Jefferson High School - Cedar Rapids, Iowa

Finally healthy Furnish signs with Missouri State

Cedar Rapids Jefferson senior Megan Furnish was all smiles Wednesday evening as she mingled with family and friends at Airport National Golf Course.

She had several reasons to be happy. For one thing, she's finally healthy again. And for another, she invited everyone to Airport National to watch her sign her national letter-of-intent to play golf at Missouri State next year.

Furnish battled a sore back during the golf season last spring and sprained her ankle during the volleyball season, but those were minor ailments compared to her worrisome battle with Lemierre's Syndrome this fall.

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Drake wins 50; J-Hawks 5th at regional swim

By many, few, or just one point a win is a win and the Lions of Linn-Mar will take it.

Linn-Mar won the regional swimming and diving championship Saturday afternoon at Kennedy by just one point. The ninth-ranked Lions edged the No. 8 host Cougars 457-456 to claim the title.

“I honestly had (Kennedy) winning, it was a good surprise (to win),” Linn Mar Coach Chad Derlein said. “Both teams swam lightning fast.”

Linn-Mar and Kennedy were joined by 28th-ranked Jefferson in representing the Metro in the regional meet. The J-Hawks finished fifth, behind Muscatine and Bettendorf.

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J-Hawks bow out of volleyball tourney

Linn-Mar volleyball coach Rob Justis knows when to call an important timeout.

The Lions fell behind Jefferson, 16-8, in the first game of the Class 4A regional quarterfinals at Linn-Mar Monday night when Justis decided it was time for a chat.

Justis told his players to take a deep breath, relax and have fun. They were words of wisdom.

Linn-Mar rallied and defeated Jefferson, 21-25, 25-21, 25-22, 25-11 to advance to the regional semifinals.

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J-Hawks drop season finale, 35-24

DUBUQUE -- Sept. 25, 2009 is a date loyal J-Hawk fans would love to forget.

Sept. 25, 2009 is the last time the Jefferson J-Hawks won a varsity football contest.

Despite a gritty, never-say-die effort, the J-Hawks will have to wait another year for a chance to end the streak no one wants.

Jefferson traveled to the University of Dubuque football field Friday night to play host Dubuque Hempstead and attempt to end their 21-game losing streak. Despite a valiant effort, the J-Hawks came up short, dropping their season finale 35-24 and extended their Class 4A longest losing streak in the state to 22 games.

“We improved this year, we had a long way to go and just didn’t improve enough,” Jefferson Coach Jim Womochil said.

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Saints have a Ball against J-Hawks, 37-10

Xavier lost its Valentine but still had a Ball Friday night at Kingston Stadium.

Senior Nick Ball replaced fellow senior Carter Valentine in the Xavier backfield midway through the second quarter and ran for 129 yards to help Xavier to a 37-10 win over Jefferson in a Mississippi Valley Conference Valley Division football game.

Junior Reggie Schulte threw two touchdown passes and ran for another for the Saints (4-2 Valley, 5-3 overall). Xavier clinched a Class 4A playoff berth with the win.

"I don't keep track of the points I just try to win every game," Xavier Coach Duane Schulte said. "But this gets us a winning season and that's important."

The Saints close out the regular season at home against No. 3 Linn-Mar next Friday.

Jefferson (0-5, 0-8) lost its 21st straight game in its final regular-season home game.

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Prairie wins Consolation Bowl with Jefferson

Mike Morrissey got drenched with a bucket of water in honor of his first victory at Cedar Rapids Prairie Friday night.

It happened in the final seconds of a 29-17 triumph over Cedar Rapids Jefferson on homecoming at John Wall Field.

"That was a lot of fun," Morrissey said after the impromptu bath, which took him by surprise.

The celebration was dampened, however, by the sight of Prairie quarterback Jace Hanna being loaded into an ambulance and taken to Mercy Hospital with an apparent back injury in the fourth quarter.

"It would be nice to have him here celebrating with us. He's earned it," Morrissey said. "He's been a tough, tough kid all season long, with some of the beatings he's taken at times.

"He's a great young man and we'll make sure we get to see him here tonight."

Hanna completed 12 of 22 passes for 214 yards and a pair of touchdowns to Jared Edmonds before he was injured on a pass play with six minutes left in the game. Hanna's final pass was picked off, and when the play ended he was lying on the ground in pain.

Hanna received medical attention as his teammates kneeled on the field in concern. He got to his feet after 10 minutes and was helped to the sideline.

They carefully removed his helmet and shoulder pads, then covered him with towels and a blanket until the ambulance arrived. "We're definitely going to be in contact after the game to see if he's OK," said Brayton Carlson, who had a big game for the Hawks.

Jefferson (0-4, 0-7) lost its 20th straight game since 2009 and also lost receiver/defensive back Alex Baxter, who apparently suffered another MCL injury to his left knee early in the contest. Baxter hurt that same knee during the summer, but recovered quickly and began the season at quarterback.

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'Little' brother leads the way in Kennedy win

It's not true that the dinner table at the Heitland household slopes away from Trevor and toward younger brother Drew.

It just seems that way.

Kennedy sophomore center Drew Heitland opened holes for his older, smaller brother, Trevor, that produced a pair of touchdowns and the Cougars whitewashed Jefferson, 32-0, Friday night in a Mississippi Valley Conference football game at Kingston Stadium.

Junior Alex Hillyer also rushed for 109 yards and two touchdowns for Kennedy. The Cougars (3-3) capitalized on three bad Jefferson snaps out of punt formation that produced a touchdown and two safeties. The Cougars also were the beneficiaries of excellent field position. They had first-half touchdown drives of 65, 29, 16 and 25 yards that helped them to a 30-0 lead by halftime.

The loss extended Jefferson's losing streak to 19 games. The J-Hawks (0-6) own the longest current losing skid in Class 4A.

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Rogers, Iowa City West rip J-Hawks, 63-14

A Cyclone blew through Kingston Stadium Friday night.

Iowa City West senior quarterback Charles Rogers, who earlier Friday committed to play football at Iowa State, ran for three touchdowns and passed for two more and the Trojans blew past Jefferson, 63-14, in a Mississippi Valley Conference game.

Rogers played only the first half, which ended with the Trojans (4-1) holding a 49-7 lead. He completed 8-of-8 passes for 164 yards and ran 11 times for 53 yards. He scored on runs of 1, 4 and 4 yards and threw touchdown passes of 36 and 49 yards to Dondre Alexander and Jeremy Morgan, respectively.

"Ever since they started recruiting me as a sophomore I've liked 'em," Rogers said of his decision to pick the Cyclones. "And I like Coach Paul Rhoads, period."

Rogers said he shocked Rhoads, who made a visit to West to see Rogers on Friday morning, when he told him he was going to Iowa State.

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Deafness is no handicap for Jefferson golfer

Jefferson golf coach Steve Koepke has a ready illustration of Eric Lehmkuhl’s knack for rallying his team in challenging situations.

Recalling a brutal 18-hole tournament at Finkbine last season, he says, “It was so windy not even Mary Poppins would have wanted to be on the course. Only a handful of golfers even broke 80. Eric shot a 74. It was phenomenal.”

What made it even more remarkable was that the cochlear implant Lehmkuhl has worn since he was a toddler to counter his congenital deafness magnifies the sound of the wind, creating a distraction that would annoy the most focused of golfers.

It wasn’t the only time Lehmkuhl has stepped up to lead his team, Koepke says.

“He won my Clutch Award last year, because he really did come up clutch a number of times. How an athlete behaves under pressure at a big-time meet tells you what kind of a player he is. He’s not just someone who plays golf. He’s a golfer, and he could be a really good one.”

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