CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (KCRG) - The Cedar Rapids Washington football team started its season at midnight early Monday morning, holding a late-night practice at Kingston Stadium in what has become a team tradition known as “Midnight Madness.”
Senior running back and linebacker Equon Jackson said the timing sends a message.
“I think just the idea that other teams are sleeping and we’re out here working, you wouldn’t want it any other way,” Jackson said.
Senior wide receiver and defensive back Bonfils “Trey” Iranzi said he couldn’t sleep.
“I’ve been waiting for this day. I didn’t go to sleep today, even though I should have,” said Iranzi. “But I was just too excited to get out here.”
Head coach Eric Addy said he first encountered Midnight Madness as an assistant coach at Des Moines North under head coach Keith Hanks, and planned to bring bring it to his first head coaching job.
“I haven’t met a player - yet - ever since we’ve been doing this, who’s been like ‘uhh I don’t want to do this,’” Addy said. “Like, if you don’t want to do it, it probably says a lot about you, you probably don’t love ball.”
Addy added that the team’s identity is built on effort over flash.
What he called “steak over sizzle.”
“We’re not a lot of flashy guys, we’re just going to out-work people and that’s what this group of seniors especially, right, pride themselves on, so when everybody else is literally sleeping we’re going to be up practicing and working,” Addy said.
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