Cedar Rapids Kennedy had two defensive touchdowns before the popcorn was salted Thursday and ended up with a 42-6 victory over winless Waterloo East at Kingston Stadium.

Kennedy (5-2, 3-1) locked in its spot in the Class 4A playoffs with two weeks still left in the regular season.

"Now it's all about seeding," Kennedy Coach Tim Lewis said. "The chance to play at home. Get the seniors to play at Kingston again. There's still a lot riding on these games."

It is a different feeling than a year ago when the Cougars started 0-5 before winning four straight to make the playoffs.

"It's a relief," senior Jacob Shannon said. "But I know we've got to work for it and practice harder now. We want to go as far as we can."

Kennedy was expected to take care of Waterloo East (0-7, 0-4), but any upset hope the Trojans had fell apart rather quickly.

On the first play from scrimmage, the Trojans fumbled. It was scooped up by Killian Magee. who raced for a 25-yard touchdown 14 seconds into the game.

"I did an end move, got stuck, spun out, and happened to see the ball," Magee said. "My friend started bobbling it, I decided why not take it? I broke a tackle, then had open field from there."

Quickly, the Cougar defense struck again. This time, Shannon picked off a pass by Darren Scott and returned it 29 yards for a touchdown to make it 14-0 just 1 minute, 46 seconds into the game.

The Trojans were without quarterback John Magnuson, who had thrown for more than 1,000 yards coming into Thursday. Scott, a junior receiver, finished 6-for-19 passing for 84 yards with three interceptions trying to fill in.

"They didn't have their quarterback," Lewis said. "Our offense wasn't even on the field and we were up 14-0. Sometimes it's hard to keep your focus."

Kennedy played well enough to add four offensive touchdowns and wind the continuous clock for most of the second half.

Miles Moa had two touchdown runs and finished with 139 yards on 17 carries. Derek Jacobus had touchdown passes to Magee and Drew Heitland and was 6-for-12 passing for 49 yards.

"We came in knowing we wanted to throw the ball a little more," Lewis said. "We installed some stuff during the week and wanted to do that."

The Kennedy defense held East to just 171 total yards and took advantage of five turnovers and a low snap on a punt that resulted in a turnover on downs.

Prince Kollie had a big sack to force a fumble, recovered by Marcuso Foy, right before half. Logan Daughetee intercepted Scott on 3rd-and-goal for the Trojans at the end of the third quarter. And Daughetee got a second interception in the fourth quarter.

The only hiccups for the Kennedy defense was giving up a 45-yard run on a fake punt and an injury to linebacker Triston Christopher. Lewis said it was a low ankle sprain.

"We expected our offense to dominate," Magee said. "Then we got those TDs on defense."

Magee is enjoying his senior season after taking his junior year off to focus on the other football. The all-state soccer player got a pair of touchdowns Thursday - one on offense and one on defense - while continuing to handle the punting and kickoff chores.

"He's an athlete," Lewis said. "He makes everything more fun and never comes off the practice field."

Magee said he enjoyed being a fan, but it was tough watching from the stands last season.

"Every game I went to wrenched in my heart," Magee said. "I told Coach Lewis I wanted to try out again for him. I don't care where I play. I just want to get in there."

Magee also helped the Cougars solve their punting question this season. He rolls out on fourth down and kicks it rugby style, keeping the defense honest with his speed.

"Being a soccer player, I'll stick with my natural soccer skills," Magee said. "It's my first year actually punting."

Kennedy closes the season with a trip to Dubuque Hempstead (3-3, 2-2) next Friday, then hosts Iowa City High (5-1, 4-0) on Oct. 25.

"This year, luckily, we peaked earlier," Magee said. "We'll keep going, and hopefully keep winning."

KENNEDY 42, WATERLOO EAST 6

WE    CRK
First downs             12           16
Rushes-yards        27-87      30-206
Passing yards          84           50
Comp-Att-Int      6-20-3      7-13-0
Fumbles-lost         2-2           1-0
Punts-avg.         2-38.5       1-15.0
Penalties-yards     4-50         3-30

Waterloo East     0   6  0  0  -  6
Kennedy          21  14  7  0  - 42

Scoring plays
CRK - Killian Magee 25 fumble return (Mark Schulz kick).
CRK - Jacob Shannon 29 interception return (Schulz kick).
CRK - Miles Moa 13 run (Schulz kick).
WE - James Carter 1 run (kick blocked).
CRK - Magee 2 pass from Derek Jacobus (Schulz kick).
CRK - Drew Heitland 8 pass from Jacobus (Schulz kick).
CRK - Moa 33 run (Schulz kick).

Individual Statistics

Rushing
Waterloo East - Thomas Hall 1-45, James Carter 22-39, Javon Middleton 2-7, Darren Scott 1-(-2), Aryeh Miller 1-(-2).
Kennedy - Miles Moa 17-139, Logan Wedo 6-51, Marcuso Foy 3-15, Jay Blank 1-3, Sammy Lizarraga 1-0, Jonah Moes 1-0, Derek Jacobus 1-(-2).

Passing
Waterloo East - Darren Scott 6-19-84-3, Thomas Hall 0-1-0-0.
Kennedy - Derek Jacobus 6-12-49-0, Sammy Lizarraga 1-1-1-0.

Receiving
Waterloo East - Javon Middleton 3-39, Timoz Buford 2-42, Aryeh Miller 1-3.
Kennedy - Drew Heitland 2-17, Logan Wedo 1-17, Famiek Cook 1-13, Killian Magee 1-2, Colton Schultz 1-1, Jacob Shannon 1-0.