Kennedy High School - Cedar Rapids, Iowa

Cougar girls zap Xavier

Alecia McEachran rolled a 192 high game and 358 series and Kennedy beat Xavier, 2479-2379, Friday in a Mississippi Valey Conference girls bowling meet at Cedar Rapids Bowling Center.

Amanda Wiedemeier fired a 180 game and 343 series for Kennedy (14-4, 7-3 MVC).

Sophomore Tara Trcka led all scorers with a 306 high game and 397 series for Xavier (4-8, 4-6).

KENNEDY (2479): Caitlin Dicus 166-313, Tanner Rhoades 184-311, Alecia McEachran 192-358, Amanda Wiedemeier 180-343, Paige Ermer 175-322.

XAVIER (2379): Kari Brost 143-271, Erica Fry 146-287, Abbey Konzen 156-305, Aileen Conway 157-290, Tara Trcka 206-397.

First round -- Kennedy 1647, Xavier 1550. Baker round -- Kennedy 832, Xavier 829.

Late FT dooms No. 3 Cougars

IOWA CITY –  “Gone in 65 seconds.”

If Tuesday night’s game between Kennedy and Iowa City West were to get a Hollywood movie treatment that would be the working title.

The host Trojans, ranked ninth in Class 4A, used a pair of defensive stops and a trip to the free throw line in the closing minute-plus of action to upset No. 3 Kennedy, 45-44.

Josiah Coleman knotted the score at 44 when the Kennedy junior pulled up and knocked down a jumper with 1 minute 33 seconds left to play. After Iowa City West’s Leo Franz missed a triple the Cougars called time out with a minute five remaining to set up their first attempt at a possible game-winning play. The resulting set never came to fruition however as West ratcheted up its defensive pressure and Jeremy Morgan coaxed a 5 second call after bird-dogging Kennedy guard Jacob Misener.

“I’d like to see a tape of that,” Kennedy Coach Bob Fontana said.

West Coach Steve Bergman said Morgan’s defensive stop was the play of game, even bigger than his back-to-back 3-point shots in the waning moments of the third quarter that erased a six-point Kennedy lead.

Morgan’s stop was the beginning of the end for the Cougars, who fell to 14-3 on the year and 9-3 in MVC action.

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Kennedy girls give No. 3 team a tussle

It was hard to tell the winning coach from the losing one in the Kennedy gym Tuesday night.

After his third-ranked Iowa City West girls eked out a hard-fought 62-53 victory, B.J. Mayer looked like he'd been through the wringer.

"Kennedy's a nice, well-coached team," said the exuberant young coach, hoarse and drained in sweat. "Their record is very deceiving."

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Hoyer named Coach of the Year

Bret Hoyer of Kennedy has been honored as the 2010 Class 4A Coach of the Year by the Iowa High School Baseball Coaches Association.

Hoyer led Kennedy (32-10) to the Class 4A state title last July with an 11-1 victory in five innings against Iowa City West in the championship game in Des Moines.

Hoyer received the award at the IBCA convention in Cedar Rapids on Jan. 29.

Ex-coach Collis inducted into Nevada HS Hall

The late Mike Collis, who coached Kennedy to a state basketball title in 1972, has been inducted into the Nevada High School Hall of Fame. He was a football, basketball and track star for Nevada in the 1960's.

Collis started the basketball program at Kennedy in 1967 and began his career with a long losing streak. He was only 24 when he got that first coaching job at Kennedy, and a few years later he led the Cougars to the state title.

Collis went into private business with his family in Des Moines after grabbing the state crown and met his untimely death in December of 1972, just a few months after winning the title.

Stingy Cougars sweep series from Washington

Cedar Rapids Kennedy Coach Bob Fontana has persuaded his guys to play defense with passion, pride and persistence.

It's been a simple message to get across.

"If you don't play defense, you don't play," senior Jake Misener explained. "That's how he gets us to play defense."

The stingy fourth-ranked Cougars held Washington to just three points in the third quarter Friday night and spanked the Warriors, 57-50, on Hall of Fame Night at Washington.

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