This Friday, the Little Hawks play the Ottumwa Bulldogs on senior night to finish off their 2025 football season. While the Little Hawks’ season hasn’t gone the way they had hoped, they look to end the season off strong with a victory over Ottumwa and end their playoff chances. During halftime of the game, the Little Hawks are paying tribute to legendary head coach Larry Brown. Brown was the head coach of the team from 1980 to 2000 and won three state championships as part of a dynasty of the 1990s. During those state championship runs, the state of Iowa got to see various historic City High and Ottumwa matchups.
Believe it or not, the first time the Little Hawks and Bulldogs ever played was all the way back in 1905, where the Little Hawks got the win at home 15-6. They played again in 1948, where City got another win, 19-7. Starting in 1969, City and Ottumwa would play each other six consecutive years. Despite the early 70’s not being a successful era for City High football, the Little Hawks won all six of those games against the Bulldogs.
Ottumwa was not only historically dominated by City High in the regular season, but also the postseason. Fast forward to 1993, coach Larry Brown and the Little Hawks entered the playoffs with their first round matchup being against Ottumwa. City High dominated the Bulldogs 35-14 en route to a state championship that postseason, in the Little Hawks first title in over 30 years. The two would play again in the quarterfinals the next year, with Ottumwa only having one loss to their record. The Little Hawks would defeat them yet again, with a 28-13 victory, as the win would help catapult them to a second straight state championship. In 1995, the two teams would play once again in the first round of the playoffs. Ottumwa had an undefeated record, and looked to be the toughest Bulldogs team of the past three seasons. But City High ran away with a 28-7 victory, capturing a third straight playoff win over Ottumwa.
The Little Hawks wouldn’t play Ottumwa again until 2014. Early in the contest, star wide receiver Jason Jones went down with an injury and the offense lost its identity, losing in a 0-34 shutout. It was the first time Ottumwa ever beat City High in football. The next year in 2015, the Little Hawks got their revenge in a 35-17 victory. Jason Jones wasn’t held back by injuries this time around, racking up 8 catches for 163 yards and 2 touchdowns. Jones had a huge season that year, having over 1,100 yards and 10 touchdowns.
The last time the Little Hawks played Ottumwa in football was in 2020, in the first round of an adjusted postseason due to COVID, although wasn’t considered a playoff game until the third round. The Little Hawks destroyed the Bulldogs 41-16 in a beat down at Bates Field. Joe Bacon scored two touchdowns on the ground, while Gable Mitchell caught one through the air. Current defensive coordinator for the Little Hawks Carter Seaton led the team in tackles on the defensive side of the ball.
This season, the Bulldogs are 4-4 and still have hope to make the playoffs, while the Little Hawks look to end their season in this game. Although City High is 1-7, they have had some bright points for the team in Blaine Heick ‘26, who is top five in the state in tackles with 68.5, Chayse Newton ‘27, who leads the team in receiving yards and touchdowns with 618 yards and 5 touchdowns, and Chris Kabaiza has had a couple of good games recently, having a TD-INT ratio of 9-2 in the past two performances. Historically, the Little Hawks have a 13-1 record all time over the Ottumwa Bulldogs, and seek to get win #14 over them this Friday night.
