Photo Courtesy of Mid-Prairie Football social media

Things were never in doubt Friday in Donnellson as the Mid-Prairie Golden Hawk football team hit the road in district play and throttled Central Lee on their home field 66-8. In a game heard on AM and FM KCII, Mid-Prairie got out to a quick start leading 36-0 after one quarter, enacting the running clock by building a 35 point lead just nine minutes into the game. The Golden Hawks would increase the lead to 52-0 at the half and score twice more after the break to hold a second half advantage of 14-8 as Central Lee broke up the shut out after the contest had already been decided.

Things unraveled quickly for Central Lee, who started the game with the ball, only to see Kaden Meader strip quarterback Kayden Calfee and Gannon Callahan recover at the 14 yard line. Next play for Mid-Prairie was a touchdown run from Tyler Helmuth, the first of four for him on the night. The first three snaps for the Golden Hawk offense ended up in the endzone for touchdowns. After a Central Lee three and out, Mid-Prairie’s Shawn Dodds broke through the line, blocked the punt and recovered it at the four yardline leading to another Helmuth TD run on the next play. Up 15-0, Mid-Prairie again sent Central Lee away on three straight plays and took over at the Hawk 31. On the first snap Will Cavanagh went up top to Jarrett Hoffman for a 31 yard scoring strike to make it 21-0 just four minutes into the game. Two minutes later, the Golden Hawks had the ball again at midfield and moved it 50 yards on three plays with Braden Hartley pounding in from eight yards out to put Mid-Prairie up 28-0. It was another quick three and out for Central Lee followed by Helmuth’s third rushing score of the night, a 32 yard gallop from the reigning JET Physical Therapy Athlete of the Week to make it 36-0 at the end of one.

Things continued to roll Mid-Prairie’s way in the second with Parker Ehrenfeldt recording a safety to make it 38-0, Helmuth adding his fourth scoring run, a five yarder to go up 45-0, a Justice Jones interception at linebacker was returned to the three and he punched it in himself on the next play to put Mid-Prairie up 52-0 going to half. After the break, the Golden Hawks got a 12 yard touchdown run from Dylan Henry and a 30 yard scoop and score touchdown from Collin Miller. After the game, Mid-Prairie head coach Pete Cavanagh expanded on his team’s dominant performance. “We were focused on getting off to a fast start and being really efficient. We knew these guys had struggled so we wanted to make sure that we set the tone. It was good to see guys run the ball and get in the end zone. Our running back by committee was great. Not only was it good to see Tyler Helmuth and Braden Hartley tonight but Dylan Henry, Lukin Rediger and Evan Phillips also got a chance tonight and played well. Our defensive line played well again tonight and that has continued over the last few weeks. We forced them into bad situations with turnovers and punts to win field position. We played on their side of the field most of the night. It was complimentary football tonight. I thought our special teams played well also, we got a kick blocked and covered kicks well. It’s just nice to see our scout team kids get a chance to get in the game and play. We played some freshmen tonight in the game and they stepped up well. Jack Greiner played linebacker as a sophomore and had a good night. Collin Miller had a defensive scoop and score late. Great to see them have the opportunity and have fun.”

The Golden Hawks outgained Central Lee 275-70 including 195 to -17 on the ground. The Golden Hawks started drives seven times on the Central Lee side of midfield including four times inside the red zone and three times inside the Hawk 10. The Golden Hawks recovered two fumbles, intercepted a pass and blocked a punt. Helmuth carried the ball four times, all four were touchdowns totaling 55 yards, Dylan Henry finished with 11 carries for 111 yards and a score. Braden Hartley and Justice Jones added touchdown runs. Will Cavanagh was two of two through the air for 68 yards and a touchdown, both passes were completed to Jarrett Hoffman. Mid-Prairie had 13 tackles for loss as a defense, four of them sacks to go along with the Ehrenfeldt safety. Jones had seven and a half tackles, Jack Greiner added five. With the win, Mid-Prairie is now 3-2 on the year and travels to Williamsburg  next week, Central Lee falls to 0-5 and welcomes Davis County to Donnellson next week for Homecoming.