Prairie Football

Prairie thievery stuns No. 2 West, 49-28

IOWA CITY -- When Prairie played Iowa City West earlier this season, Jace Hanna leaned on his crutches and watched from the sideline as the Trojans dismantled his Prairie Hawks.

This time around, there were no crutches, and Prairie did the dismantling.

A rejuvenated Prairie team stunned the second-ranked and mistake-prone Trojans, 49-28, Monday night in a Class 4A second round football playoff game.

Prairie (8-3) advances to play No. 3 Xavier (11-0) in Friday night's quarterfinals at Xavier.

Prairie forced Iowa City West (10-1) into seven turnovers and three led to touchdowns.

Even though Hanna was in Monday's starting lineup, he was still nursing a sprained ankle that he suffered in last week's playoff opener against Dubuque Senior. That proved to be a minor setback, as the senior quarterback threw for 321 yards and four touchdowns against the Trojans.

“I felt good,” said Hanna. “I didn’t practice much this week, but we all came out with a bunch of energy and played really well.”

Hanna and the Prairie Hawks played inspired football, and put on a passing clinic against the usually daunting West defense.

Whenever Prairie was in a bind and needed a big play, Hanna and his talented squad of receivers made it look easy. They would pepper the outside on long, but accurate fade routes, only to come right back to the middle seam. The Trojan secondary had its hands full.

“They ran a lot of cover two, and the middle was wide open a lot of the time,” said Hanna. “I pretty much took what they gave me.”

Two of Hanna’s touchdowns were on long fades deep to the corner, and two were seams up the middle of the field.

Hanna spread the wealth, finding five different receivers. Jarred Edmonds was his favorite target. The senior wideout caught 10 balls for 119 yards and two scores, running his season touchdown total to 16. Demetrius Harper caught four passes for a whopping 128 yards and a score.

“He is such a difference maker and there is a reason why we feel that he is a special player,” said Prairie Coach Mike Morrissey said of Hanna. “When he is on, he is really tough. He manned up, too because he was hurt a little bit, but we are very proud of his performance.”

Along with the aerial onslaught, Prairie quietly but effectively ran the ball with tailback Mitch Christensen. Christensen rushed 31 times for 110 yards and pounded the ball into the end zone three times.

The scrappy back went down to the turf with an injury with a minute left in the first half, only to come back after intermission and contribute to Prairie’s dominance.

“He had a great game, and he gives us great balance,” said Hanna. “He got banged up a little bit, but he is a tough guy and got back in there.”

In the waning moments of the first half, Prairie made the momentous play of the game. With two seconds left, Hanna had Prairie down to the Trojan 18-yard line. He dropped back to pass and found Edmonds streaking to the center of the end zone, perfectly arching the ball over the outstretched hands of two Trojan defenders for a touchdown that put the Prairie Hawks up 28-21 at half.

Then after the break, Prairie came out and slammed the door shut. They scored 21 unanswered points, and blanketed West’s powerful offense.

Prairie picked off Trojan quarterback Nate Boland three times. Along with catching a touchdown pass from Hanna on offense, Kentrel Smith recorded two interceptions on defense. Over the past two playoff games Prairie has intercepted seven passes.

“It is the same thing they have been doing the past two weeks,” said Morrissey. “They have been a gritty and tough group of kids. They are trusting each other more and more and I think that goes a long way.”

Hanna and Prairie didn’t worry much about their underdog status coming into the game.

“We knew that a lot of people were against us, so we had nothing to lose and came out and played like that.”

And Morrissey acknowledged the feat his team pulled off.

“I am so proud of these guys, that is one heck of a football team we just beat.”

Iowa City West beat the Hawks, 58-27, in Week 4 of the season. The Trojans were unbeaten in winning the MVC Mississippi Division and had a conference title showdown looming against Xavier, which won the Valley Division with an unbeaten mark.

Instead, Prairie will play the Saints with a chance to avenge another loss. Xavier beat the Hawks 48-14 in Week 3 at Prairie.


PRAIRIE 49, IOWA CITY WEST 28


CRP          ICW
Rushes-Yards       36-116       35-201
Passing            20-34-0      15-30-3         
Passing Yards       321          195
Punts              4-37.5         0
Fumbles-Lost        1-0          5-4
Penalties           5-45         7-60

Prairie            7       21       14       7    --    49
West               7       14        0       7    --    28

SCORING PLAYS

CRP: Mitchell Christensen 1 run  (Samuel Drysdale kick)
ICW: Ezra Reiners 9 run (Mueng Sunday kick)
CRP: Christensen 1 run (Drysdale kick)
ICW: Nate Boland 1 run (Sunday kick)
CRP: Kentrel Smith 17 pass from Jace Hanna (Drysdale kick)
ICW: Reid Bonner 69 punt return (Sunday kick)
CRP: Jarred Edmonds 18 pass from Hanna (Drysdale kick)
CRP: Christensen 5 run (Drysdale kick)
CRP: Demetrius Harper 24 pass from Hanna (Drysdale kick)
CRP: Edmonds 19 pass from Hanna (Drysdale kick)
ICW: Reiners 1 run (Sunday kick)


INDIVIDUAL STATS

Rushing
CRP: Mitchell Christensen 31-107, Jace Hanna 5-9
ICW: Ezra Reiners 20-130, Nate Boland 10-40, Reid Bonner 2-23, Mueng Sunday 1-11, Micah Kelsay 1-0, Tavian Smith 1- -3.

Passing
CRP: Hanna 20-34-0-321
ICW: Boland 15-30-3-195

Receiving
CRP: Jarred Edmonds 10-115, Demetrius Harper 4-128, Mitchell Dellamuth 2-53, Kentrel Smith 2-24, Mitch Christensen 2-1.
ICW: Ezra Reiners 5-82, Jeremy Morgan 5-51, Dondre Alexander 3-41, Anthony Batie 1-16, Reid Bonner 1-5

Vizzini helps Prairie pick off Rams

DUBUQUE - Jesse Vizzini did not grab any headlines for the Cedar Rapids Prairie football team during the regular season, but he began the playoffs with a bang Wednesday night.

Vizzini returned two interceptions for touchdowns and also grabbed a touchdown pass as Prairie slipped by Dubuque Senior, 30-28, in the opening round of the Class 4A tournament at Chalmers Field at the University of Dubuque.

Jarred Edmonds also scored on a long interception return as the Hawks tallied three times on defense on a warm night in the Key City.

"Our defense was outstanding tonight," Coach Mike Morrissey exclaimed. "They made big plays when we needed them.

"Three touchdowns on defense. That's incredible."

Prairie (7-3) will face No. 2 Iowa City West (10-0) in the second round Monday night in Iowa City.

Vizzini, a 5-foot-9, 155-pound junior, scored two touchdowns during the regular season, one on offense and one on defense. He surpassed that total in one memorable night.

All three of his touchdowns were huge.

Dubuque Senior grabbed an early 7-0 lead, but Vizzini caught a 10-yard touchdown pass from Jace Hanna and the Hawks made it 7-7 with Sam Drysdale's extra point.

Vizzini struck again, this time on defense. He intercepted a pass by Dubuque Senior quarterback Austin Clemens and raced 52 yards for a touchdown and a 13-7 edge.

His third touchdown came late in the game with Prairie nursing a 24-21 lead. He swiped another pass and rambled 44 yards to paydirt, making it 30-21 with 1:07 remaining.

Edmonds gave Prairie a 20-14 lead in the second quarter with a 94-yard return with his interception, racing from one end of the field to the other.

"We've got some playmakers on defense," Vizzini said. "When we get the ball, we try to get into the end zone. It feels good."

Vizzini showed his speed on both interception returns.

"I just read the quarterback and dropped in my zone," he said. "Once I had the ball, the defense made great blocks. I wouldn't have been able to get into the end zone without them."

Edmonds also got key blocks on his touchdown. The Dubuque receiver slipped on the play and Edmonds was there for an easy catch.

"I saw the guy coming across the middle and I saw him fall," he said. "Once I saw him fall I knew I had to go get the ball. When I first picked it, I didn't think I had green."

Edmonds also starred on offense, catching nine passes for 92 yards. He even took a few snaps at quarterback after Hanna (ankle) and No. 2 quarterback Trey Beckman (high hit) were knocked out of the game.

Hanna got hurt when he scrambled for nine yards with 7:56 left in the third quarter. He lost the ball and rolled his ankle. Beckman got hurt about five minutes later when he scrambled for eight yards and got belted.

Edmonds switched from receiver to QB and finished the series after Beckman left the game, but Hanna limped back onto the field on Prairie's next possession and played the rest of the way.

"It felt good to be back out there," Hanna said. "A little pain. I had to fight it off."

Hanna couldn't run with the ball after getting hurt, but he completed some important passes to help the Hawks kill some clock and get the big victory.

"He's the toughest kid, mentally and physically, I've ever been around," Morrissey remarked. "That kid is something else.

"He pretty much told me, 'There's no way you're keeping me off the field.'"

Hanna completed 21 of 35 passes for 173 yards, with one touchdown and two interceptions.

It looked like Prairie was in good shape when Vizzini gave the Hawks a 30-21 lead with just 67 seconds left, but Dubuque Senior (7-3) raced 72 yards and scored on a 4-yard touchdown pass with 29 seconds remaining to make it 30-28 with the PAT.

Caleb Davison recovered the onside kick by the Rams and Hanna twice took a knee to end the game.

Prairie had trouble stopping Dubuque Senior in the first half and the game was tied, 21-21, at intermission. Prairie's defense pitched a shutout in the second half until the Rams scored their late touchdown.

"We just needed to get our stuff together," said Prairie linebacker Cam Rathje, who helped lead the defense. "The DBs played outstanding. We flew to the ball and made team tackles."

Prairie finished with a 2-7 record in 2011, but now the Hawks are headed into the Round of 16 of the Class 4A playoffs.

"It's the greatest feeling in the world," Edmonds said. "(But) it's only the first round. We have to come back tomorrow and get ready for Iowa City West."

Sam Drysdale kicked a 26-yard field goal in the third quarter to break a 21-21 tie and give Prairie a 24-21 lead.

PRAIRIE 30, DUBUQUE SENIOR 28

CRP        DS

First Downs     16         20
Rushing         30-123     44-127
Passing         22-38-2    19-37-3
Passing Yards   185        238
Punts           3-33.7     7-34.6
Fumbles/Lost    4/2        2/0
Penalties       8-65       3-29

PRAIRIE                   14   7   3   6 - 30
DUBUQUE SENIOR    7  14   0   7 - 28

SCORING PLAYS

DS - Alex Duster 2 run (Ben Martin kick)
CRP - Jesse Vizzini 10 pass from Jace Hanna (Sam Drysdale kick)
CRP - Vizzini 52 interception return (Drysdale kick)
DS - Duster 15 pass from Austin Clemens (Martin kick)
CRP - Jarred Edmonds 94 interception return (Drysdale kick)
DS - Brandon Richey 23 pass from Clemens (Martin kick)
CRP - Drysdale 26 FG
CRP - Vizzini 44 interception return (kick failed)
DS - Richey 4 pass from Clemens (Martin kick)

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING
PRAIRIE: Mitch Christensen 16-74, Jace Hanna 7-41, Trey Beckman 1-8,
Jarred Edmonds 2-5, Demetrius Harper 1-1, Jesse Vizzini 1-minus 1, Team
2-minus 5.
DUBUQUE SENIOR: Alex Duster 32-116, Austin Clemens 8-8, Parker Hammel 4-3.

PASSING
PRAIRIE: Jace Hanna 21-36-2, 173 yards; Jarred Edmons 1-2-0, 12 yards;
Trey Beckman 0-1-0, 0 yards.
DUBUQUE SENIOR: Austin Clemens 19-34-3, 238 yards; Team 0-3-0, 0 yards.

RECEIVING
PRAIRIE: Jarred Edmonds 9-92, Jesse Vizzini 4-35, Demetrius Harper 3-22,
Kentrel Smith 3-22, Austin Dellamuth 3-14.
DUBUQUE SENIOR: Cole Wilbricht 7-93, Brandon Richey 5-62, Keegan Gallery
4-40, Alex Duster 3-39, Ethan Lembke 1-12.

Morrissey boys make playoffs a family affair

Mike Morrissey and his two brothers have forced their parents to make a tough decision Wednesday night when the Class 4A playoffs begin.

Mike, the oldest brother, is the head coach at Cedar Rapids Prairie, which opens the playoffs Wednesday against Dubuque Senior at the University of Dubuque field.

Joe Morrissey, the middle boy, is an assistant coach at Davenport Assumption, which hosts Waterloo East Wednesday.

Jim Morrissey, the youngest brother, is a junior at No. 1 seed Pleasant Valley, which hosts Burlington.

Read more...

Hawks overcome sluggish start to whip Wahawks

Wearing shorts on the sidelines in the cold drizzly rain Friday night, Prairie Coach Mike Morrissey watched his resurgent Hawks pour it on in the second half to douse Waterloo West, 31-7.

"I just don’t like wearing long pants,” explained the dripping wet, energetic and personable young coach afterward. “Year-round, I always wear shorts. It’s stupid, I  know.”

In his second year at Prairie, Morrissey beat long odds to take a team that was 2-7 last year into next week’s playoffs with a 6-3  mark.The Hawks are seeded 10th and will play at seventh-seeded Dubuque Senior (7-2) Wednesday night.

To win at home on John Wall Field on senior night, the Hawks  had to regroup from a sluggish 7-0 halftime lead.

“We started out kind of slow,” said huge sophomore offensive right tackle Bryce Meeker, who earlier this week was invited to the U.S. Army’s All-American combine for underclassmen in January. “But once we figured out our blocking, we opened up the holes and our running game got a lot better. We finally made a statement with the run.”

Waterloo West (3-6) outplayed Prairie in the first half with 183 yards rushing on several long runs.

But the visitors kept shooting themselves in the foot. Their first half was marred by bad snaps on a field goal attempt and an attempted punt, two fumbles on one play with one of them lost, seven  plays for minus yardage and a pair of costly penalties.

West moved the ball to the Prairie 25 early in the second quarter. Two holding penalties and a sack by relentless Hawk linebacker Cam Rathje pushed them back to the 40.

On fourth down punter Skyler Capelle tried to run after fielding a high snap and ended up losing another five yards.

Prairie marched right down the field for the only score of the half on a 3-yard burst by Mitch Christensen.

West’s woes continued in the second half.

Trailing 10-0 after a Sam Drysdale 23-yard field goal, West benefitted from a roughing the kicker penalty on a punt to get to Prairie’s 20 with inches to go for a first down. Two more penalties and a 16-yard  loss after yet another bad snap gave the ball back to Prairie.

Once again, the Hawks struck right back with a 5-yard score by Trevor Northrup. The freshmen running back, hurt earlier in the season, played the whole second half after Christensen suffered a bruised thigh.

“We definitely took advantage of our opportunities on their mistakes,” said Rathje, whose 31-yard return of an interception led to the Hawks’ next touchdown. He picked off the ball at the 32 and was knocked out of  bounds one yard short of the goal.

"I read the screen,” said Rathje, “and just stepped in front of the receiver. I got knocked out diving for the pylon.”

Quarterback Jace Hanna scored a play later, however, and Jarred  Edmonds intercepted another pass on the next West possession and took it back 71 yards to the 4-yard line.

Hanna’s short pass to pass to Caleb Davison closed out the scoring. Although West scored once in the fourth quarter, it was held to just 22 yards rushing in the second half.

"I thought that defensively we played a very, very solid game,” said Morrissey. “They got some big plays in the first half, but our kids buckled down and held them."

After a first half of only 36 passing yards, Hanna picked up the pace after the intermission. Morrissey said that helped.

“We threw the ball more effectively, and that kind of spaced them out on defense. And our run game started to click a little better.”

West also qualified for the playoffs and will play at Iowa City West on Wednesday.

PRAIRIE 31,  WATERLOO WEST 7

WW            CRP
First downs                 8               20
Rushing                  38-205       48-227
Passing                   5-15-2       13-28-0
Passing  yards           69             120
Punts                      3-34.1      4-31.2
Fumbles/lost             5/1             1/1
Penalties                  5-45           7-70

Waterloo West    0   0   0   7 –   7
Prairie                  0   7 10 14 –  31

SCORING PLAYS

CRP – Mitch Christensen 3 run (Sam Drysdale kick)
CRP – FG Drysdale 23
CRP – Trevor Northrip 5 run (Drysdale kick)
WW-- Michael Price  37 pass from Alexander Young (Skyler Capelle kick)
CRP – Jace Hanna 1 run  (Drysdale kick)
CRP – Caleb Davison 3 pass from Hanna (Drusdale kick)

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING: Waterloo West  – Dequayvious Martin 15-115, Lance Dunn 7-68, Alexander Young 12-20, Lajashiene Williams 2-13. Prairie – Mitch Christensen 14-63, Demetrius Harper 4-12, Trevor Northrup 11-60, Jarred Edmonds 1-3, Jace Hanna 9-46, Trey Beckman 3-21, Briar VanDraska 5-23.

PASSING: Waterloo West  – Young 5-15-2-69. Prairie  – Hanna 13-28-0-120.

RECEIVING: Waterloo West – Michael Price 2-44, Ross Jensen 2-18, Martin 1-7. Prairie – Harper 6-68, Mitch Dellamuth 1-17, Kentrel Smith 1-7, Christensen 1-15, Edmonds 2-7, Caleb Davison 1-4, Tristan Beyer 1-8.

Sophomore game -- Prairie 40, Waterloo West 21