West Branch BearsFootball

It was a very special night at the Little Rose Bowl Friday night in downtown West Branch. It was Military Appreciation Night as the community honored our active and former members of all branches of the Armed Forces. During a wonderful pregame ceremony, about 200 American flags surrounded the field, a field in which three paratroopers dove onto: One with the game ball; one with red, white, and blue streams; and one with a large American flag. It was an incredible scene. Between the first and second quarters, all active and retired members of the Military took the field to be recognized by the West Branch and Tipton communities as the West Branch High School Choir sang a special song in tribute.

As the Bears played to honor our Military members, they were also playing for another special occasion: Head coach Butch Pedersen's 300th career win. Standing in the way of that were the Tipton Tigers, who come into the Little Rose Bowl as a Class 2A team with a perfect 3-0 record to start the season. The team, inspired by the pregame festivities and what was on the line for their commander in chief, made sure this one was in the bag early. Scoring early and often, the Bears went home with a 56-13 victory to come out of their non-District schedule at 4-0.

Congratulations to head coach James "Butch" Pedersen for his 300th career victory. He is only the 13th coach in Iowa High School Football history to accomplish this feat and joins an elite group of coaches. He is also only one of a few coaches to accomplish this at just one school.

Check out video highlights of the game.

Check out a video replay of the game.