On the very first play of their 45-20 win over West High, the City High Little Hawks showed why they are undefeated and No. 1 in the state of Iowa.

City High forced a Trojan fumble on the opening kickoff, spotting the ball 20 yards from the end zone.

Four plays later, senior quarterback A.J. Derby threw a 17-yard touchdown pass to running back Nick Reuter, and City High had a 7-0 lead 1:30 into the game.

In just double that time, City High doubled the score.

After a West High three-and-out, Derby led the Little Hawks on a three-play, 38-yard scoring drive. He capped it off with an 18-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver John Chelf.

Five minutes after City High had taken a two-touchdown lead, the Little Hawks put up their third unanswered touchdown.

City High forced West High to punt with 6:22 remaining in the first quarter. Seven plays later Derby found the end zone again on a 1-yard quarterback sneak.

“We wanted to come out strong against West,” Derby said. “They said that they needed to get out to a good start to win the game, but we came out and put it to them.”

Even though West High was down early, the Trojans wouldn’t lie down for Derby and the Little Hawks.

After taking over following Derby’s 1-yard plunge, Trojan quarterback Charles Rogers led his team down to the City High 44-yard line with just seconds remaining in the first quarter.

Rogers took the snap and ran left, shedding blocks as he reached the sideline and sprinted to the end zone as time ran out.

“They’re a dangerous team, and we knew that they could get away from us,” City High head coach Dan Sabers said. “Rogers is a very good player, and he got away from us. The great thing is, we didn’t give them any more really after that before half.”

The score brought West High within two touchdowns at the end of the first quarter, but that was the closest the Trojans ever got.

With 3:52 remaining in the first half, Derby intercepted Rogers at the City High 25-yard line.

After running back Ellis Jordan provided 25 yards rushing on two plays, and Derby ran once for no gain, Derby found Chelf once more for a 50-yard touchdown pass to put City High up, 28-7.

The score remained that way until halftime. But with City High receiving the second-half kick, the tally soon changed.

Jordan finished off a 70-yard Little Hawk drive with a 43-yard touchdown run 1:30 into the second half.

Another interception thrown by Rogers gave the ball back to City High, and the Little Hawks added a field goal to their lead.

The Trojans mounted a long drive of their own, starting with 9:27 left in the third quarter. An 81-yard drive included a 44-yard run by tailback Anthony Brown and was finished by a 1-yard sneak by Rogers to make the score 38-14.

But City High never let up, and with 5:42 remaining in the fourth quarter, the Little Hawks increased their lead to 45-14. Reuter carried six times on the drive and pounded out two yards for the score.

Two minutes later, each team’s backups entered the game, and West High added a touchdown with slightly more than 20 seconds left in the contest.

Derby finished the game with 122 yards passing and three touchdowns through the air, along with 33 yards rushing and one score from the ground. The Iowa recruit only cared about the final score, though.

“It feels good to score four touchdowns,” the senior said. “But as long as we win, I don’t care how many touchdowns I have. We won, and that’s all that matters.”