A Tim Dwight story that I've always remembered....
- Thread starter Kinnick.At.Night
- Start date
That was before my time, honestly, but it wouldn't surprise me. The 90s had some pretty good years, then Kennedy fell off and my class didn't have a winning season from Harding 8th grade football all the way until 5-4 my senior year. After that Kennedy started to get good again and went to the state finals like the next year or a year after or something stupid.
EDIT: Two losses to City High and losses to Linn-Mar and Regis
http://crkennedyfootball.com/1993.html
CSB alert: that's one of my best friends, and my college roommate that comes in at the end to knock down Dwight. Tackling him never really happened, it was more like...just grab ahold of him and go for a ride until you get some help or he falls down.
I remember him at the Drake relays as a freshman, 100 meters final. He crossed the finish in first to salute the crowd as he goes through the tape. I thought who the F is this?
I took my son to his final high school game in the UNIdome. IC was playing one of the Sioux City schools. Sioux city received and marched about 70 yards to score a TD. The first play from scrimmage was a simple toss from the QB (Grabinski?) and Dwight went 70 yards to tie the score. Sioux City was never in the game after that. I also saw him run track at the state meet several years. He was phenomenal.
When Tim went to San Diego my oldest son Zach was 8 years old, and very sick. My wife got the idea that an autograph from Tim would cheer him up. We didn't know how to contact him so my wife called his mother to ask. She was super gracious, and told Tim about us. We were in the kitchen one day when the phone rang. A neighbor kid answered the phone, and someone asked for my son. It was Timmy! He chatted with Zach and the wife for 15 minutes from Charger preseason camp, and promised to send some autographed gear. Zach got through his challenges, and none of us will ever forget his kindness.I had his Dad as my 7th grade football coach at NW Junior High and he taught Social Studies too. He was not a nice fellow. Never played organized football again and always hated Social Studies.
I was at the Tavian vs. Timmy game at City High. Banks took a kick off for a TD...and glided on air. I still remember I was more impressed with Dwight because he was like a violent explosion every time he touched the ball.
I was at the game Bett game at Bates and "gliding on air" perfectly describes how Banks ran with the football, effortless might be another. Best HS game I've attended and not even close...
He didn't win the 100 that year...another kid from City High did...Donnie Stecher.
He did have amazing 4x200 or 4x400 anchor leg comeback at Drake Stadium in some meet
Wrong, clown. The 1993 4A state champion in the 100 meters was Antwun Taylor from Davenport. In 1994 it was Adam Scott from Cedar Rapids Washington. Dwight didn't compete in either event.
approximately yes. I'd have to go back to the roster, but its really staggering compared to 15 years ago or even 10.
My sophomore or junior year of state track(I was a miler and 2 miler at a smaller school so obviously not competing against TD) I was warming up and remember seeing this dude with throngs of people around him. It was Dwight of course. Guys wanted to be like him, girls wanted to get with him. He was like a fuggin rock star.
You have so much wrong in your post it makes me wonder if you can even dress and feed yourself on a daily basis.
Cedar Rapids Washington is really struggling too. It’s too bad.
Kinda strange. They used to have plenty of players and fielded decent to very good teams. I heard something about football getting shutdown at South East for a while in turn decimating the ranks of younger players in the sport.
Does HS football go to a “club” or multi-school team structure eventually or is this just part of ebb and flow of family cycles for the school districts? I know school class sizes are down in general for some 4A schools like Wash.
I thought something was up a few years ago when Coach James left Wash for Linn-Mar. I don’t know the circumstances of his switch, but it seemed strange that he’d do that after coaching football and basketball and teaching at Wash for more than 30 years. The switch to LM certainly had it’s appeal though. They’re a gigantic district now. With cash. And an awesome football stadium. And he’s got an impressive young coaching staff with three former B1G starters on it. It’s probably just a matter of time before the Lions are a force again.
Tim's dad was a great teacher...I don't know anyone who didn't like/respect him in the classroom.
The Des Moines Metro area is growing like crazy and schools like Waukee, Johnston, Ankeny, and of course WDM Dowling and Valley are all benefiting from the growth. Too bad to hear about some of the other districts.
I probably know you, I was on that Jefferson team. CR Jefferson was ranked 3rd and City High was ranked 4th, both teams 6-0 going into the game at Bates Field. City High won 21-14. Jefferson had a very good defense that year. It looked like Dwight and City High were going to run away with the game, jumping out to a 21-0 lead in the first half with Dwight doing Dwight things. Jefferson’s defense in the second half held Dwight to under 20 yards.
Jefferson faced Banks and Bettendorf later on in the semifinals of the playoffs that year. Bettendorf won 14-0 in a cold, muddy game. Jefferson held Bettendorf to only 154 total yards and held Banks to only 53 yards rushing. Jefferson shot themselves in the foot, committing 7 turnovers in the game.
Having played in both those games, I thought Dwight was definitely the better player. From offense to defense to special teams, the guy was a bullet and was going to make an impact somewhere.
Jefferson also played against Dedric Ward and CR Washington that year too. There were some good football players in Eastern Iowa at that time.
Very impressive showing against the premier programs back then, City High and Bettendorf. I like your description, Dwight was like a bullet; Tavian looked like he just glided out there.
Speaking of Dedric Ward, played flag football against him when he was on his uncle's corporate flag football team. Eligibility rules weren't real tight back then and his uncle had him on his team as an 8th - 10th grader. lol He could play!
Banks was kind of snake bitten, To play in HS during the same time as Dwight. Would have been better (for Iowa too) had their careers been staggered. Also to have Sedrick Shaw playing ahead of you. And the senseless and horrendous NFL injury that ended his career.
Drafted in the same draft as Fred Taylor, Tavian Banks was going to be part of Jacksonville's two headed monster of a running attack. BLAZING speed, he ran a 4.28 at his Iowa Pro Day. Elusive, he was a big play back who was to be more the 3rd down back since Fred Taylor struggled in the receiving department, as well as spell Taylor to keep both fresh. Not to mention his KR ability. The guy was flat out electric. He was just starting to get more touches in his second year when Ray Buchanan did this:
Quote
"I definitely remember the play," Banks said. "I caught the ball and juked the linebacker and was going out of bounds. I was out of bounds already when (Buchanan) hit me. It was kind of a late hit."
It was a devastating hit. As Banks lay writhing in pain on the turf, one of the players who came to console him was Dwight, who was a member of the Falcons.
"I tore everything," Banks said. "I tore all three ligaments in the knee. I had a torn hamstring and a stretched nerve. All that with one hit."
Doctors used ligaments from a cadaver to replace the ones that had been destroyed, but the stretched nerve was a bigger problem. It caused Banks to have a drop step. He could lift his foot off the ground, but couldn't drop it back down.
"I walked around in a boot with a cane for nine months," he said. "I finally went to California for shock treatments on the leg and the nerve eventually grew back.
"I still get tingling sensations in the leg. It's still numb sometimes. I could stick a needle in it and it wouldn't hurt."
He never played in another NFL game.
Craig would be up there with him. Saw them both,very comparable.
You'd think someone has to have a videotape of that game buried somewhere. I'd assume someone on the City and Bettendorf staffs recorded it. Was planning to go to that game but couldn't get off work. Was only 19, I regret not saying F it and going anyway. Did get to see both play other teams. I'd say Banks was the better RB but Dwight was the better overall player. Doesn't seem like 27 years has gone by since that but damn, all getting old.
My youngest son's class, who are now currently juniors @ City, I believe were the first class in ICCSD to not have 7th grade football available and that continued for a bit (maybe two or three school years). They have resumed 7th G football now, but taking away the school football program especially for that age group where you really learn the fundamentals of the sport, hurt the program. I think City lists ~35 kids on their current varsity roster, but the talent just isn't there currently. They have a few kids who are pretty talented, but not enough talent and overall depth to compete currently in 4A.
The addition of the 3rd ICCSD HS is having the biggest impact of all because the available talent is now diluted down and depth and talent is a real problem across all of the local high schools. City has been down for awhile, but now West is also struggling. Liberty is a decent 3A level squad currently, but they wouldn't be able to compete consistently against good 4A schools. A lot of parents aren't really keen on having their sons playing the game anyway due to health and injury concerns and I don't see that ever reversing itself either.
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