Prairie Football

Morrissey found a good friend in Warner

Mike Morrissey enjoyed calling the plays and serving as the offensive coordinator when he was the head football coach at Cedar Rapids Prairie, but he willingly relinquished those duties to an eminently qualified gentleman at his new job in Arizona.

Morrissey gave the offensive keys at Desert Mountain High School in Scottsdale to Kurt Warner, the former NFL great from Cedar Rapids whose rags-to-riches story captured the imagination of the entire nation during his pro football career.

Warner lives in Arizona and served on the search committee when Desert Mountain was looking for a new head coach last year. Warner's son, Kade, is a star receiver at Desert Mountain and Warner had worked as a volunteer assistant at the school on a part-time basis with the previous head coach.

That changed when Morrissey left Iowa to become the coach at Desert Mountain following the 2014 high school campaign, a move brought about by his family's desire to live closer to his wife's parents in Arizona. Morrissey and Warner, a pair of high school quarterbacks from Iowa, quickly became friends and Morrissey invited Warner to become a full-time assistant at the school.

Warner, who keeps busy as an announcer for the NFL Network, devoted himself to the high school team and formed a strong bond with Morrissey. The two men worked hand-in-hand at practices, games and long into the night at times.

Read more...

Beyer named captain of INA football team

Cedar Rapids Kennedy senior Shaun Beyer has been named the captain of the Class 4A all-state football team by the Iowa Newspaper Association.

Beyer starred as a receiver, running back, punter and linebacker for the Cougars, who reached the championship game of the state playoffs for the first time in school history and finished with a 13-1 record.

A total of 19 players from Metro teams were saluted on the INA honors squads.

Kennedy had five first-team selections with Mason Jacobs (offensive line), Tyler Dralle (running back), Beyer (utility), Dalles Jacobus (defensive line) and Austin Coates (defensive back). O'Rien Vance of Washington was named a first-team linebacker.

The Washington Warriors had four second-team choices with Isaiah Nimmers (wide receiver), Aries Davis (offensive line), Tavian Patrick (running back) and Dallas Hobbs (defensive line). Kennedy had two second-team picks with Jackson Coker (offensive line) and Johnson Mator (linebacker). Valentino Green of Jefferson was named second team all-state as a defensive back.

Read more...

Jalen Rima commits to UNI football

Cedar Rapids Prairie speedster Jalen Rima plans to continue his football career at the University of Northern Iowa.

Rima scored 15 touchdowns this season for the Hawks and scored in four different ways on pass plays, running plays, kickoff returns and punt returns. He caught 22 passes for 566 yards and carried the ball 35 times for 517 yards.

Rima won the 200 meter dash and 400 meter dash at the Class 4A state track meet last May. He will have an opportunity to run for the UNI track team if he chooses.

Rima is a four-sport athlete at Prairie. He also plays basketball and baseball.

Prairie falls short at IC West

IOWA CITY – In the opening moments, it was clear that the Prairie Hawks were facing an uphill battle in their Class 4A first-round playoff football game against Iowa City West Wednesday at Trojan Field.

Jalen Rima returned the opening kickoff 65 yards to the 34-yard line to put the Hawks in excellent field position to start the game. But a bad snap led to a sack of Prairie quarterback Tyler Nunemaker and gave the Trojans the ball.

West answered with a 67-yard touchdown pass from Alex Henderson to Dallas Majors to instantly take the lead. The Trojans went on to win 35-20 and end Prairie’s season.

“We all got super-pumped about that,” Prairie running back Trevor Northrup said of Rima’s return. “We all expect him to do something like that and when he does, it always gets us going. They came out just as hot, though. It was tough.”

Read more...