Metro Sports Report

Bertsch leads Xavier girls past Jeff

Maddie Bertsch scored 12 points, Sarah Dickes added 10 and Xavier's pressure defense helped the Saints beat Jefferson, 53-47, Tuesday night in a Mississippi Valley Conference girls basketball game at Xavier's Ron Thillen Gymnasium.

Leading the Saints to victory was the factor “we pressured the ball well, made steals after our turnovers, and hit some shots,” Coach Tom Lilly said after the contest.  “At halftime we talked about taking care of the basketball and making better choices."

Xavier scored the first five points of the second half after the teams were tied, 22-22, at halftime.

Sweeney confident he'll find new team

Ryan Sweeney is unemployed for the first time since he signed his first pro baseball contract as an 18-year-old kid in 2003.

The Red Sox cut him loose on Nov. 30 after one injury-plagued season in Boston and now he's a free agent, hopeful of finding a new club for 2013.

Several teams have expressed interest in the 6-foot-4, 225-pound outfielder from Cedar Rapids, but right now it's a waiting game to see what develops.

"It's weird being on this side of things now," he said Monday afternoon.

Larry Lawrence: A J-Hawk icon passes

It was the golden era of sports at Cedar Rapids Jefferson and he was its golden boy.

With his boyish good looks and remarkable athletic skills, Larry Lawrence was the pride of the west side. Young athletes idolized him and the multitude of other terrific athletes that competed for the J-Hawks in the 1960s.

In two seasons of football, Lawrence quarterbacked Jefferson to a 17-0-1 record, a mythical state championship in 1965 and back-to-back Mississippi Valley Conference crowns. In his senior season of basketball, Lawrence’s 40-second dribbling exhibition and two free throws in the waning seconds solidified the 1967 state championship in come-from-behind fashion.

Lawrence died last week at the age of 63 in Galveston, Texas, of edema (swelling of the brain). He had a heart transplant in 2004.

Prairie stunned by West Delaware

The Cedar Rapids Prairie wrestling team nearly had a great week.

The Hawks defeated second-ranked Linn-Mar Thursday night in a dual meet, then whipped No. 6 Iowa City West and No. 3 Bettendorf in the quarterfinals and semifinals of the Five Seasons Dual Team Tournament Saturday.

Those big victories over Class 3A opponents set the stage for the championship match, where Prairie blasted to a 36-4 lead over West Delaware in the first eight matches.

The coronation seemed near, but disaster struck.

West Delaware, which is ranked No. 1 in Class 2A, roared back with five straight pins and a decision to stun Prairie 37-36 for the title Saturday afternoon at Kennedy.