Jefferson High School - Cedar Rapids, Iowa

No. 5 Cougars bowl over J-Hawks

Shaun Beyer never saw the umpire who got in his way during his 55-yard gallop for a touchdown Friday night against the Jefferson J-Hawks at Kingston Stadium.

Pity the poor ref.

And pity the undersized J-Hawks for the pounding they took from the fifth-ranked Kennedy Cougars as well.

Kennedy rushed for 441 yards and finished with 510 yards of total offense in its 35-7 conquest of Jefferson before a big crowd of approximately 5,000 fans who came to see a battle of two winning clubs.

It was Kennedy all the way.

The bigger, stronger Cougars drove 91, 90 and 84 yards on their first three possessions and never looked back.

They have been playing football at Kennedy since the school opened in 1967, and this is the first time a Kennedy football team has begun a season with five straight wins. It comes a year after the Cougars began the season with six straight losses.

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Kennedy versus Jefferson: It's a rivalry again

Inch by inch, step by step, Brian Webb has rebuilt the downtrodden Cedar Rapids Jefferson football program into a competitive Class 4A team that appears headed to the playoffs for the second straight year.

Along the way, Jefferson's annual game against Kennedy has become a rivalry again instead of a one-sided affair.

The J-Hawks (3-1) and fifth-ranked Cougars (4-0) meet again Friday night in the District 5 opener for both clubs at Kingston Stadium. It's always fun when both teams go into a game with a legitimate chance to win and that's certainly the case this time.

Jefferson stunned Kennedy, 27-24, in overtime last season in a "statement" game for the J-Hawks. It was Jefferson's first victory over the Cougars in 12 years and showed that Webb is serious about returning the J-Hawks to glory.

Kennedy kicked a field goal for a 24-21 lead in overtime, forcing Jefferson to respond or lose. The J-Hawks faced fourth down at the 2-yard line, where a chip-shot field goal would have tied the game and forced a second overtime.

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No. 9 Lions hold off Jefferson

Amanda Ollinger collected 19 kills against her former team Tuesday night as the ninth-ranked Linn-Mar Lions outlasted the Jefferson J-Hawks, 25-10, 25-18, 16-25, 26-28, 15-3 in a Mississippi Valley Conference volleyball meet at Jefferson.

Ellie Anderson and Carly Spies had nine kills for Linn-Mar. Anderson finished with 37 assists and seven aces.

Emilee McGowan had 18 digs for the Lions. Spies blocked five shots.

Maddie Slagle had 21 kills for Jefferson. Maddy Baxter provided 41 assists for the J-Hawks and Lexi Moorer had 12 digs.

Balanced effort keys Lion golf win

All six Linn-Mar golfers finished with scores below 40 as the Lions won a Mississippi Valley Conference quad meet Monday at Jones Park.

Jake Sevcik, one of four golfers to share medalist honors, shot 36 to lead the Lions. Junior Jack Recker finished with a 37.

The Lions finished at 150, six shots ahead of Prairie, paced by Ian Johnston's 36.

Iowa City West and Jefferson tied for third at 162, but the Trojans got third by virtue of a lower score for the fifth golfer. Nile Happel and Adam Van Oort paced the J-Hawks, each shooting 36s.

At Jones Park

Team standings: 1. Linn-Mar 150, 2. Prairie 156, 3. Iowa City West 162, 4. Jefferson 162. Note: West awarded third on fifth score tiebreaker

LINN-MAR: Jake Sevcik 36, Jack Recker 37, Max Thrune 38, Jason Bohannon 39, Andrew Wood 39, Brent Larson 39.

PRAIRIE: Ian Johnston 36, Matt Lorenz 38, Cal Clark 41, Griffen Clark 41, Ryan Oxley 41, Cooper Reittinger 42, Justin Pierce 44

JEFFERSON: Nile Happel 36, Adam Van Oort 36, Carter Schmitz 44, Lucas Brown 46, Connor Hammons 49, Austin Schmitz 57

Jefferson swimmers sweep own relays

The Jefferson girls swimming team won all nine events and scored 140 points to win their own J-Hawk Relays on Saturday at Jefferson.Williamsburg was second with 58 points, and Keokuk was third with 46.

Team scores – 1. Jefferson 140, 2. Williamsburg 58, 3. Keokuk 46.

Diving – Jefferson 139.75.
400 medley relay – Jefferson 4:46.19.
600 freestyle relay – Jefferson 7:04.37.
200 freestyle relay – Jefferson 1:55.39.
300 backstroke relay – Jefferson 3:53.17.
300 medley relay – Jefferson 3:45.31.
300 breaststroke relay – Jefferson 4:01.06.
300 butterfly relay – Jefferson 3:40.88.
400 freestyle relay – Jefferson 4:19.31.

Lindwall paces Warriors to golf title

CEDAR FALLS - Frank Lindwall fired a 1-over-par 73 Friday to help the Washington Warriors win the Tiger Invitational at Beaver Hills in Cedar Falls.

Washington finished at 305 to top Iowa City West by five shots. Linn-Mar finished third in the 12-team field. Xavier placed sixth, Prairie eighth, Kennedy ninth and Jefferson 11th.

J.D. Goodfellow of Iowa City West took medalist honors with a 1-under 71. Lindwall and Ben Schmidt of Wahlert tied for second at 73.

Connor Neighbors of Washington finished fourth with a 3-over 75. Logan Bracey of Washington and Luke Winker of Xavier tied for fifth at 76.

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J-Hawks roll by Davenport West, 62-21

They waited out one weather delay, then just as the game was about to kick off, Jefferson and Davenport West were sent back to the Kingston Stadium locker room for another delay.

The visiting Falcons probably wished they weren't allowed back after a mandatory 30-minute delay.

Jefferson speedster Manny Olutunde took the opening kickoff and sprinted 92 yards nearly untouched for a score that sent the J-Hawks on their way to a 27-point opening quarter and a 62-21 victory on a rainy Friday night at Kingston.

The game was barely two minutes old when the J-Hawks struck again on their first offensive play. A mishandled snap on a West punt attempt left the ball on the Falcon 40. Jared Eivins came out and lofted one down the sideline to rangy 6-foot-5 receiver Jalyn Stafford for a second score.

"Obviously Manny's kickoff return was big," Jefferson coach Brian Webb said. "He's one of our main guys."

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Fusselman stars for Kennedy runners

CEDAR FALLS - Cedar Rapids Kennedy sophomore Hannah Fusselman finished a strong second at the Rich Engle Classic cross country meet Thursday in Cedar Falls.

Fusselman battled Brina Kraft of Muscatine to the tape and lost the 5K race by just one second. Kraft was timed in 19 minutes, 22 seconds and Fusselman finished in 19:23.

Metro girls made a good showing in the 19-school race. Washington freshman Reagan Gorman placed fourth, Kennedy freshman Grace Walker was sixth and Jefferson senior Meredith Koenigsfeld was eighth.

Ankeny Centennial nipped Muscatine for the girls title, 76-77. Jefferson finished seventh, Kennedy 12th and Washington 13th.

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Caleb Stekl commits to Springfield

Cedar Rapids Jefferson senior Calel Stekl plans to continue his baseball career at the University of Illinois-Springfield.

Stekl helped Jefferson finish with a 29-8 record this season and win its first Mississippi Valley Conference title in 10 years. He hit only .181 for the J-Hawks, but is an excellent defensive catcher and a rock behind the plate.

Stekl drew a team-high 18 walks and had an on-base percentage of .312, making him a productive member of the batting order. He hit one home run and drove in 27 RBIs.