cbanks1972

🍳 COOK IS READY TO COOK

🐾 THE DOG HOUSE GAME PREVIEW

Central Lee Heads to Albia — Is This the Night the Hawks Get the Monkey Off Their Back?

There are games on a schedule that mean a little more.

Maybe it is history. Maybe it is the style of the opponent. Maybe it is simply one of those programs that has stood in your way enough times that eventually you have to line up, look them in the eye and say:

Enough.

For the Central Lee Hawks, Friday night’s trip to face the Albia Blue Demons feels like one of those games.

Central Lee has weapons. They have experience. They have physicality. And after looking through the numbers, I keep coming back to one thought:

I really think Central Lee gets the monkey off its back against the Blue Demons.

But they’re going to have to earn every bit of it.

🍳 COOK IS READY TO COOK

Let’s start with Brett Cook, because everything Central Lee wants to accomplish offensively can run through No. 2.

Cook has already shown the ability to hurt a defense with both his arm and his legs.

Through the numbers we’re looking at, Cook is 8-of-14 passing for 201 yards and a touchdown, while adding 87 yards and two touchdowns on 18 carries.

That’s 288 yards of total offense and three touchdowns.

That is a quarterback a defense has to account for on every snap.

Load the box to take away the running game? Cook has shown he can throw it over you.

Back off and respect the passing game? Now he can tuck it and become another runner.

Lose contain?

Good luck.

And that’s why I keep saying it:

My money is on Cook to COOK.

But he doesn’t have to do it alone.

🍽️ AND GIVE ME A SIDE OF WEBER

Kellen Weber could become an important part of this matchup.

Sometimes the difference in a physical football game isn’t the superstar making another superstar play. It’s the second or third weapon forcing a defense to defend the entire field.

That’s where Weber and the rest of this Central Lee offense become important.

The Hawks ran the football 41 times for 218 yards, an average of 5.3 yards per carry, in the numbers provided.

Cook had 87.

Johnathan Seyb added 83 yards on 12 carries with a touchdown, including a 47-yard run.

Central Lee doesn’t have to ask Cook to carry the football 30 times.

They have options.

And when you combine those options with Cook’s ability to throw the football, this becomes a difficult offense to defend.

✈️ WILL THE PLANES TAKE OFF?

Here’s one of my biggest questions entering this game:

Will this become ground-and-pound football, or will Central Lee let its pilot put the planes in the air?

Because the Hawks have already shown some serious explosiveness in the passing game.

Cook’s eight completions produced 201 yards.

That’s better than 25 yards per completion.

Evan Fogarty has three receptions for 122 yards and a touchdown, an incredible 40.7 yards per catch, including a 60-yard score.

Carson Morrison has three catches for 59 yards.

Central Lee doesn’t necessarily have to throw it 25 times to beat you.

That’s what makes them dangerous.

They can pound away, make you commit another defender to the box and then—

BOOM.

Play action.

Safety takes one bad step.

Corner gets caught looking into the backfield.

And suddenly Fogarty or another Hawk is running down the field.

The planes don’t have to stay in the air all night.

They just need a runway.

💪 THIS ONE WILL BE WON UP FRONT

Don’t let all the offensive numbers fool you.

I expect this to be a physical football game.

Central Lee’s offensive line deserves some attention here.

Wyatt Day, Brody Ruffcorn, Jack Benner, Lukas Clark, Jaxson Mueller, Johnathan Seyb and the rest of that group are going to have to establish the tone.

This isn’t a game where you want to become cute.

Run the football.

Win first down.

Stay ahead of the chains.

Make Albia’s defense start creeping downhill.

Then unleash Cook.

That’s the chess match.

And defensively, Central Lee has shown some teeth of its own.

🛡️ THE HAWKS HAVE TO COME DOWNHILL

Central Lee’s defensive numbers show 46 total tackles, 40 solo tackles and seven tackles for loss in the statistics provided.

Cook has eight tackles, six solo and two tackles for loss.

Luke Kruse has eight tackles, seven solo and two tackles for loss.

Jack Benner has four tackles with two tackles for loss.

Seyb has five tackles and another tackle for loss.

That’s the part of this matchup I want to watch.

Albia wants to make this a physical football game.

Fine.

Central Lee needs to embrace it.

Don’t wait on the Blue Demons.

Attack them.

Get off blocks. Set the edge. Rally to the football and make Albia earn every yard.

🔵 ALBIA ISN’T GOING AWAY

Don’t mistake my confidence in Central Lee for disrespect toward Albia.

The Blue Demons are going to line up and play football.

Gage Chance has completed 7-of-13 passes for 102 yards, while Isaac Helm has three receptions for 63 yards.

Albia has also shown it will spread the rushing workload around, with Ty Pickerell, Beau Buckingham and Fletcher Mick all getting opportunities.

This looks like a team that will be perfectly comfortable making the game ugly.

That’s why Central Lee can’t become impatient.

If it’s 7-7…

Keep playing.

If it’s 14-7…

Keep playing.

If Albia stuffs a couple of runs…

Keep playing.

This feels like the kind of game where the team that stays disciplined the longest eventually finds the crack.

🔑 DOG HOUSE KEYS TO THE GAME

1. Let Cook be Cook.
Don’t take away what makes him dangerous. Let him use his legs, extend plays and attack when opportunities appear.

2. Feed Seyb and establish the run.
If Central Lee gets five or six yards on first down consistently, the entire playbook opens.

3. Find the explosives.
Fogarty has already demonstrated home-run ability. Make Albia defend every blade of grass.

4. Win the turnover battle.
In a game I expect to be physical and potentially close, one short field could decide it.

5. Don’t flinch.
This may be the most important one. If Central Lee truly wants to get that monkey off its back, there will probably be a moment when Albia punches back.

How the Hawks respond to that moment could determine the game.

🐾 COACH BANKS’ CALL

I’ve been around this game long enough to know that some victories mean more than what gets recorded in the win column.

Sometimes a program needs to beat that team.

The team that’s been hanging around in the back of your mind.

The team that’s gotten you before.

The team that becomes a hurdle.

For Central Lee, I believe Albia represents that kind of opportunity.

And Friday night, I think the Hawks are ready.

I like the way this matchup sets up for Cook. I like Central Lee’s ability to run the football. I like the explosive possibilities in the passing game. And I like the physicality I’m seeing defensively.

Will it be pretty?

I don’t think it needs to be.

This could be ground-and-pound football for stretches.

Then the pilot gets into the cockpit.

The runway opens.

And the planes take off.

🍳 Give me Cook to COOK.

🍽️ Give me a side of Weber.

💪 Give me the Hawks in the trenches.

And give me Central Lee to finally get that monkey off its back against the Albia Blue Demons.

🐾 DOG HOUSE LEAN: CENTRAL LEE

Now go earn it.

#DogHouse #CentralLee #HawksFootball #Albia #BlueDemons #BrettCook #IowaHighSchoolFootball #FridayNightFootball

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Published by cbanks1972

## Charles “Chuck” Banks ### Founder and Voice of Coaching Culture in Athletics Radio Broadcast Network Charles “Chuck” Banks—known to many throughout the tri-state sports community as Coach Banks or “Chuck the Tank”—is the founder and lead broadcaster of the Coaching Culture in Athletics Radio Broadcast Network. Built from more than two decades of coaching, teaching, leadership, and relationship-building, the network is dedicated to telling the stories of the coaches, athletes, schools, and communities that make local sports special. A native of rural Iowa, Banks has spent 20 years in education and more than 25 years coaching football. He earned his bachelor’s degree in History and Secondary Education from Graceland University in 2004 before completing a master’s degree in Secondary Education and Educational Administration and a specialist degree in Educational Leadership. Throughout his coaching career, Banks worked with programs across southeastern Iowa. His stops included Centerville, Central Lee, and Fort Madison, along with seven years coaching girls basketball and additional experience in junior-high track. At Central Lee, Banks served as an assistant defensive coach and activities director before becoming the Hawks’ head football coach from 2020 through 2022. Central Lee reached the playoffs during his final season. He was also part of multiple playoff teams and a district championship during his time with the program. At Centerville, Banks spent nine years as an assistant and helped the Big Reds capture a district championship and earn multiple playoff appearances. Most recently, he coached at Fort Madison under Head Coach Derek Doherty, helping develop younger players within the Bloodhound football program. Banks’ defensive coaching journey evolved from the traditional 5-2 defense to the 3-3-5 before he found his preferred home in the 4-2-5. However, his coaching philosophy has never been limited to schemes, formations, wins, or losses. He believes the greatest responsibility of a coach is to build relationships, develop leaders, create belonging, and prepare young people for life beyond the playing field. That belief became the foundation for Coaching Culture in Athletics. What began as an effort to create meaningful conversations about coaching and leadership grew into a full sports-media and broadcasting network. Coaching Culture in Athletics now serves as the umbrella for Dog Pound Radio, The Coach Show, the Dog House Tour, Dog Pound U, Hound Talk, the Dog House Saturday Morning Blitz, live game broadcasts, team previews, rankings, interviews, historical features, and year-round coverage of local athletics. Through the Dog House Tour, Banks visits practices, meets coaching staffs, interviews athletes, studies programs, and gives local teams the type of detailed coverage normally reserved for much larger schools. The network’s reach extends throughout southeastern Iowa, western Illinois, and northeastern Missouri, connecting communities across the tri-state region. Banks has covered and developed relationships with programs including Fort Madison, Central Lee, Centerville, West Burlington–Notre Dame, Mount Pleasant, Macomb, West Hancock, and Brown County. His work highlights more than star players and final scores. It recognizes assistant coaches, linemen, managers, scout-team players, school traditions, historic stadiums, longtime community supporters, and the people working behind the scenes. The Coach Show allows Banks to sit down with coaches from the high-school and college levels for honest conversations about leadership, program development, adversity, family, faith, and the profession of coaching. His interviews are guided by experience rather than observation alone. He understands the pressure of leading a program, the hours spent preparing, the sacrifices made by coaching families, and the responsibility that comes with mentoring young people. Dog Pound Radio brings a more energetic edge to the network. Inspired by Banks’ love for football and his beagles, Leo and Loki, Dog Pound Radio combines local sports reporting with the unmistakable “Dawg Mentality”—toughness, loyalty, preparation, perseverance, and love for the team. Loki continues to serve as a central part of the brand, while the memory of Leo remains woven into its heart. Banks’ journey has also been shaped by significant personal adversity. After suffering multiple strokes, undergoing heart surgery, and facing additional serious health concerns, he stepped away from coaching and entered what he describes as medical retirement from the sideline. He also speaks openly about depression, adult ADHD, recovery, and the importance of faith, family, purpose, and mental health. Although his health changed the way he could serve, it did not take away his calling. Broadcasting became a new sideline. Through Coaching Culture in Athletics, Banks found another way to teach, coach, encourage, and advocate. His experiences have given his work a deeper sense of urgency: appreciate the people around you, tell their stories while you can, recognize the unseen contributors, and never underestimate the impact a coach can have on a young person’s life. Faith and family remain at the center of Banks’ life. He and his wife, Stephanie, have built a life rooted in southeastern Iowa and are the proud parents of Chelsey, Peyton, and Katarina. Their growing family includes son-in-law Donald Archambault and grandchildren Orion, Owen, and Ollie. Banks often credits his family for standing beside him through the demanding seasons of coaching, education, broadcasting, illness, and recovery. Today, Chuck Banks brings together the perspective of a coach, educator, broadcaster, historian, husband, father, grandfather, and survivor. His voice is passionate, direct, knowledgeable, and deeply connected to the communities he covers. The mission of the Coaching Culture in Athletics Radio Broadcast Network is simple: promote the positive impact of athletics, strengthen coaching culture, celebrate local communities, preserve sports history, and provide athletes and coaches with a platform where their work matters. This is more than a radio network. It is a celebration of coaches, culture, athletes, families, and communities. It is local sports coverage built on relationships. It is where coaches, culture, and communities connect. It is Coaching Culture in Athletics.

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