The Golden Hawks are coming off of a 2015 season that saw them finish 8-3 overall and advance to the second round of the class 2A playoffs before they were eliminated by Albia. On the defensive side of the ball a year ago Mid-Prairie ranked in the top 10 in scoring defense and turnovers forced, allowing just 13 points per game, and recording 19 takeaways on the year. Mid-Prairie graduated four all-district defensive selections from last year’s team but the Hawks do return sack leader, second leading tackler and all-district defensive end Levi Duwa. Also returning are Keaton Duwa, Jason Tew, Jared Miller and others who saw playing time.
Offensively, Mid-Prairie was in the top ten in 2015 with 2,376 rushing yards, 5.3 yards per carry, 18.5 yards per pass completion and a team quarterback rating of 132.6. Mid-Prairie graduated key components of the offense including running back Nolan Faselt, leading receiver Blake Schwartz and quarterback Ryan Cortum. Mid-Prairie does return several key players including leading rusher Ricky Vargas and tight end Levi Duwa.
Louisa-Muscatine comes into tonight’s contest looking to improve on their 3-6 season a year ago. While the Falcons were not a playoff team, they posted some impressive wins including victories against Wilton and top 10 Central Lee. The Falcons finished last year with 1,326 yards on the ground and 12 touchdowns, through the air L-M accumulated 315 yards but threw just one touchdown compared to seven interceptions. The Falcons graduated leading rusher Jake Bloomer but return their second and third leaders on the ground in Austin Leopard and C.J. Sturms. In the passing game, quarterback Jake Hillard returns for his third season as the Falcon starter.
Defensively, the Falcons were in the top 25 in 2A a year ago, allowing just 19 points per contest. L-M forced 18 turnovers last year as a team. The Falcons lost four of their top five tacklers in 2015 to graduation. Hunter Connor made 43 stops last year, ranking third on the team, and is this year’s leading returning tackler for the Falcons.
Mid-Prairie beat L-M 13-0 a season ago in the district opener for the two teams. The Hawks hold a 16-1 all time record against the Falcons with L-M’s only win in the series coming in 1983. You can hear all of the action live tonight on AM 1380, FM 102.5 and KCIIradio.com beginning with the Washington HyVee pregame show at 6:30 and kickoff at 7PM.