Each year Mid-Prairie and Mediapolis get together it seems to be a defensive football battle.

Friday night was no different as the No. 14 ranked Golden Hawks scored a 20-7 win over the Bulldogs on Senior night and beat Cancer night at Dwight G. Sattler Field in Wellman. In a game heard on AM 1380, FM 102.5 and KCIIradio.com, both teams went through the first 12 minutes without a point, trading punts.
The Golden Hawks would break through on the scoreboard first when Nolan Faselt punched it in from six yards out to make it 6-0 Mid-Prairie following the missed extra point. Mediapolis answered back just one minute later, following a 79 yard pass completion from Arthur Brown to Tristan Timmerman that put Mediapolis in a first and goal from the two. Brown then pounded in on a quarterback sneak. With the extra point the Bulldogs took the lead at 7-6. Mid-Prairie had the answer, a nine play, 65 yard drive capped by a Ryan Cortum to Blake Schwartz six yard TD connection, as Schwartz snagged the low throw off the turf for six and the Golden Hawks went up 12-7. two minutes later it was Mid-Prairie once more, as Faselt found the endzone for the second time on the night, this one from five yards out, pushing the lead to 20-7, and that’s where it stood at the half.
After the offensive outburst in the second quarter, things went back to normal for a MEPO, Mid-Prairie game, defense and more defense led by the Mid-Prairie’s front four. Defensive end Levi Duwa and his teammates lived in the MEPO backfield. Duwa alone recorded eight total tackles, three sacks and five tackles for loss in the game. Neither team was able to muster points in the second half, giving Mid-Prairie the hard fought, two score win.
On the night the Golden Hawks out-gained MEPO, 351-155 including 189-24 on the ground. Mid-Prairie was led by Nolan Faselt with 31 carries for 115 yards and two touchdowns. Ryan Cortum was five of 10 through the air for 116 yards and a touchdown. Blake Schwartz had a huge night receiving, turning in the seventh best night ever from a Mid-Prairie receiver with 160 yards on five catches and a touchdown. With the win Mid-Prairie finishes the regular season 7-2 and 4-2 in district play clinching the three seed in class 2A district five. Mediapolis falls to the four seed with a 3-3 district mark, while standing 6-3 overall.
The No. 14 Mid-Prairie Golden Hawk football team will next be in action Wednesday night in the first round of the class 2A playoffs when they travel to Prairie City Monroe to battle the PCM Mustangs. The Mustangs are 7-2 and also ranked No. 14 in the latest AP poll, with exactly the same number of votes as the Golden Hawks. You can hear all of the action between Mid-Prairie and PCM Wednesday night from Monroe live on AM 1380, FM 102.5 and KCIIradio.com beginning with the Washington HyVee Pregame show at 6:30PM.