Kennedy High School - Cedar Rapids, Iowa

Fluent, Sade top all-state volleyball

Anna Fluent of Cedar Rapids Kennedy and Isabella Sade of Marion have been named to the top units on the all-state volleyball teams by the Iowa Girls Coaches Association.

Fluent was named first team all-state in Class 5A and Sade was named first team all-state in Class 4A. Both players helped their teams reach the state tournament this season.

Kate Busswitz of Prairie and Amanda Ollinger of Linn-Mar were named second team all-state in Class 5A. Macy Anderson and Brinley Milbrath of Kennedy received honorable mention.

Olivia Frazier of Marion was named second team all-state in Class 4A.

Caitlyn Smith of Marion received honorable mention.

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.

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Hiatt helps Cougars bowl over Warriors

Max Hiatt rolled a 444 series to lead the Kennedy boys bowling team to a 2,826-2,381 win over Washington on Tuesday at Lancer Lanes.

Hunter Bachmeier had a 334 series to lead the Warriors.

Kennedy: Max Hiatt 231-213=444; Bert Goodwin 228-179=407; James Jambois 180-211=391; Nick Green 190-170=360; Nathan Fisher 153-173=326; Dakota Dippel 157-159=316.

Washington: Hunter Bachmeier 135-199=334; Donovan Trimble 140-174=314; Gabe Wedel 178-125=303; John Taylor 141-161=302; Chris Schuttloffel 115-186=301; Anthony Valenti 112-180=292.

Kennedy: 1,928-898=2,826.

Washington: 1,554-827=2,381.

Christensen leads Wash girls by Kennedy

Emma Christensen rolled a 374 series to lead the Washington girls bowling team to a 2,270-2,168 win over Kennedy on Tuesday at Lancer Lanes.

Jamie Milota led the Cougars with a 342 series.

Washington: Shania Christensen 193-181=374; Ella Wake 177-149=326; Kobie Dills 147-124=271; Lucy Forster 138-131=269; Viola Niyizigama 115-126=241; Kenzie Dills 115-108=223.

Kennedy: Jamie Milota 202-140=342; Alyssa Wiedemeier 146-139=285; Abbie Haller 153-120=273; Mary Liscum 146-120=266; Cate Oliphant 112-152=264; Jill Zaiser 125-123=248.

Washington: 1,481-789=2,270.

Kennedy: 1,430-738=2,168.

Kennedy cagers welcome gridders to team

Jon McKowen cheered for the Cedar Rapids Kennedy football team all the way to the Class 4A championship game in the UNI-Dome Monday night and relished the team's success along the way.

Now he's glad the football season is finally over so several of those guys can trade their cleats for sneakers and join McKowen's basketball team at Kennedy.

Matt Gardner, Nick Duehr, Carter Krall and Kai Jenkins will be making the switch from football to basketball in the next few days after they've had a chance to mentally and physically recover from the rigors of a long season.

They'll get a late start in basketball with the season opener set for next Friday, Dec. 4 against Sioux City North on the road, but McKowen feels the benefits of a successful football season far out-weigh the detriments in terms of school pride and spirit.

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Cougars made it too easy for Dowling

CEDAR FALLS - Maybe the real Cedar Rapids Kennedy football team got lost in that snowstorm last Friday night.

Maybe they got kidnapped. Or locked in their gym. Or grounded by their parents for not doing their chores.

Surely those were imposters in the Kennedy green and gold Monday night against Dowling Catholic in the championship game of the Class 4A playoffs.

The third-ranked Cougars (13-1) gave top-ranked Dowling (13-0) two gift touchdowns when they botched simple handoffs and two of Dowling's behemoths raced the other way for easy scores.

The Cougars had trouble blocking. They had trouble tackling. They had trouble tying their shoelaces.

It wasn't pretty.

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Jacobus wins Metro Spotlight Award

Dalles Jacobus of Cedar Rapids Kennedy is the winner of the Metro Spotlight Award for high school boys this week, the Metro Sports Report announced Sunday.

Jacobus, a 6-foot-2, 260-pound senior, is a key member of the Kennedy football team that will play Dowling Catholic in the championship ame of the Class 4A playoffs Monday night in Cedar Falls.

Jacobus has excelled on the offensive line and defensive line this season and also has seen spot duty at fullback in short-yardage situations. He is one of Kennedy's captains and emotional leaders and carries the team's symbolic "Family" sign onto the field before games.

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No. 3 Cougars aim to slay No. 1 Dowling

The Dowling Catholic football team has devoured its last two opponents from Cedar Rapids in the Class 4A finals.

Two years ago, Dowling feasted on the Xavier Saints in the championship game by the lopsided score of 44-13. Last year, the Maroons gobbled up the Washington Warriors for another crown in a 49-14 blowout.

The Kennedy Cougars are not only determined to make it a much closer game this year: They are determined to prevail and snap Dowling's stranglehold on the playoffs.

The third-ranked Cougars (13-0) meet top-ranked Dowling (12-0) in the Class 4A championship game Monday at 7:06 p.m. at the UNI-Dome in Cedar Falls. The game was postponed from Friday due to a snowstorm that struck Iowa Friday.

The Cougars respect Dowling, but they do not fear the mighty Maroons. "They're just another group of kids wearing different colored jerseys," Kennedy Coach Brian White maintained in the days leading up to the game.

The Cougars are underdogs, but that's OK with them.

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Kennedy-Dowling title game postponed to Monday

The Iowa High School Athletic Association has decided to postpone all of Friday's championship football games in Cedar Falls until Monday, Nov. 23.

The decision was made based upon the National Weather Service forecast and the winter storm warning that has been issued for Friday. Heavy snow has been predicted for the area.

Kennedy was scheduled to play Dowling in the Class 4A finals at 7:06 p.m. Friday at the UNI-Dome. The game is now scheduled for 7:06 p.m. Monday in the Dome.

All of Monday's championship games will follow the same time schedule as originally planned. Iowa City Regina will play Western Christian at 11:06 a.m. Monday for the Class 1A title and Spirit Lake will meet Mount Vernon for the Class 2A title at 2:06 p.m.

The welfare of teams traveling home on Friday in conjunction with the safety of fans traveling contributed to the decision to postpone the games, the IHSAA announced.

Tickets sold for Friday's games will be honored Monday.