The Jefferson J-Hawks sent a clear message to all the wrestling coaches in Iowa who pooped all over them in the latest IWCOA rankings.

You guys were dead wrong.

The angry J-Hawks captured nine of 14 bouts Thursday night and defeated Kennedy, 39-21, in a dramatic Mississippi Valley Conference showdown at the Jefferson gym.

The coaches who vote in the IWCOA rankings dropped Jefferson from No. 5 to No. 9 in the poll that was used by the IHSAA to determine the assignments for the regional dual meet tournaments next Wednesday. At the same time, the coaches lifted Kennedy from No. 9 to No. 7 and effectively gave the Cougars a nice assignment at home in the regional tournament while shipping Jefferson to Johnston.

The top eight teams in the IWCOA rankings get to host the regionals and everyone else has to travel. Jefferson drew a tough assignment in the regional at Johnston that features the fifth-ranked Johnston Dragons and Dowling Catholic.

It's too late to change the regional assignments now, but the J-Hawks made a statement Thursday night.

"It feels good," Jefferson senior Kyle Briggs said. "I think it will send a message around the state that they didn't make the right decision rankings-wise.

"There was definitely a little fire on our side," he said. "We're not happy about that at all. We think they (the Cougars) got a little nicer ranking than us, but that just gives us even more reason to come out here and do as good as we can."

Kennedy had a slightly better dual meet record than Jefferson when the pivotal IWCOA rankings were released Jan. 21, but the J-Hawks had faced a tougher schedule at the time. Jefferson finished way ahead of Kennedy in their only meeting at the Keith Young Invitational and the J-Hawks feel the coaches did not dig deep enough and do their homework when they voted.

Jefferson senior Nick Dreckman said there wasn't much talk about the situation in the wrestling room in the days prior to Thursday's meet, but all the J-Hawks knew the score.

"We just knew if we could beat them we'd send a message to the state," Dreckman remarked. "We always get messed over at the end of the season. It's happened for the last few years. We're used to it now.

"I'm just glad we could send a message to the state that they were wrong."

The J-Hawks do not blame the Cougars for what happened in the rankings. In fact, there were several displays of good sportsmanship Thursday night during a series of tightly contested matches.

"It's absolutely not Kennedy's fault," declared Jefferson coach Dick Briggs. "Kennedy didn't have anything to do with it. It was the coaches' vote and the Association's decision."

The J-Hawks had something to prove Thursday. They will again next Wednesday at Johnston.

"I hope so," coach Briggs said. "I hope we have a chip on our shoulder. We'll see."

Jefferson will face No. 24 Dowling Catholic in the regional semifinals next Wednesday, with the winner meeting Johnston for the regional title and a berth in the state dual meet tournament.

"We feel confident," said Dreckman. "We beat Johnston in the past. We just have to go and get business done."

If you thought the Iowa caucus results between Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders were tight Monday night, you should have been at the Jefferson gym for this battle of cross-town rivals. The J-Hawks won three matches in overtime and captured another 4-3.

If those four bouts had gone the other way, the Cougars would have left J-Hawk country with a victory.

Briggs nipped Logen Rodriguez, 10-8, in overtime at 152 pounds. Matt Culver trimmed Garrett Kubovec, 6-4, in overtime at 170 pounds. David Bonner edged Matt Murphy, 2-1, in overtime at 285 pounds. And Coltin Endsley edged Kale Crawford, 4-3, at 145 pounds.

Jefferson got big pins from Taylor Viktora (182), Joseph Sibomana (113) and Colten Mastin (120) for extra points. Dreckman collected a technical fall at 195 pounds and Zach Main posted a major decision at 132.

"It was a great total team effort, I thought," coach Briggs said. "I was real proud of them.

"It's always motivation to wrestle a cross-town rival that's pretty good. And Kennedy is pretty darn good."

Kennedy got pins from Dalles Jacobus (220) and Eli Benion (106). Nolan Hromidko (126), Dylan Ironside (138) and Ben Sarasin 9160) won decisions for the Cougars.

Ironically, the new rankings by The Predicament wrestling magazine were released Thursday. Those rankings had Jefferson in the No. 7 spot and Kennedy in the No. 9 spot, just the opposite of the IWCOA rankings that were used to determine the regional dual meet pairings.

Jefferson and Kennedy both stomped Dubuque Senior in the double-dual Thursday night.

JEFFERSON 39, KENNEDY 21
126 - Nolan Hromidko (K) dec. Brenden Baker, 4-2
132 - Zach Main (J) major dec. Austin McLeod, 14-1
138 - Dylan Ironside (K) dec. Dalton Mastin, 11-6
145 - Coltin Endsley (J) dec. Kale Crawford, 4-3
152 - Kyle Briggs (J) def. Logen Rodriguez, 10-8 (OT)
160 - Ben Sarasin (K) dec. Tavian Rashed, 11-6
170 - Matt Culver (J) dec. Garrett Kubovec, 6-4 (OT)
182 - Taylor Viktora (J) pinned Todd Gusta, 4:56
195 - Nick Dreckman (J) tech fall Sam pape, 15-0 (5:50)
220 - Dalles Jacobus (K) pinned Keenan Stewart, 0:31
285 - David Bonner (J) dec. Matt Murphy, 2-1 (OT)
106 - Eli Benion (K) pinned Than Helgenberger, 1:24
113 - Joseph Sibomana (J) pinned Cam Shaver, 1:43
120 - Colten Mastin (J) pinned Luke Foster, 0:28

JEFFERSON 66, DUBUQUE SENIOR 12
106 - Isaac Cretsinger (DS) pinned Ethan Helgenberger, 1:23
113 - Joseph Sibomana (J) won by forfeit
120 - Brenden Baker (J) won by forfeit
126 - Zach Main (J) pinned Leroy Busch, 1:44
132 - Dalton Mastin (J) dec. Alex Richard, 4-2
138 - Matt Connolly (DS) pinned Matt Storm, 3:00
145 - Coltin Endsley (J) pinned Adam Runde, 0:50
152 - Kyle Briggs (J) tech fall Zach Davidson, 18-3 (4:24)
160 - Tavian Rashed (J) won by forfeit
170 - Matt Culver (J) won by forfeit
182 - Nick Dreckman (J) pinned Alex Brooks, 1:25
195 - Taylor Viktora (J) won by forfeit
220 - Keenan Stewart (J) pinned Jonny Massman, 0:26
285 - David Bonner (J) major dec. Mitch Demmer, 12-3

KENNEDY 66, DUBUQUE SENIOR 10
106 - Isaac Cretsinger (DS) pinned Eli Benion, 2:20
113 - Cam Shaver (K) won by forfeit
120 - Luke Foster (K) won by forfeit
126 - Nolan Hromidko (K) pinned Leroy Busch, 1:10
132 - Alex Richard (DS) major dec. Austin McLeod, 13-2
138 - Dylan Ironside (K) dec. Matt Connolly, 10-4
145 - Kale Crawford (K) pinned Adam Runde, 1:53
152 - Logen Rodriguez (K) pinned Zack Davidson, 4:34
160 - Ben Sarasin (K) won by forfeit
170 - Garrett Kubovec (K) won by forfeit
182 - Todd Gusta (K) pinned Alex Brooks, 4:51
195 - Sam Pape (K) won by forfeit
220 - Dalles Jacobus (K) pinned Jonny Massman, 2:29
285 - Matt Murphy (K) dec. Mitch Demmer, 8-2