One Town, Two Rivals: West Des Moines Valley, Dowling Catholic Clash

No. 1 takes on fifth-rated tonight at 7:30 in

Both teams have perfect 2-0 records. in the past, the crosstown rivalry between the Valley Tigers and Dowling Maroons has been decided ine of scrimmage, the Des Moines Register reported.

Last year, two critical fourth-down situations gave Valley the edge, 28-21. The Tigers prevailed again when the two teams met in the state quarterfinals.

But this year, the Register said, the outcome could come down to a battle of quarterbacks.

Dowling’s Ryan Boyle rushed for 355 yards as a freshman last year in a specialized role and completed 71 percent of his passes. Valley’s Tanner Stine played an impressive air game last week in his debut as quarterback, going 9-for-13 for 157 yards.

The Register said the Tigers displayed a better air game than last year when a ground game took them to the state title.