IOWA CITY -- Kennedy faced an array of confusing combinations if it had lost its football game Friday night at Iowa City High.

The Cougars tossed the tiebreakers and loopholes out, and simply won the game.

The Cougars dominated and defeated Iowa City High, 40-14, at Bates Field. Cougar running back Alex Hillyer ran for 217 yards and three scores, as Kennedy assured itself a playoff spot.

The Cougars (4-5, 4-2 MVC) will play at Muscatine (7-2) on Wednesday at 7 p.m. in a Class 4A first round game.

After an 0-5 start to the season, it was hard for Kennedy to have a positive outlook, much less think about the playoffs.

“This season started out as one of the most frustrating years I think I’ve had, we had a bad start and the next thing you know we were 0-5. It was really tough for a while,” said Kennedy Coach Tim Lewis.

But the slump proved to be temporary, because with a little fire and will, the Cougars righted the ship. Now they’re powering into the playoffs.

“Give credit to my kids and my staff for sticking in there and believing, because that got us to where we are at now," Lewis said. "I am really excited with this group right now.”

Due to an overcast and rainy week, Bates Field was caked in mud and the playing conditions were sloppy. The Cougars took full advantage, riding their workhorse Hillyer.

“We knew we were going to have to run the ball a lot because of the field,” said Hillyer. “And that is exactly what we were able to do.”

On the opening kickoff, Kennedy’s Cody Burke recovered a fumble by City High’s returner, giving the Cougars excellent field position at the Little Hawk 31-yard line. From there the Cougars pounded it a few times, and Hillyer dashed up the middle for a 10-yard score with only one minute elapsed from the game.

The Little Hawks (4-5, 3-3) kept the ensuing kickoff safe, but on their first offensive play, running back Amos Lavela coughed it up. Tommy Kaiser recovered for the Cougars, again in Little Hawk territory.

Hillyer and fullback Miles Moa scraped together three good runs to get the Cougars down to 1-yard line, and quarterback Riley Fergus sneaked it in from there. Kennedy was up 13-0 before City High had run two offensive plays.

“It was good to get on top early and get some momentum going and keep it going,” said Hillyer. “We originally wanted the ball first, but that didn’t work out so we made a play and were able to take it in.”

But Hillyer and the Cougars weren’t done with the first quarter quite yet. As the quarter clock expired, Hillyer took a toss from Fergus, cut up in a huge hole, and dashed 79 yards for another touchdown. An Eric Bertroche extra point made it 20-0 for the Cougars.

The Little Hawks had their backs against the wall, and their feet stuck in the mud. But senior wide receiver Tony Perry gave his team a little spark. On the kickoff to start the second quarter, Perry fielded the ball at his own 6 and proceeded to take it 94 yards for a much-needed Little Hawk score.

But that was about all City High got. Their offense was stagnate, and their players were often seen slipping and bobbling the ball. The Little Hawks fumbled eight times, with three leading to Kennedy scores.

The poor field conditions weren’t the only thing stopping the Little Hawk offense however. Kennedy’s defense was stellar, allowing only 33 yards of City high offense the entire game.

“They finally picked up on the fact that their enthusiasm is contagious, and when you play with enthusiasm you play faster,” said Lewis.  “With the conditions the way they were tonight, we were attacking and aggressive. Just a great night for those guys.”

Kennedy switched up their offensive style after City High’s third fumble, and Fergus found Patrick Martin through the air for a 26-yard touchdown. Unlike last week where the Cougars had only one completion, they mixed in a nice complement of passes Friday night. Fergus passed for 77 yards and a touchdown.

In the third quarter, City High put it on the ground again deep in their own territory. Perry ran a reverse to the left and coughed it up right into the hands of Kennedy defender Andrew Johnson, who ran it in from 10 yards out for the touchdown.

Hillyer dashed for another score in the fourth quarter when the Cougars were salting the clock away.

“This means a lot to us,” said Hillyer. “We started out 0-5, and we call this our second season. We are 4-0 right now.”

City High lost its fourth straight. The Little Hawks limp into a Wednesday playoff date at Xavier.

KENNEDY 40, CITY HIGH 14

CRK                       ICH

First Downs                            12                               4
Rushes-Yards                      44-291                       35-12
Passing                                4-7-1                          3-9-0
Passing Yards                        77                               21
Punts                                  3-37                            3-41
Fumbles-Lost                       3-1                              8-4
Penalties                             3-20                            5-25

Kennedy        20       7          7          6     --      40
City High         0       7          7          0      --     14

SCORING PLAYS
CRK - Alex Hillyer 10 run (kick failed)
CRK - Riley Fegus 1 run (Eric Bertroche kick)
CRK - Hillyer 79 run (Bertroche kick)
ICH - Tony Perry 94 kickoff return (Drew Cornwell kick)
CRK - Patrick Martin 26 pass from Fergus (Bertroche kick)
CRK - Andrew Johnson 10 fumble return (Bertroche kick)
ICH - Jake Loehr 2 run (Cornwell kick)
CRK - Hillyer 24 run (Bertroche kick)

INDIVIDUAL STATS

Rushing
CRK: Alex Hillyer 29-217, Miles Moa 10-55, Terrance Hall 3-15, Riley Fergus 2-4
ICH: Jake Loehr 16-2, Bryson Runge 7-7, Xavier Washpun 4-6, Tony Perry 4-1, Amos Lavela 2-4, Sam Dennis 1-7, Kevin Buell 1- -15

Passing
CRK: Riley Fergus 4-7-1 77 yards
ICH: Jake Loehr 3-9-0 21 yards

Receiving
CRK: Patrick Martin 1-26, Alex Boomershine 1-20, Jacob Frazier-Flores 1-19, Terrance Hall 1-12
ICH: Bryson Runge 2-2, Mohamed Rouabhi 1-19