Jefferson High School - Cedar Rapids, Iowa

Unsung heroes lift Jeff by Wash

The Jefferson boys got good games from their go-to guys Friday night at Washington.

But it may have been the play of some unsung role players that made the difference in a come-from-behind 62-58 victory.

Stalwarts Royshawn Webb, Dennis McKinney and Adam Van Oort all scored in double figures for the J-Hawks. But it was senior reserve Treyton McCauley who gave them their first lead of the game on a looping 3-pointer with a minute to go in the third quarter.

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Prairie saves day for Metro grapplers

Thank goodness for Prairie.

The Prairie Hawks won their regional dual meet tournament Wednesday night with a convincing 51-21 victory over North Scott, but none of the other Metro wrestling teams qualified for the state tournament.

The seventh-ranked Kennedy Cougars got punched by No. 13 Clinton, 44-26, in the regional finals at Kennedy.

The ninth-ranked Jefferson J-Hawks were stunned by No. 24 Dowling Catholic in the regional semifinals at Johnston and never got a chance to wrestle for a regional title.

The 18th-ranked Linn-Mar Lions lost to No. 4 Dubuque Hempstead, 49-27, in the regional finals after sticking No. 16 Bettendorf in the semifinals, 45-24.

The sixth-ranked Prairie Hawks (19-3) will face fifth-ranked Johnston (21-2) in the quarterfinals of the Class 3A state dual meet tournament next Wednesday at 9 a.m. at the Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines.

The other quarterfinals feature Southeast Polk (16-0) against Clinton (16-2), West Des Moines Valley (21-1) against Waverly-Shell Rock (23-4), and Hempstead (27-0) against Indianola (18-2).

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Cougars beat J-Hawks in final second

There have been some tough losses, some ill-advised shots and some long meetings after games, but the Kennedy Cougars vow they won't quit and they won't back down from anyone.

It showed Tuesday night.

Drake Brewster muscled in a basket with 0.9 seconds left Tuesday to give Kennedy a 60-59 victory over Jefferson in a Mississippi Valley Conference tussle at the Jefferson gym.

The J-Hawks led by eight points entering the fourth period and led by four points with 37 seconds left in the game, but the Cougars kept battling and beat the J-Hawks for the ninth straight time.

Both clubs have only seven wins this year -- Kennedy is 7-11 and Jefferson is 7-12 -- and they were evenly matched Tuesday.

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No. 7 Kennedy girls escape J-Hawks

The Kennedy girls basketball team has a bona fide star in Lela Sellers, but the Cougars showed Tuesday night they can win a tough game on the road with Sellers having a relatively quiet game.

The seventh-ranked Cougars rallied from an eight-point deficit in the second half and escaped the Jefferson J-Hawks, 56-43, in a Mississippi Valley Conference game at the Jefferson gym.

Sellers scored only three points in the second half -- all on free throws -- but Kennedy dug a little deeper into its portfolio to head home with a glossy 17-3 record.

Carly Langhurst, Ashley Hamilton, Hailey Dolphin and Linden Runels all made clutch baskets during a 15-0 run as the Cougars wiped out a 38-30 deficit and surged into a 45-38 lead to turn the game around.

Langhurst and Hamilton began the 15-0 run with a pair of 3-pointers.

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Jefferson boys trim Prairie, 72-68

Adam Van Oort led a balanced attack with 17 points Saturday as the Jefferson J-Hawks edged Prairie, 72-68, in a Mississippi Valley Conference makeup game at the Jefferson gym.

Royshawn Webb and Dennis McKinney scored 13 points apiece for the J-Hawks (7-11, 3-9). Kane Kramer added 10 points for Jefferson.

Jalen Rima poured in 22 points for Prairie (6-11, 4-8). Cal Clark scored 16 points for the Hawks and Max Smith-Drahos had 11.

PRAIRIE (68): Copeland 1 1-2 3, Lorenz 2 0-0 4, C.Clark 6 2-2 16, G.Clark 0 0-0 0, Smith-Drahos 4 3-5 11, Eilers 3 0-0 8, Rima 8 4-4 22, Hook 0 0-0 0, Kilpatrick 1 0-1 2, Serbousek 0 2-2 2, Oxley 0 0-0 0. Totals 25 12-15 68.

JEFFERSON (72): Webb 5 3-6 13, Wiederin 0 0-0 0, Green 2 0-2 4, Kramer 2 4-5 10, Brown 3 2-3 8, McCauley 3 0-1 7, Van Oort 6 4-5 17, McKinney 5 3-4 13, Larson 0 0-0 0. Totals 26 16-26 72.

Halftime - Jefferson 40, Prairie 25. 3-point goals - Prairie 6 (C.Clark 2, Eilers 2, Rima 2), Jefferson 4 (Kramer 2, McCauley 1, Van Oort 1).

Dighton leads Jeff girls by Clinton

CLINTON - Kennedy Dighton collected 13 points, six rebounds and four blocked shots Saturday as the Jefferson girls basketball team defeated Clinton, 46-34, in Clinton.

Kylie Wise, Erin Kuba and Emily Oler scored eight points apiece for the J-Hawks (9-10). Wise grabbed six rebounds.

Megan Gandrup scored 11 points for Clinton (3-17).

JEFFERSON (46): Kitterman 0 0-0 0, Guy 1 1-2 4, Donner 1 1-1 4, Wise 3 1-2 8, Kuba 2 2-2 8, Thurmond 0 0-0 0, Erica Oler 0 1-2 1, Dighton 4 4-4 13, Emily Oler 4 0-0 8, O'Brien 0 0-0 0. Totals 15 10-13 46.

CLINTON (34): Peterson 1 1-2 3, Gandrup 5 0-0 11, Greenwalt 1 0-0 2, Davis 0 0-0 0, Coppess 0 0-0 0, Goldensoph 3 1-2 7, Laufenburg 3 1-2 7. Totals 13 7-10 34.

Halftime - Jefferson 25, Clinton 14. 3-point goals - Jefferson 6 (Kuba 2, Guy 1, Donner 1, Wise 1, Dighton 1), Clinton 1 (Gandrup 1).

Jeff girls nipped by Iowa City West

Iowa City West edged the Jefferson girls bowling team by just four pins, 2,452 to 2,448, in a Mississippi Valley Conference meet Friday at May City Bowl.

Megan Kitzmiller shot a 194 game and Hailey Kimble had a 336 series for the J-Hawks.

Erica Roth had a 388 series for the Women of Troy.

IOWA CITY WEST: Erica Roth 195-193=388, Samantha Lovell 149-227=376, Kalei Strabala 185-150=335, Nicole Richey 146-106=252, Ashley Bys 112-105=217, Skyler Dickerson 113-109=217.

JEFFERSON: Hailey Kimble 166-170=336, Maddie Kisling 178-157=335, Madison Rasmussen 170-154=324, Megan Kitzmilller 134-194=328, Allie Schirmer 139-181=320.

Iowa City West: 1,568-805=2,452.

Jefferson: 1,613-884=2,448

Sturtz leads J-Hawks to 10-0 record

The Jefferson boys bowling team improved to 10-0 with a tight 2,997 to 2,898 win over Iowa City West in a Mississippi Valley Conference meet Friday at May City Bowl.

Hunter Sturtz rolled a 236 game and a 452 series for the J-Hawks.

Corey Roth rolled a 435 series for the Trojans.

IOWA CITY WEST: Corey Roth 223-212=435, Jordon Tiegs 247-176=423, Patrick Wood 201-198=399, Nicholas Rohm 202-177=379, Jacob Fisher 184-187=371, Ryan Stark 150-176=326.

JEFFERSON: Hunter Sturtz 216-236=452, John Gardner 192-200=392, Tanner Bennett 197-191=388, Riley Walton 185-181=366, Chaise Donner 188-164=352, Tyler Fowler 160-141=301.

Iowa City West: 2007-891=2,898.

Jefferson: 1,950-1,047=2,997.

J-Hawks dumped by No. 2 IC West

Jefferson coach Brandon Horman thought about ways to slow down Iowa City West, but none of them seemed to be a good option.

So he let his J-Hawks run with the state’s second-ranked team and they literally got run out of their own gym Friday night.

Scoring one way or another nearly every time they had the ball, the tall and fast Trojans stampeded Jefferson 102-74. And that was even with subs playing the last couple of minutes.

Horman said he considered several defensive ploys, including a full-court press and a zone defense.

"But they get down the floor in about a half-second,” he said, “and they can shoot over the zone.

“Really, it’s tough to slow down a team as good as Iowa City West.”

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