All of the members of the Cedar Rapids Kennedy football team have been named winners of the Metro Spotlight Award for high school boys this week, the Metro Sports Report announced Sunday.

The Cougars performed one of the most memorable rags-to-riches stories in  state history this year by compiling a 13-1 record and reaching the finals of the Class 4A playoffs, just a year after enduring a 3-8 campaign.

Kennedy jumped 10 games in the victory column and reached the 4A finals for the first time in school history. The Cougars bumped off Washington in the quarterfinals, beating the Warriors for the second time this year, and handed Bettendorf its only loss of the season in the semifinals.

Seven Cougars were named to the Iowa Newspaper Association all-state team this season. Shaun Beyer was honored as the captain of the Class 4A team for his exploits on offense, defense and a punter. He was named the all-state captain on Wednesday and accepted a scholarship from the Iowa Hawkeyes on the same day.

Tyler Dralle, Mason Jacobs, Dalles Jacobus and Austin Coates joined Beyer on the Class 4A all-state first team. Jackson Coker and Johnson Mator were named second team all-state.

Dralle broke the Metro rushing record with 2,241 yards this season.

Coach Brian White guided Kennedy to its best season in school history in just his second year as head coach, ably assisted by assistant coaches Kyle Knock, Scott Fredericksen, Dave Ernst, Tyrone Schwieger, Tracy Mehmen and Anthony Crawley.