Metro Sports Report

Linn-Mar quarterback Ryan Schmidt hands off to Perrion Scott during Friday's win over Jefferson. (MSR photo by Ken Gilchrist)

No. 6 Lions roll; Jeff makes playoffs

Sat - 25 Oct Written by Mike Condon

Good football teams get big plays when they need them from their key players.

Linn-Mar is a good football team and its key players on offense have been Trevor Noble and Ryan Schmidt. The senior tandem came to the front when the Lions needed them most in Friday's regular-season finale against Cedar Rapids Jefferson.

Schmidt and Noble hooked up for four touchdown passes as the Lions rallied from a 14-7 deficit to win going away, 42-21, on a foggy Friday night at Linn-Mar Stadium.

The Lions (8-1, 5-0) had already locked up the Class 4A District 5 title after Week 8. Coach Bob Forsyth's team will host a No. 4 seed Davenport Central in a first-round playoff game on Wednesday night.

Jefferson (4-5, 2-3) got into the playoffs as a No. 4 seed. The J-Hawks will be on the road against a No. 1 seed and unbeaten Bettendorf on Wednesday night.

Noble, who caught three TD passes and returned an interception for a score in last week's win at Waterloo West, said the Lions weren't overlooking the J-Hawks.

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Jay Blank (22) breaks away from the defenders to score a touchdown for Kennedy Friday night. (MSR photo by Joe Bishop)

Cougars storm into playoffs at 2-7

Fri - 24 Oct Written by Metro Sports Report

The Kennedy Cougars shook off several layers of frustration Friday night and stormed into the Class 4A playoffs with an impressive 48-28 victory over Waterloo West at Kingston Stadium.

The Cougars will enter the postseason tournament Wednesday night with a lowly 2-7 record, but they managed to claim the No. 3 seed from Class 4A District 5 and will play a No. 2 seed from another district in the opening round on the road.

Kennedy suffered a string of near-misses during the regular season against Iowa City West, Jefferson and Cedar Falls that could have given them a winning record, but they shoved all that disappointment aside Friday night and will get a new chance in the playoffs.

"This win meant lots," said Kennedy quarterback Sammy Lizarraga, who had three touchdown passes Friday. "We have qualified 10 straight times for the playoffs with this win. It continues quite a tradition for us."

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Xavier's Camden Stovie goes into the end zone for a touchdown pursued by Marion's Skyler Cook (16) and DeShaun Quinn (79). (MSR photo by Margaret O'Banion).

Saints knock off proud Indians

Sat - 25 Oct Written by Tom Fruehling

Marion’s hard-luck football season came to a merciful end Friday night with another tough defeat, this time a fiercely fought 37-6 loss to Xavier on the Saints home turf.

But at least Indians senior Dontavious Young closed out his career with a bang.

Down 16-0 at halftime, Marion kicker Carter Stigge opened the second half with a boot that bounced around the near the goal line. Running pell-mell downfield, Young pounced on the loose ball at the 1 yard line.

“Astonished, that’s what I was,” Young said of his fortuitous fumble recovery. “It hit one of their players, and then I think he thought it was going to go out of bounds or in the end zone.

“It was kind of amazing, but it shows you should never give up on a play ‘til the whistle blows.”

The lead was whittled two plays later when Hayden Meister made a sliding catch of a short pass from hard-nosed quarterback Gage Kray.

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Prairie powers its way into playoffs

Fri - 24 Oct Written by Jim Ecker

Cedar Rapids Prairie unveiled a brand-new power running attack Friday night and powered themselves into the Class 4A playoffs with a clutch victory.

The Hawks rolled up 330 yards on the ground and overwhelmed Ottumwa, 48-0, in the final game of the regular season at John Wall Field.

Ottumwa, Prairie and Iowa City High all tied for third place in Class 4A District 6 with 2-3 records, but the tiebreakers gave Ottumwa the No. 3 seed and Prairie the No. 4 seed for the playoffs and eliminated Iowa City High.

The Prairie Hawks will face a No. 1 seed in the opening round of the playoffs Wednesday night on the road.

Prairie normally runs a spread offense that features the run and pass, but quarterback Trey Beckman has been lost for the rest of the season after suffering a concussion and the Hawks needed to try something different.

JoJo Simpson and Ben Boldt, two stalwarts on defense, moved into the offensive backfield Friday along with regular tailback Keagan Pinter and the result was a successful dose of smash-mouth football that rocked Ottumwa on its heels.

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No. 1 Warriors dump Burlington, 63-19

Sat - 25 Oct Written by Metro Sports Report

BURLINGTON - The top-ranked Washington Warriors rolled up 604 yards of total offense Friday night and flattened Burlington, 63-19, to finish the regular season with a 9-0 record.

The Warriors are a No. 1 seed for the playoffs and will host a No. 4 seed in the opening round Wednesday night at Kingston Stadium.

Quarterback Reid Snitker rushed for 149 yards, ran for three touchdowns and passed for two TDs in an impressive all-around performance. Snitker hit 6-of-7 passes for 88 yards and TJ Vogel, his understudy, completed 4-of-6 for 178 yards.

Washington ran for 338 yards and passed for 266 in its biggest output of the season.

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