Prairie Football

Harper return a good one for Prairie

Prairie junior Demetrius Harper, playing his first game after breaking his collarbone Sept. 2, returned a kickoff 88 yards for a touchdown with less than two minutes left in a tie game and lifted the Hawks past Dubuque Hempstead, 35-28, Friday night in a Mississippi Valley Conference football game at John Wall Field.

“We just got him (Harper) back this week from a collarbone injury, he has been itching all week to get out there,” Prairie Coach Mike Morrissey said. “He took advantage of what his 10 teammates on the field did. They really set him up well.”

Prairie (2-4, 2-6) posted its second win in as many weeks and all but ended Hempstead's playoff hopes. The Hawks still entertain an outside chance of making the playoffs, but need to beat No. 3 Iowa City High in their finale next Friday at Iowa City.

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Hanna suffered mild concussion, should be OK

Prairie quarterback Jace Hanna suffered a "mild concussion" during Friday night's football game against Jefferson and probably will not play against Dubuque Hempstead this week.

Hanna was treated and released at Mercy Medical Center Friday night.

"He's going to be OK, I think," Prairie Coach Mike Morrissey said Saturday. "Everything came out well as far as the CAT scan."

Hanna was hurt with six minutes left in the game after throwing an interception.

"He ended up getting hit from behind. He got his bell rung," Morrissey said.

Morrissey thought it might have been a helmet-to-helmet collision with a Jefferson defender.

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Prairie wins Consolation Bowl with Jefferson

Mike Morrissey got drenched with a bucket of water in honor of his first victory at Cedar Rapids Prairie Friday night.

It happened in the final seconds of a 29-17 triumph over Cedar Rapids Jefferson on homecoming at John Wall Field.

"That was a lot of fun," Morrissey said after the impromptu bath, which took him by surprise.

The celebration was dampened, however, by the sight of Prairie quarterback Jace Hanna being loaded into an ambulance and taken to Mercy Hospital with an apparent back injury in the fourth quarter.

"It would be nice to have him here celebrating with us. He's earned it," Morrissey said. "He's been a tough, tough kid all season long, with some of the beatings he's taken at times.

"He's a great young man and we'll make sure we get to see him here tonight."

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Waterloo East rallies past Prairie, 22-14

WATERLOO - After struggling offensively in the first half of their Mississippi Valley Conference tilt with Cedar Rapids Prairie Friday night, host Waterloo East decided to show its guest a little Love.

Actually, the Trojans gave the Hawks plenty of Love.

Senior halfback Corshundous Love ran wild in the second half, leading the Trojans to their first four-win season in more than a decade with a come-from-behind, 22-14 victory.

"I wasn't gonna hold back tonight," Love said of his team-leading 117 yards. "Sometimes I really don't show up, but tonight I showed up. I wasn't holding nothing back."

Love had key carries throughout the second half to keep drives alive, including two first-down runs rolled up in a 9-minute, 70-yard drive to start the second half.

After trailing 14-8 at intermission, the Trojans (4-2) used a hard-nosed running attack that produced 343 net yards to wear down the Hawks (0-6).

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