Prairie High School - Cedar Rapids, Iowa

Hanna shines in Shrine Bowl

Sat - 27 Jul Written by Mike Condon

CEDAR FALLS - One quarterback had a day he will always remember. Another had one he would like to forget.

But for both Cedar Rapids Prairie's Jace Hanna and Cedar Rapids Xavier's Reggie Schulte, Saturday's 41st edition of the Shrine Bowl at the UNI-Dome was put in the proper perspective as just one part of a special week.

Hanna was likely playing football for the final time. He completed a pair of touchdown passes of 32 yards each to West Des Moines Valley's Clint Boffeli as the South rolled to a 28-0 win over the North before an estimate crowd of 3,500 at the UNI-Dome.

On the other side of the field, it wasn't the best of days for Schulte. He was under constant pressure from a swarming South defense and ended up throwing five interceptions, including one that was returned for a touchdown. He completed just 9-of-25 passes for 91 yards.

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Keller's clout sends Xavier to state

Wed - 24 Jul Written by Jim Ecker

Mitch Keller was exhausted after throwing 121 pitches Wednesday night in the Class 4A substate finals, but he wasn't too tired to hit one of the most dramatic home runs in school history to earn the Xavier Saints a trip to the state tournament.

Keller belted a three-run homer in the bottom of the 12th inning to give the 10th-ranked Saints a tense 8-5 victory over Prairie in a classic three-hour battle at Ken Charipar Field.

Xavier (25-15) will face Sioux City East (30-9) in the opening round of the Class 4A state tournament at Principal Park in Des Moines on Wednesday at 6 p.m.

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J-Hawks edge Prairie for 5th place

Wed - 24 Jul Written by Metro Sports Report

FORT DODGE - Jefferson and Prairie went all the way to Fort Dodge to decide softball supremacy on the west side of Cedar Rapids and fifth place in the Class 5A state tournament.

The J-Hawks prevailed, 4-1, behind the two-hit pitching of sophomore Alyssa Olson and some clutch hitting by sophomore Maddie Hansen and freshman Erin Kuba.

Jefferson (33-12) won two games in Wednesday's consolation rounds. Prairie (29-16) split its two games.

The J-Hawks and Prairie Hawks split their doubleheader on June 4, the only time they met during the season.

This was the rubber match.

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Hawks hold off Bobcats, 9-7

Tue - 23 Jul Written by Tom Fruehling

Even after taking the lead with a big six-run fifth inning, Prairie’s 9-7 nail-biting Class 4A substate semifinal win over Marshalltown Tuesday night didn’t come easy.

In a game that was suspended in the third inning Monday due to severe weather, the sixth-ranked Hawks had to hang on for dear life in order to advance to Wednesday’s 7 p.m. substate final against 10th-ranked Xavier on the Saints’ home diamond.

Trailing 8-3, Marshalltown scored twice in the sixth inning and then opened the seventh with two straight doubles and a single when Prairie center fielder Blake Stallman slipped.

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No.2 Ankeny too strong for Prairie

Tue - 23 Jul Written by Jim Ecker

FORT DODGE - Cedar Rapids Prairie pitcher Katie Kuch had a few big, moist tears in her eyes after the Hawks lost to Ankeny, 8-1, in the opening round of the state softball tournament Tuesday, but she knew the Hawks had just faced a formidable opponent.

Ankeny is the defending state champion, loaded with Division I talent and the No.1 seed in the tournament. Prairie, by contrast, had never been to the state tournament before and is the only unranked team in the Class 5A field.

The odds were extremely steep.

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