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Journey to eighth consecutive state football title will be like no other for Dowling Catholic
The Dowling Catholic Maroons have won the last seven IHSAA 4A state football championships. They’re the first team in the state to ever win seven in a row. (Photo: Dowling Catholic High School)

Journey to eighth consecutive state football title will be like no other for Dowling Catholic

DES MOINES, Iowa (BVM) — For the first time in a long time, football starting in the fall is not a guarantee. States have pushed their high school seasons to the spring. College conferences, including Power 5 conferences, have done the same or just postponed their seasons. Even the NFL season is not a guarantee this year as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to take a toll.

Iowa is one of the states that is moving ahead with a modified fall high school football season. The amount of games is still the same, but this year there will be two less regular season games and two more postseason games. There are also added safety and sanitizing procedures similar to what Iowa did for the summer softball and baseball seasons.

“There are still concerns whether we can pull this off or not,” said Tom Wilson, the athletic director and head football coach at Dowling Catholic High School. “It’s going to literally be day by day.”

Wilson and Dowling Catholic know this better than others. They were one of the few schools to cancel their baseball and softball seasons due to a positive COVID-19 test by a baseball player. To make matters worse, the Maroons’ baseball team was in first place and a favorite to win state.

“I think everybody is cautious at this point because with baseball and softball we got the rug swept out from under us and everybody understands that that can happen again,” Wilson said

Another incident like that would be devastating, especially since Dowling Catholic is going for its eighth consecutive state title. The seven in a row that the Maroons already have is a state record.

They, like all the other football teams, have their work cut out for them. 

“We feel like we are in catch-up mode, but I think part of that is we’re just going to be a young team this year,” Wilson said. “We weren’t able to do the things we’re used to doing.”

Even with the differences in how this season is beginning, Dowling Catholic is entering it the same way it always has . It is a new season, a new team and nothing is guaranteed. Just like any other year, the Maroons have a lot of work ahead to get to where they want to go.

“The game is still the game and we’re teaching it very similar to how we have,” Wilson said. 

Similar but with social distancing, disinfecting and even changes to how the team will go to games. They’ll be taking an extra bus so they can socially distance themselves.

“I think it’s an awful lot to manage,” Wilson said. 

However, it is something that everyone involved is happy to do. Players, coaches, parents and fans all want high school football to happen. They are excited for it. There are even people moving to the state to play one last season of football.

Multiple players have moved to the state and legally transferred to an Iowa high school to play football this fall. Most of them are doing it so that they can get senior season film to help with their college recruiting. To do this they have to follow IHSAA guidelines to make sure they are eligible to play.

“That’s where the AD part of it with me comes in,” Wilson said. “We have to make sure that if anybody is looking to do that, it’s done the right way and we’ve received numerous calls. It’ll be interesting.”

The Maroons have had one player from Illinois join their program. Dowling Catholics crosstown rival, Valley High School, has had one player from Colorado and another from California join its team as well.

Getting reps and game film so that they can be recruited is also important to the players from Iowa. With college camps and recruiting trips being canceled, it has been hard for coaches to see high school athletes play.

“I think as a high school coach you have to take a leadership role because these kids still have dreams of what they want to do past high school and it’s part of our job to help them get there,” Wilson said. “We’ve made some adjustments and no question it’s been more difficult but we’ve had some success.”

Their success has been through making films of the players doing different workouts and sending them to different colleges. But the game film this year will be important for both seniors and juniors.

It’s not just about college recruiting. This season is important because these high schoolers have already been through a lot. In the last six months, they have seen seasons end before they even started and their class time cut short. Even the future is still uncertain.

“They’ve gone through things that no generation, since I’ve been around, has had to go through; they’ve had to take their lumps,” Wilson said. “What they’ve had to go through will hopefully end up making them stronger in the long run.”

They have shown a lot of resolve, and if given the chance to play this season, they will make the most of it. The season could end at any time, but as long as it is going on, it will be one for the history books.

“If we can make a great experience for our kids and our community I think that counts for something but it’s not going to be easy to pull off,” Wilson said.

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