Kennedy Football

Jacobus will join Hawks as a walk-on

Dalles Jacobus, the inspirational leader of the Kennedy football "family" that won 13 straight games last season, has found a new football family to call his own next year.

Jacobus said Monday he has accepted an offer to join the Iowa Hawkeyes as a preferred walk-on, joining a program that won 12 straight games this season and rocketed to national attention.

Iowa assistant coach Reese Morgan began talking to Jacobus about the possibility of joining the Hawkeyes last summer, but everything happened quickly Monday morning after Morgan contacted Kennedy Coach Brian White.

"Coach White came up to me and said, 'Come see me during lunch,'" Jacobus related. "So I went up and talked to Coach Morgan during lunch and that's when I committed.

"We've been talking on and off since the summer," he said. "I went to a camp there and Coach Morgan said he liked my fight, but he wanted to watch me throughout the year and see what I can do and evaluate me from there."

Jacobus helped Kennedy reach the championship game of the Class 4A playoffs for the first time in school history.

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Dralle will play football, baseball at Coe

Cedar Rapids Kennedy football star Tyler Dralle plans to continue his career at Coe College, he announced Saturday on his Twitter account.

Dralle, a workhorse tailback for the Cougars, helped Kennedy finish with a 13-1 record and finish second in the Class 4A playoffs. He carried the ball 408 times and set the Metro record with 2,254 yards. He averaged 5.5 yards per carry and scored 24 touchdowns.

Dralle also plans to play baseball for the Kohawks. He hit .297 with three home runs and 37 RBIs for Kennedy last season, helping the Cougars finish with a 30-12 record and reach the semifinals of the Class 4A state tournament. He also compiled a 2-0 record and 1.56 ERA as a pitcher.

Dralle was named first team all-state in football by the Des Moines Register and Iowa Newspaper Association.

Kennedy gridders win Metro Spotlight

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.

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Kennedy tops all-district football team

Seven members of the Kennedy football squad have been named first-team selections on the Class 4A District 5 All-District team.

Tyler Dralle and Shaun Beyer of Kennedy were honored as the Co-OffensivePlayers of the Year. Kennedy Coach Brian White and his assistants were named the Coaching Staff of the Year. And Dalles Jacobus of Kennedy was named the Co-Defensive Player of the Year with Valentino Green of Jefferson.

Dralle, Beyer, Mason Jacobs and Nick Duehr of Kennedy were first-team picks on offense. Johnson Mator, Austin Coates and Jacobus were first-team picks on defense.

Jefferson landed five first-team berths with Jared Eivins and Manny Olutunde on offense, along with Tavian Rashed, Green and Jacob Beaton on defense.

Linn-Mar also had five first-team selections with Daniel Gorsich, Dallas McFarland and Reese Phillips on offense, along with Samuel Bries and Logan Hagmeier on defense.

SECOND TEAM
Metro Only

Jefferson - Brock Hunt, Jalyn Stafford, Alex Fernandez, Justin Crockett
Linn-Mar - Zach Luehring, Shea Hartzler, Jace Myers, Josh Gassmann
Kennedy - Jackson Coker, Matt Gardner, Sam Pape, Nolan Hromidko, Garrett Kubovec

Honorable Mention
Metro Only

Jefferson - Ryan Neuberger, Colton Kuehl, Keenan Stewart, Mason Short
Linn-Mar - Mark Trautman, Brennan McGaffe, Cevon Walton, Josh Strauss
Kennedy - Zach DeMaris, Jackson Behn, Jesse Price, Austin Kerska