Kennedy Football

Beyer gets offers from Nebraska, Air Force

The Shaun Beyer Sweepstakes is heating up.

The Cedar Rapids Kennedy football star received a scholarship offer from the Nebraska Cornhuskers Wednesday night and also received an offer from the Air Force Academy this week, according to a source with the Kennedy football program.

Beyer has committed to North Dakota State, but has kept his options open. He also is being followed by Iowa and Iowa State.

Beyer, 6-foot-5, 210 pounds, is one of the most versatile players in the state. He has starred for the Cougars as a tight end, wide receiver, running back, quarterback, defensive end, linebacker and punter.

Beyer has caught 36 passes for 670 yards and nine touchdowns and he's carried the ball 37 times for 518 yards and four touchdowns. He's made 45 tackles, completed 4 of 5 passes for 40 yards and averages 42.0 yards on punts.

The third-ranked Cougars (11-0) will face fifth-ranked Washington (10-1) in the quarterfinals of the Class 4A playoffs Friday at 7 p.m. at Kingston Stadium.

Mator was 'missing link' for Kennedy defense

Kennedy Coach Brian White began getting e-mails in February from a high school sophomore in Pennsylvania who said he was moving to Cedar Rapids and planned to play football for the Cougars this year.

"Yeah. Sure. Whatever," White recalled thinking, not taking it too seriously at the time.

Then Johnson Mator sent White the video highlights of him playing linebacker for the varsity football team at Central York High School last year as a sophomore and White got excited.

True to his word, Mator moved to Cedar Rapids and quickly became a key member of the Kennedy football team that has an 11-0 record and is ranked No. 3 in Class 4A heading into Friday night's showdown with Washington in the quarterfinals of the state playoffs at Kingston Stadium.

Mator plays the "mike" linebacker position for the Cougars and has excelled all year, leading the team in tackles and tackles behind the line of scrimmage. Kyle Knock, Kennedy's defensive coordinator, has been impressed with Mator from Day 1.

"When we found out we were getting a move-in from Pennsylvania and we saw his tape from last year, Coach White sent it over and I said, 'Whoa! We'll take him,'" Knock remarked. "The kid just plays with a motor. His speed to the ball is the best we've had at that position in a long time.

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No. 3 Cougars roll to 4A quarters

Dalles Jacobus treasures each opportunity he gets to take the field for the Kennedy football team.

The unquestioned emotional leader for the Cougars, Jacobus and his teammates have been on a mission from the opening day of practice. The "family" mantra has been well-publicized this year.

Also well-known is the way the Cougars approach each game.

"It's fun," the senior lineman said. "You get your guy, drive him off the ball and let (Tyler) Dralle do what he does."

Kennedy did just that Monday night at Kingston Stadium. With Jacobus and the rest of the line and receivers leading the way. Dralle rushed unofficially for 142 yards on 28 carries, scoring four touchdowns as the No. 3 Cougars moved to 11-0 with an impressive 49-7 win over North Scott in a second-round Class 4A playoff game.

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White enjoys ride with 10-0 Cougars

Brian White always wanted to be the head coach of a high school football team, but after 20 years as an assistant he wondered if he'd ever get the chance to fulfill his dream.

He applied for the head coaching job at Cedar Rapids Washington when Paul James stepped aside to become the full-time athletic director after the 2005 season, but the Warriors hired a guy from the Chicago suburbs named Tony Lombardi.

Disappointed at not getting the position, White left the Warriors after 12 years and became an assistant coach at Cedar Rapids Kennedy in 2006. Tim Lewis was doing a good job as Kennedy's head coach and there was no reason to think anything would change.

White dug in and did his job with the Cougars.

"I was fine being a defensive coordinator for the rest of my career, if that's the way it was going to be," he said. "I had no problems with that."

Then things changed. Lewis announced after the 2013 season that he was stepping aside as Kennedy's head coach to become the strength and conditioning coach at the school, saying that he was his real passion in mentoring young student-athletes.

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