Sent weekly directly to your inbox!
Vincenzo Gianforte has not even celebrated his 15th birthday yet. He was playing freshman football for Cedar Rapids Kennedy High School last fall.
“Age is just a number in football,” Gianforte said. “If you’re well-prepared, anybody can play at this high level.”
The Cougars have found their man under center for the next three seasons.
Gianforte completed 11 of 17 throws for 115 yards and a touchdown as Class 5A seventh-ranked Cedar Rapids Kennedy blitzed Bettendorf 34-0 Friday night at TouVelle Stadium.
Little went right for the Bulldogs, who are 0-2 for the second straight season after going 37 years without back-to-back losses to start a year.
Kennedy (2-0) limited Bettendorf to 71 rushing yards on 28 attempts. The Bulldogs threw a pair of interceptions, were penalized eight times for 66 yards and never had the ball inside the Cougar 35-yard line the entire game.
“We’ve got to find a way to get tougher, we’ve got to find a way to get more physical and we’ve got to find a way to get a spark somewhere and find someone who can make a big play when we need one,” Bettendorf coach Aaron Wiley said. “We can’t sugarcoat it; we’ve got a lot of work to do.”
In recent years, Kennedy has been known for its ground-and-pound attack. The Cougars can still do that, but they’ve got a quarterback who can also make plays down the field.
The Cougars converted three third downs on their first possession, including a 14-yard run from Gianforte on third and 11. He capped it with a 5-yard touchdown pass to Jordan Twitty.
“Extremely mature kid for 14 years old,” Kennedy coach Brian White said. “His dad has coached him up throughout his life. He’s cool, calm and collected. He commands the huddle well and understands clock management.
“He’s got some weapons and guys around him, but ultimately the kid under center is the one who has to get it done. There’s a lot of pressure on a young kid, but I’m really happy with his progression and his maturity.”
Kennedy tacked on a 33-yard field from Dylan Augustine to take a 10-0 lead into halftime.
Behind back-to-back 20-yard runs from Trevor Scott on the first series of the third quarter, Kennedy marched 80 yards and extended its cushion to 17-0 on Ryker Stelling’s 3-yard touchdown run.
Gianforte, who spent time working with former NFL receiver Dedric Ward in the offseason, felt Kennedy made significant improvement between its Week 1 win over Iowa City West and Friday.
“My players trust me, the coaches are making the decision, I’m comfortable in the system and linemen are sticking better on blocks,” Gianforte said. “I feel we’re starting to click and we’re going to do something special here.”
Bettendorf, meanwhile, was manhandled up front and failed to get too many explosive plays.
The Bulldogs had only two runs go for 10 yards or more. When Bettendorf would get a significant gain, it followed with a negative play or penalty.
It was not what Wiley anticipated after seeing some positive signs in a 27-14 Week 1 loss at fifth-ranked Urbandale.
“I thought we’d play better,” he said. “We had signs last week of being pretty good. We had chances tonight, but credit to Kennedy. They were better on both sides.
“We weren’t good enough up front on either side and we couldn’t get off the field on defense. We’ve got to find ways to fix this in a hurry.”
Bettendorf travels to Muscatine (0-2) next Friday.
Sent weekly directly to your inbox!
Sports editor, with my emphasis on covering the Mississippi Athletic Conference and Iowa area high schools. I've been in sports journalism for 22 years, the last 10 at the Q-C Times.
Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items.
It may have been an ugly game, but for Davenport West it was a beautiful outcome.
This is how Quad-City Times sports editor Matt Coss voted in this week's Iowa Associated Press high school football poll. The poll is schedule…
Pleasant Valley recovered from a slow offensive start to beat Dubuque Hempstead 42-0 Friday night.
A capsule look at the Quad Cities metro games for Week 3 of the high school football season.
Behind all-state back Nolan DeLong, improved line play and finishing games better, Durant's football team is off to a 2-0 start this fall.
Central DeWitt tailback Ben Pace is this week's Iowa Pacesetter after rushing for a career-high 255 yards last week during a victory against Camanche.
ELDRIDGE — The players and coaches of North Scott’s football team were looking forward to Friday’s kickoff all week.
CAMANCHE, Iowa — Central DeWitt crafted another dominating offensive effort Friday night at Camanche, but the Sabers took home more than a 42-…
Want a score from outside the area? You can find it here.
Get up-to-the-minute news sent straight to your device.