Valley vs. Dowling Rivalry Preview
Since the West Des Moines Valley Tigers and their hated rival the Dowling Catholic Maroons began playing only once annually in the 2016-17 season, Dowling has only been able to pull out one victory in three tries, and they only…
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Continue ReadingSince the West Des Moines Valley Tigers and their hated rival the Dowling Catholic Maroons began playing only once annually in the 2016-17 season, Dowling has only been able to pull out one victory in three tries, and they only won the 2017-18 matchup by one.
Last season, Valley handed Dowling their worst loss of the entire year when Valley seniors Sam Stevens and Evan Obia combined for 32 points and dominated the Maroons 63-36. Valley only allowed more than 10 points in a quarter once in that game, and that was in the fourth quarter when the game was well in hand.
However, despite dropping four of their first six games and losing two of their final three games to finish the regular season 11-10, it was the Maroons who finished the year on a higher note.
Valley finished the regular season 18-4, and after a first round substate bye, faced off against seven win, 14 loss Southeast Polk in what turned out to be one of the finest games of the high school season, as Southeast Polk hit a clutch free throw in triple overtime to hand Valley a heartbreaking loss.
Had Valley won the game, they would have reached the substate final to face off with none other than the Dowling Catholic Maroons who were fresh off an 18-point victory over Des Moines Roosevelt in the substate semi-finals. Instead of a rematch with Valley, the Maroons faced Southeast Polk, and after third quarter where Dowling flipped the game in its favor, scoring 17 and holding Southeast Polk to five, Dowling won the game 44-40 and was headed to the state playoffs.
They would lose in the first round to top seeded Waukee, but the Maroons finished their season on a massive high note, while Valley’s disappointing end to the season was a big blow to the overall success they had enjoyed all year.
What makes things worse for Valley is that their top four scorers and assisters from last year were all seniors and are all gone from this years squad. That being said, they do return a trio of players, Will Berg, Jake Auer, and Drew Jirak, who saw significant playing time last year with Berg being the teams second leading rebounder. This may not be as big a blow as some might think though, as Valley seems to replace a starting lineup full of seniors every year.
Dowling on the other hand has a huge opportunity in 2019-20 to capitalize on the late season success from the year before, grab a playoff spot out of the CIML, and potentially make a state championship run. Unlike Valley, their three leading scorers and rebounders from last season, Matt Stilwill, Ryan Riggs, and Drew Daniel, all return, as well as Andrew Lentsch who saw significant playing time last year. Last year’s leading assist man Jack Keough is the only significant departure for the Maroons from last year’s playoff team.
While the rivalry game has been one sided in Valley’s favor over the past three seasons, this season’s matchup should be much closer. Dowling should be favored in the matchup, and they should be right in the thick of the playoff race come late February, but it shouldn’t be a surprise if Valley’s inexperienced roster pulls it together throughout the season, is right there with Dowling at the end, and steals a playoff spot from their rival the same way Dowling stole Valley’s playoff spot last season.