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).

"We changed some things up defensively in the second half, and I put that on me in the first half," said Trojans Coach Kody Asmus. "We went to a 5-3 front, but it was that opening drive that changed the momentum.

"The way Corshundous, Desmond (VanArsdale, 112 yards) and Aaron Taylor (105 yards) ran the ball was big," added Asmus. "Then the defense gets a big turnover on their next series and we just sent them a message that we were going to be physical."

The Trojans held the Hawks to 44 total yards in the second half, allowing one first down.

"They did a nice job with that second-half drive," Hawks Coach Mike Morrissey said. "We had opportunities after that but did not take advantage, and really we just made too many mistakes.

"East is a well-coached team and we just cannot give them and their runners that much space."

Love's 15th carry was his biggest.

The Trojans were clinging to a 22-14 lead when Love bulled his way through the middle on a third-and-3 situation. After the dust had cleared, Love was laying 1 yard beyond the needed distance, sealing the game.

"I was not going to let them stop me," a confident Love said. "I knew I could get it and the line made the hole and I hit it."

The victory puts the Trojans in the driver's seat for a Class 4A playoff berth.

"Maybe four gets you in, but all we are thinking about now is Cedar Rapids Xavier next week," Asmus said.

East plays at Xavier (3-3) next Friday. Prairie hosts Jefferson (0-6).

WATERLOO EAST 22, PRAIRIE 14

Prairie            7   7   0   0   -   14
East              8   0   7   7   -   22

CRP - Cameron Rathje 2 run (Austin Reutzel kick)
East - Corshundous Love 11 run (Aaron Taylor run)
CRP - Jared Edmonds 21 pass from Peyton Wagner (Reutzel kick)
East - Desmond Van Arsdale 1 run (Juan Martinez kick)
East - Love 5 run (Martinez kick)

TEAM STATISTICS

CRP                    East

First downs               12                      22

Rushes-yards          31-131                54-343

Passing yards            65                     22

Comp-Att-Int          4-11-0                  3-9-2

Punts-avg.             3-35.5                 1-41.0

Return yards            52                     41

Fumbles-lost            1-1                      2-0

Penalties-yards        4-40                   5-40

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

Rushing

PRAIRIE - Peyton Wagner 9-42, Brayton Carlson 3-17, Cameron Rathje 13-61, Austin Reutzel 4-8, Zach Witte 2-3.
EAST - Corshundous Love 17-116, Desmond Van Arsdale 21-112, Aaron Taylor 15-105, Carl Clifton 1-10.

Passing

PRAIRIE - Wagner 4-11-1, 56 yards.
EAST - Van Arsdale 3-9-0, 22 yards.

Receiving
PRAIRIE - Austin Dellamuth 1-18, Demetrius Harper 1-17, Edmonds 2-30, Bryce Alberts 1-0.
EAST - Carl Clifton 2-24, Love 1-minus 2.