Metro Sports Report

Drew Wall embraces life on one leg

After shooting his best-ever nine-hole round of 56 in the season-opening all-Metro high school meet two weeks ago, Kennedy golfer Drew Wall was sorry to miss last week's match, if only to support his teammates.

But, as they say, he had a prior engagement.

On Wednesday, the 15-year-old freshman was one of the featured speakers at the 11th Annual Kirk Ferentz Football Kickoff Luncheon in Iowa City. Afterward, few in the crowd of 300 dignitaries were talking about the coach's remarks. Or those of Iowa President Sally Mason. Or Terry Branstad or Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds. Or anybody else, for that matter.

A three-column headline on the front page of the Iowa City Press-Citizen the next day used a quote from UI vice president of medicine Dr. Jean Robillard, who called the young man "a hero, a true winner" for his courage and determination.

"It was pretty cool," Drew said later, equally excited by the laughs he got "from a couple of one-liners I threw out" and the Hawkeye jersey with his name on the back presented by the head coach himself.

It was nothing new for him to tell his life story and, as an unofficial poster boy for the university's Children's Hospital, tell how lives besides his own are being saved there every day.

And that he's now a member of the Kennedy golf team, with his right leg cut off at the knee and walking on what he lovingly calls his "bionic leg."

Cougars hold off Saints at CRANDIC

On a day in which scores were higher than expected, Kennedy was carried by medalist Cody Bell to its fifth straight championship of the CRANDIC boys golf tournament Tuesday at Hunters Ridge Golf Course.

It was an ideal day for golf, or most anything else: Sunny and dry, moderately cool and near windless.

The third-ranked Cougars, state runner-up last year, won with a score of 321, two strokes ahead of a resurgent Xavier group.

Jefferson recorded a solid team effort to finish a surprising third at 329, one shot better than host Linn-Mar in the eight-team field.

The tournament favorite, Bell recorded back-to-back scores of 38 en route to a 4-over 76 to claim individual honors. Xavier senior JP King came in second with a 78, and senior teammate Jason Beer was a stroke back at 79 to tie for third with Jefferson senior Eric Lehmkuhl. Beer led after nine holes with a 37, despite taking a double-bogey 7 on the second hole.

Rounding out the top individual finishes and tied for fifth place with scores of 81 were seniors Tyler Kalina of Kennedy, Tyler McCann and Kyle Hackett of Linn-Mar and juniors Ben Otis of Jefferson and Rob Thiness of Xavier.

Both Bell and his coach Mark Wilden said the immaculately-groomed  Hunters Ridge course seemed to play longer than usual despite the near-perfect conditions.

“If you would have told me this morning that a score of 321 would win this tournament, I would have said you were crazy,” Wilden said.  “Frankly, I’m shocked that we won. But I’m very pleased that we won.”

Morrissey spent night in hospital with McCall

Injured University of Iowa tailback Mika'il McCall had a special friend by his side in his hospital room Saturday night, tending to his spirits and personal needs.

It was Mike Morrissey, his former coach at Thornridge High School in Dolton, Ill., and now the head coach at Cedar Rapids Prairie.

Morrissey, his wife Jessica and Morrissey's brothers sat in the pouring rain at Kinnick Stadium Saturday to watch McCall play his first game for the Hawkeyes in a 34-7 victory over Tennessee Tech. They cheered his accomplishments, then agonized when he broke his right ankle and was lost for the season.

"When he didn't get off the ground, I knew something was wrong," Morrissey said Sunday afternoon. "The way he is, even if he gets hit pretty good, he pops up right away. When he layed back down, we knew immediately something was wrong."

McCall carried the ball 9 times for 61 yards as Iowa's second-string tailback, thrilling Hawkeye fans who were worried about Iowa's depth at tailback. Then he got hurt, and the cheers turned to pain.

Morrissey visited McCall in the training room at Kinnick after the game, then he and his wife rushed back to Cedar Rapids for dry clothes before quickly returning to UI Hospital & Clinics.

Morrissey and his wife stayed in the waiting room while McCall had his ankle surgically repaired, then stayed with him until Jessica returned to Cedar Rapids about 2 a.m.

Mike Morrissey didn't go home.

UNI kicker Sievertsen honored by MVC

Northern Iowa placekicker Tyler Sievertsen was named the Missouri Valley Conference Special Teams Player of the Week Monday.

Sievertsen is a 2009 graduate of Cedar Rapids Kennedy, where he was an all-state kicker for the Cougars.

Sievertsen, a redshirt sophomore, made his debut as UNI's new placekicker Saturday night in a 20-19 loss to Iowa State in Ames. He kicked a 42-yard field goal in the first quarter to give the Panthers a 3-0 lead and booted a 24-yarder in the second period for a 6-0 lead.

Sievertsen also kicked a PAT, giving him seven points in the game.