Prairie High School - Cedar Rapids, Iowa

Prairie braces for Kennedy's power attack

Prairie Coach Mike Morrissey knows what the Kennedy Cougars will try to do against his team Wednesday night in the Class 4A playoffs.

"It's not a surprise," he said Monday. "The problem is, it's very difficult to stop."

The Cougars play power football, plain and simple. "Pound and ground," they call it, with two tight ends at times, their patented Stack-I formation in the backfield and plenty of beef up front.

Kennedy (6-3) and Prairie (5-4) will play the second game of a playoff doubleheader Wednesday at Kingston Stadium in southwest Cedar Rapids, with kickoff scheduled for approximately 8 p.m. Washington (6-3) meets Cedar Falls (6-3) in the first game at 5:30 p.m.

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Prairie outlasts Wahawks in OT

WATERLOO - Prairie battled back from a 17-3 halftime deficit to beat Waterloo West, 30-29, in overtime Friday night in the Hawks' regular-season finale at Memorial Stadium.

Prairie (5-4, 4-2) earned the No.10 seed in the playoffs and will play No.7 seed Kennedy (6-3) on Wednesday in a Class 4A first-round game at Kingston Stadium. Kickoff is 8 p.m.

Prairie had a chance to win the game in regulation, scoring on a three-play, 70-yard drive in the fourth quarter to tie the game, 23-23. The PAT kick failed, however, and the game ended up going to overtime.

Kentrel Smith's 10-yard TD pass reception in overtime gave Prairie a 29-23 lead and this tiime Sam Drysdale nailed the PAT kick for a 30-23 lead.

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Prairie boys on stride for state meet

Led by its four horsemen in the orange checkerboard jerseys, the Cedar Rapids Prairie boys cross country team set sights on a state championship by running away from the field in the regional qualifying meet Thursday afternoon at the Tuma Soccer Complex.

The Kennedy girls, meanwhile, punched their own ticket to next week's state meet in Fort Dodge with a runnerup finish behind Iowa City West in team competition.

And though she didn't come close to winning, Washington's future U.S. Naval Academy cadet Shannon Gorman made waves for herself by coming in second to West's indefatigable Ashlynn Yokom.

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Warriors' magical run continues at Prairie

The Magic Men from Cedar Rapids Washington did it again Friday night.

Reid Snitker hit Jake Bjornsen with a 24-yard scoring pass with 9.7 seconds left to snap a 14-14 tie and give the surging Warriors a 21-14 victory over Prairie at John Wall Field.

Washington (5-3, 4-1) began the season with three straight losses, but they've won five straight games and are headed to the playoffs.

The victory also put the Warriors in the driver's seat for the Valley Division title in the Mississippi Valley Conference. If Washington and Xavier both win next week and finish 5-1 in the Valley Division, the Warriors will be the champs because they upset the Saints three weeks ago.

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