carries to go with two touchdowns. Alex Wiley passed for 151 yards with 1 TD and no interceptions on 7-of-12 pass attempts. Taylor Continued To Page 12.

Scoring Summary: 1st Qtr (11:47) TIP Taylor Axberg 85 yd kickoff return (Askil Haagensen kick) 1st Qtr (11:19) TIP Chandler Harden 42 yd run (Askil Haagensen kick) 1st Qtr (9:26) TIP Taylor Axberg 80 yd pass from Alex Wiley (Askil Haagensen kick) 1st Qtr (5:58) TIP Chandler Harden 15 yd run (Askil Haagensen kick) 2nd Qtr (6:18) TIP Jordan Challis 9 yd run (Askil Haagensen kick) 2nd Qtr (2:58) BEL Benjamin Larwre 35 yd field goal 3rd Qtr (9:54) TIP Josh Smith 8 yd run (Askil Haagensen kick) 4th Qtr (5:53) TIP Josh Smith 39 yd run (Fabrice Peter kick failed) Team Statistics: FIRST DOWNS RUSHES-YARDS PASSING YDS Passes Att-Comp-Int. TOTAL OFFENSE Fumble Returns-Yards Punt Returns-Yards Kickoff Returns-Yards Int. Returns-Yards Punts (Number-Avg) Fumbles-Lost Penalties-Yards Possession Time 3rd-Down Conv. 4th-Down Conv. RZ Scores-Chances Sacks-Yds BEL 10 24-35 144 26-10-0 50-179 0-0 0-0 7-130 0-0 3-37.7 2-2 6-27 29:57 3 of 12 1 of 4 1 of 2 0-0 TIP 16 31-283 151 14-7-0 45-434 0-0 3-46 2-109 0-0 0-0.0 0-0 11-76 18:03 7 of 9 0 of 2 3 of 4 5-30

Tigers Finish 4th at Williamsburg, Score 317 Points

By Jeff McKinney WILLIAMSBURG Perspective and point of view can mean everything. A casual fan might be confused to discover that the Tipton Swim Team was happy with the 317 points they scored in earning a fourth-place finish in the five team Raider Duals held here Monday Sept. 16th. It was great to see them do so well, second-year Head Coach Whitney Gehrs said after the competition, especially compared to last year. Last year was a bit of a struggle for the Tigers. Team numbers were down and it seemed as though half the swimmers were fighting injuries or illness at any given time. The perspective for this years finish is provided by last years meet when the Tigers finished a distant last with 116 team points. The girls are really proud of themselves for the points they scored, and they should be, Gehrs said. And now theyre really excited for the second half of the season, where theyre looking forward to continued time drops and doing well in their remaining dual meets. Leading the way for the Tigers was junior Ellie Siech who claimed the teams lone win with her 28.09 effort in the 50 Free. Siech came back later to take one of her teams third-place finishes with her season-best 1:24.24 in the 100 Breaststroke. Earning the Tigers other two third-place finishes was Rebecca Darling, who has proved to be a valuable addition to the team after taking a year off to study in Europe. Darling started the meet by knocking more than 20 seconds Continued To Page 12.

Individual Statistics: RUSHING: Bellevue: Jace Michels 1130; Tyler Banowetz 1-14; Noah Reed 5-14; Benjamin Larwre 1-2; Deenan Ploessl 6-minus 25. Tipton: Chandler Harden 10-152; Josh Smith 5-58; Alex Wiley 2-23; Jordan Challis 3-18; Clay Keller 3-16; Taylor Axberg 6-9; Sam Northup 1-4; Mitch Penningroth 1-3. PASSING: Bellevue: Deenan Ploessl 1026-0-144. Tipton: Alex Wiley 7-12-0-151; Mitch Penningroth 0-2-0-0. RECEIVING: Bellevue: Benjamin Larwre 4-87; Jacob Schroeder 4-28; Noah Reed 1-17; Alexander Hinke 1-12. Tipton: Chandler Harden 2-29; Josh Smith 2-26; Taylor Axberg 1-80; Mitch Penningroth 1-9; Blake Huston 1-7. Defensive Statistics: INTERCEPTIONS: Bellevue: None. Tipton: None. FUMBLES: Bellevue: Noah Reed 1-1; Alexander Hinke 1-1. Tipton: None. SACKS (UA-A): Bellevue: None. Tipton: Chaz McVay 1-1; Chandler Harden 1-1; Scott Stueland 0-1; Jordan Challis 1-0; Clay Keller 0-1. TACKLES (UA-A-T): Bellevue: Jacob Schroeder 7-1 8; Tyler Peters 3-4 7; Colby Mangler 4-1 5; Tyler Banowetz 3-1 4; Jace Michels 3-0 3; Benjamin Larwre 2-1 3; Aaron Beckley 2-1 3; Alexander Hinke 1-1 2; Michael Gannon 1-1 2; Levi Berthel 1-0 1; Colin Stillmunk 0-1 1; Chase Putman 0-1 1; Noah Reed 0-1 1. Tipton: Chandler Harden 5-1 6; Josh Smith 5-0 5; Clay Keller 3-1 4; Chaz McVay 2-2 4; Calib Ihrig 1-3 4; Jordan Challis 3-0 3; Taylor Axberg 3-0 3; Austin Howe 3-0 3; Mitch Chapman 0-3 3; Caleb Schnekloth 2-0 2; Sam Northup 1-1 2; Scott Stueland 0-2 2; Fabrice Peter 1-0 1; Blake Huston 1-0 1; Mitch Penningroth 1-0 1; Tanner Cook 0-1 1. Player participation: Bellevue: 2-Deenan Ploessl, 3-Jace Michels, 4-Jacob Schroeder, 6-Benjamin Larwre, 9-Chase Putman, 15-Alexander Hinke, 21-Noah Reed, 22-Aaron Beckley, 23-Tyler Banowetz, 50-Michael Gannon, 52-Tyler Peters, 66-Jon Lehman, 66-Levi Berthel, 70-Colin Stillmunk, 72-Colby Mangler. Tipton: 1-Alex Wiley, 6-Askil Haagensen, 13-Chandler Harden, 14-Mitch Penningroth, 16-Fabrice Peter, 17-Blake Huston, 21-Clay Keller, 30-Jordan Challis, 31Taylor Axberg, 33-Josh Smith, 44-Austin Howe, 52-Tanner Cook, 55-Scott Stueland, 60-Calib Ihrig, 72-Mitch Chapman, 74-Chaz McVay, 80-Caleb Schnekloth, 81-Sam Northup.

Ellie Siech goes strong for the wall in the final 10 yards of the 100 Breaststroke at the Raider Duals last week. The Tiger juniors 2:24.24 finish was good for third and complimented her earlier winning effort in the 50 Free. Photo by Jeff McKinney.

Beavers Lead At Halftime, Criuse To 42-28 Win

WEST BRANCH The Wilton Beaver football team led 28-7 at West Branch Friday night before cruising to a 42-28 win on the road to improve to 4-0 overall and 2-0 in district play. The win evened up the Petersen Bowl between the father-son coaching of dad Butch (West Branch) and son Lance (Wilton) with each having three wins against the other. The victory was the second straight by Wilton over West Branch. The Beavers won 35-20 last season at home. The win also gives the Beavers a full game lead over this weeks opponent EddyvilleBlakesburg and Sigourney-Keota whom the Beavers have already defeated this season. A win over the Rockets would clinch a winning regular season for Wilton and go a long way in securing a playoff spot out of district 6. After a slow start to the football game, Wilton scored the games first points when Tyler Hetzler found Koy Snider in the endzone for a 14-yard touchdown pass. The PAT was no good, but Wilton had a 6-0 lead with 5:27 left in the opening quarter. West Branch dented the scoreboard with 8:00 left in the first half on a 2-yard touchdown run by Michael Gould and after a successful PAT, West Branch led 7-6. That score stood until late in the half. A big punt return by Kaleb Schmidt set Wilton up with 1st and 10 at the 18 with 1:06 left in the first half. Snider then took a shovel pass up to the five-yard line on first down. After an incomplete pass and a short Snider run, Hetzler connected with Schmidt on a one-yard touchdown to give Wilton a 14-7 lead with 0:29 left in the half. Wilton wasnt done yet. West Branch took over 1st and 10 at their own 24 and tried to drive down the field for a score. On the third play of the drive, Wiltons Tyler Hetzler intercepted a Lucas Wilton-WB FB To Page 13.

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Wiltons Kaleb Schmidt stops West Branch running back Michael Gould (25) during the Beavers game at West Branch Friday. Photo by Ryan Stonebraker.

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