What we learned from Iowa City High's 49-28 Little Cy-Hawk game win over Ames

Iowa City High asserted its will on the ground in the second half to outlast Ames for a 42-28 victory in the Little Cy-Hawk game Friday in Ames.

The Little Hawks put four touchdowns on the board, with running backs Miles Parlet and Dominic Salibi doing most of the work to give Iowa City High (1-2) its first victory of the season.

"It all comes down to the O-line," Parlet said. "They do everything for me. I love those guys...I'd do anything for them."

City High keeps the Little Cy-Hawk trophy for the third year in a row and earns a win over their rival for the fourth straight meeting. The teams didn't play each other during the 2020 season.

"I haven't been part of this rivalry for very long, but it's amazing," Parlet said. "It's amazing to be part of such a cool tradition and culture."

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Parlet ran for one touchdown in the first half and Salibi returned an interception for the final touchdown in the game.

Ames fell to 0-3 with the loss. The Little Cyclones travel to Des Moines Roosevelt next week and City High will host rival Iowa City West in the Heroes Game.

Wild first half ends in a 21-21 tie

Ames struck first when it converted a fourth-and-12 play into a touchdown with 7:46 left in the first quarter. Lane Kenny found a wide-open Jamison Poe on a swing pass for a 33-yard touchdown.

The Little Cyclones fell behind 14-7 then tied the score on a 6-yard Poe run in the second quarter. The two Iowa City High touchdowns came on a 1-yard Bobby Bacon touchdown run and a 19-yard scoring scamper by Parlet.

Iowa City High went back in front on quarterback Bacon's second touchdown run, but the Little Cyclones answered back on their very first play of the next drive when Kenny threw a beautiful deep ball over the middle to Jeffrey Roberts for a 68-yard touchdown to even things back up.

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Bobby Bacon sizzles for Iowa City High

With starting Iowa City High quarterback Drew Larson out with an injury, Bobby Bacon filled in for him and performed admirably.

Bacon ran for two touchdowns in the first half and threw for two more over the final two quarters.

"I couldn't have done it without the great QB room I have," Bacon said. "These guys have taught me everything. It's always been trying to get everybody better."

Carsen Newton and Parker Sutherland each had a touchdown reception for the Little Hawks.

Ames must find a way to finish

The story of the game for Ames was its inability to finish.

After playing Iowa City High even for three quarters the Little Cyclones ran out of gas down the stretch. They were outscored 21-0 over the final 12 minutes.

"We had every opportunity to finish and we'd been preaching it all week," Kenny said. "They (Iowa City High) finished. They said they wanted it, and we did not come out and finish. It's who is willing to go all out. We've got to figure it out this week."

Jeffery Roberts emerges as a threat for Ames

Even though they lost, the Little Cyclones can take solace in the fact that they get Roberts for two more years after 2023.

The Ames sophomore was electric on Friday with his big touchdown reception, and he added a 26-yard touchdown catch off a screen in the third quarter for the lone Little Cyclone touchdown of the second half.

"He's a fantastic player," Kenny said. "He was getting his feet last year and he's really come on this year."

Poe also finished the game with two touchdowns as well, both coming in the first quarter.

Joe Randleman covers high school sports for the Ames Tribune. Contact him atjrandleman@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at@JoeRandleman

This article originally appeared on Ames Tribune: Iowa City High keeps Little Cy-Hawk trophy with 49-28 win over Ames