Senior Jimmy Waters attended Council Bluffs St. Albert through the sixth grade, before transferring across town to Council Bluffs Lewis Central.

St. Albert left Al Leber Field Thursday night wishing the Titan star had stuck around.

Waters passed for 208 yards and two touchdowns, and ran for 46 yards and a score, as Lewis Central opened its season with an entertaining 22-15 non-district football victory over host St. Albert.

Lewis Central, a Class 3-A school, entered the game rated fifth in western Iowa (Class 4-A/3-A) by The World-Herald, while Class 1-A St. Albert carried the No. 1 WI rating in Class 2-A/1-A/A.

"In our team meeting today after school, I made it very clear to everybody that we are going to win this game and we need to win this game," said Waters, a two-time state wrestling champ. "Just for a confidence boost."

The lead changed hands three times in the second half, but Lewis Central took the lead for good early in the fourth quarter, driving 60 yards in 10 plays. Waters had a key 27-yard completion to Dan DeVetter on a third-and-5 play early in the drive, and Waters capped it with a three-yard touchdown dive with 8:14 left in the fourth.

St. Albert squandered a great chance to tie or win the game in the final minute. Cameron Tucker made a spectacular 29-yard catch in traffic on a fourth-and-8 play, giving the Falcons a first down at the Titan 11 with just more than a minute to play. But the Lewis Central defense forced three straight incompletions before Ryan Whittington upended scrambling Falcon quarterback Nolan Batten six yards short of the first down to clinch the win.

"We found a little character, and we found what our guys are made of," Lewis Central coach Larry Sterbick said. "The defense won the game. They kind of got pushed around early and gave up a long drive. We had questions about our defense, and they got answered tonight."

After his team trailed 8-6 at the half, Waters stood tough in the pocket and, as he was getting hit, delivered a 70-yard touchdown strike to Jordan Besco, who adjusted well to the ball. Waters' two-point pass to DeVetter gave Lewis Central a 14-8 lead.

The Falcons answered with a 10-play, 63-yard touchdown drive. Jeremy Schieffer capped it with a 15-yard touchdown burst up the middle, and C.J. Gradoville's kick pushed the Falcons back up 15-14 at the 4:39 mark of the third.

But Waters, who hadn't started a game at quarterback since his freshman year, coolly directed his team to what proved to be the winning score.

"I can't see them not winning the state championship this year, on that level," Waters said of St. Albert. "We're going to be a team like St. Albert, for our level, 3-A, as they are for their 1-A level."

Lewis Central's Riley Landolt recovered a Nolan Batten fumble with 2:04 left in the first half, putting the Titans in business at the Falcon 43. Waters completed three straight passes - two to Besco - to give the Titans a first-and-goal at the St. Albert 6. But three five-yard penalties and a pair of incomplete passes made it third and 16 at the 21.

Waters then rolled out and used his strength to ward off a charging Doug Moran near the sideline. That bought him some extra time, and he found Besco in the back of the end zone. Besco struggled to secure the ball as he was falling, but managed to do so before he fell out of bounds, pulling Lewis Central within 8-6. Waters' two-point run failed, and St. Albert took an 8-6 lead into the intermission.

Lewis Central finished with 280 total yards, getting 72 on the ground. Batten threw for 107 yards for the Falcons and the hosts ran for 124.

Waters still considers several of the St. Albert players friends. Last week, he said, he played the NCAA football video game with St. Albert star linebacker Chad Belt for four hours.

"We just talked about who we thought was better, and of course we were both throwing stuff back at each other," Waters said. "I think we're going to improve tremendously by next week."

CB Lewis Central.........................0 6 8 8-22
CB St. Albert.........................8 0 7 0-15
• SA: Tony Knotek fumble recovery in end zone (Jake Hoffa run)
• LC: Jordan Besco 21 pass from Jimmy Waters (run failed)
• LC: Besco 70 pass from Waters (Dan DeVetter pass from Waters)
• SA: Jeremy Schieffer 15 run (C.J. Gradoville kick)
• LC: Waters 3 run (DeVetter pass from Waters)

~Kevin White~ Omaha World Herald Staff Writer 09.01.06