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Prairie High School - Cedar Rapids, Iowa

Cougars deserve cheers, not jeers

Sun - 26 Oct Written by Jim Ecker

It would be easy to make fun of the Kennedy Cougars for making the Class 4A football playoffs with a 2-7 record, but that would be a big mistake.

First of all, the Kennedy players are not responsible for the new district format this year that made it possible for 2-7 clubs to advance. Administrators did that, not the athletes.

Secondly, the Cougars should be applauded for sticking with it and playing hard after a rough 0-6 start. They had to adjust to a new head coach and new offensive scheme, and they lost a couple of games they could have - maybe should have - won.

Kennedy began the season with a 12-9 setback at Iowa City City when the Trojans threw a 33-yard touchdown pass on 4th-and-15 with 1:59 left in the game. Four weeks later, the Cougars missed a 33-yard field on the final play of the fourth quarter and fell to Jefferson, 27-24, in overtime

Two weeks ago, the Cougars scored a touchdown with 71 seconds left against Cedar Falls to pull within 21-20, but they unable to convert a two-point conversion and lost by a single point.

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Cougars ranked 9th in volleyball poll

Thu - 23 Oct Written by Metro Sports Report

The Kennedy Cougars will enter the postseason volleyball playoffs next week as the highest ranked Class 5A team from the Metro area.

Kennedy climbed one spot to No. 9 in the final poll of the season Thursday after reaching the championship round of the Mississippi Valley Conference tournament last Saturday.

The Marion Indians remained third in the Class 4A rankings despite losing two matches in the tough Wamac Conference tournament Tuesday.

The Prairie Hawks dropped out of the Class 5A poll Thursday.

CLASS 5A

1. Bettendorf (34-0), 2. Ankeny Centennial (36-3), 3. Dowling (35-5), 4. Johnston (34-5), 5. Ankeny (33-6), 6. West Des Moines Valley (35-10), 7. Council Bluffs Lincoln (35-13), 8. Iowa City High (22-9), 9. Kennedy (26-11), 10. Southeast Polk (30-9).

CLASS 4A

1. Harlan (35-2), 2. West Delaware (41-2), 3. Marion (30-7), 4. Sioux City Heelan (28-11), 5. Clear Creek-Amana (24-9), 6. Charles City (39-4), 7. Indianola (30-9), 8. LeMars (29-9), 9. Waverly-Shell Rock (31-19), 10. Boone (31-6), 11. Dallas Center-Grimes (23-13), 12. Davenport Assumption (18-13), 13. Fort Madison (28-10), 14. Glenwood (16-13), 15. ADM (21-12).

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3 Metro teams seek playoff berths

Thu - 23 Oct Written by Jim Ecker

It will be interesting to see how many high school football teams with 2-and-7 records make the Class 4A playoffs this year.

The Kennedy Cougars will make the 32-team field with a 2-7 mark if they defeat Waterloo West at Kingston Stadium Friday night, but they're not the only ones who could advance with a 2-7 record.

Iowa City High, Clinton and Mason City also could "earn" spots in the Class 4A tournament with 2-7 marks. That would be an improvement for Mason City, which qualified a few years ago with a 1-8 record.

We can thank - or blame - the district format for all this. The only results that count are district games. The non-district games are simply exhibitions, as far as making the playoffs, so it's a lot easier to make the playoffs now.

You can lose all of your non-district games, finish fourth in your district with a wobbly record and march into the playoffs at 2-7 (and sometimes even 1-8).

Under the old conference format, it normally took at least four victories to make the playoffs, although occasionally a team would slip through with a 3-6 mark. The schools voted for this system, so now everyone has to live with it.

Washington, Linn-Mar and Xavier have clinched playoff berths. The top-ranked Warriors are 8-0 and rolling along. The sixth-ranked Lions are 7-1, with the only loss to Washington. The Saints are 5-3, but have struggled on offense in their losses to Dowling (24-2), Western Dubuque (7-6) and Iowa City Regina (21-7) with only one touchdown on offense.

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Last Updated on Thursday, 23 October 2014 18:58

Prairie junior Tysen VanDraska sprints to victory at the Class 4A district cross country meet in Marshalltown Thursday. (MSR photo by Ken Gilchrist).

VanDraska, Lions win titles in Marshalltown

Thu - 23 Oct Written by Jim Ecker

MARSHALLTOWN - The Linn-Mar Lions and Prairie Hawks have battled all season to see who has the best boys cross country team in Eastern Iowa.

They'll settle things at the Class 4A state meet in Fort Dodge Nov. 1.

Linn-Mar captured top honors Thursday with an impressive performance at the district meet in Marshalltown, but Prairie placed second and also earned a trip to state.

It was the fifth time the two powers have clashed in a meet this year. Linn-Mar leads the series, 3-2, but it's not over yet.

Prairie is the defending state champion and boasts Tysen VanDraska, who won the individual title Thursday at Marshalltown Community College.

"They're a great team and they're always pushing us," said VanDraska. "I don't want to say we're rivals. We're buds with them. We like the right kind of competition."

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Last Updated on Thursday, 23 October 2014 20:50

6 Metro teams could make playoffs

Sat - 18 Oct Written by Jim Ecker

Three Metro football teams have clinched spots in the football playoffs and three more Metro clubs are still alive heading into the final week of the regular season.

Washington and Linn-Mar have clinched Class 4A district titles and the Xavier Saints can win their Class 3A district crown with a victory over Marion Friday night.

Jefferson, Prairie and Kennedy are still in contention for Class 4A playoff spots heading into decisive contests.

The top-ranked Washington Warriors and sixth-ranked Linn-Mar Lions will be No. 1 seeds for the playoffs and will face a No. 4 seed in the opening round.

The fifth-ranked Xavier Saints are tied for first place in their district with Solon and Western Dubuque, but the Saints own the tiebreaker and will draw a No. 1 seed by topping Marion.

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Last Updated on Saturday, 18 October 2014 17:11