Photo Courtesy of Mid-Prairie Football Social Media
All according to plan. Using a stout defense, time of possession and a strong running game Friday night, the Mid-Prairie Golden Hawk football team came from behind late, and ensured that their season would continue another week, with a 7-6 win over the Northeast Rebels in Goose Lake in the first round of the Class 2A playoffs. In a game heard on AM and FM KCII, offensive numbers were tough to come by as the Golden Hawks followed the game plan of methodical drives to a T. Each team possessed the ball twice in the first half with the Hawks running 35 plays to 16 for Northeast. Mid-Prairie led the total yards battle 143 to 113, and owned a three to one advantage in time of possession, but were unable to score on two trips to the red zone, leaving the game a scoreless tie at intermission.
Out of half, Northeast grabbed the lead. Recovering an onside kick and marching 44 yards on seven plays, finished with a Gavin Kramer two yard scoring run. After a missed two try it was 6-0 Rebels. Another Golden Hawk drive, this one 18 plays 52 yards bogged down in the redzone and Mid-Prairie turned it back over to Northeast on the 18. The two teams traded punts into the final frame when Mid-Prairie started a drive at their own 39. Going no-huddle, the Hawks mixed air and ground to travel 61 yards on eight plays. Senior Braden Hartley rolled into the end zone from eight yards out to tie the game and senior Cain Brown’s extra point gave the Hawks their first lead of the night at 7-6. The Golden Hawk defense stood tall twice more, stopping the Rebels once at midfield, then on a last chance 4th and 10 for Northeast from their own 25 yard line to seal it. After the game, Golden Hawk head coach Pete Cavanagh talked about the game plan, the final moments, and the feeling around winning in the playoffs. “We have had a couple of instances this year of not responding to adversity and I thought tonight we did. At this point, you survive and advance and that’s all we’re looking to do. Our defense played great and offensively, we controlled it like we wanted to. We just had some meltdowns a couple of times inside the 20 tonight. I’m just happy that we were able to push through it. Collin (Miller) in the second half played great. He was able to move the ball running and throwing. There was nothing easy tonight. They were loading the box. Braden (Hartley) did his thing which is run hard, and get good yards after contact. I was joking with the guys that we were going to set some kind of carry record with Braden (Hartley). He’s our workhorse. On defense, it was key getting pressure up front and making their kid feel uncomfortable. Shawn (Dodds), Terry (Bordenave), Kaden (Meader) and Grady (Miller) got in there and did a nice job. There wasn’t much panic for our offense late. We went tempo. Defensively at the end of the game it was pretty nerve-wracking. Our DBs hung in there. Dylan (Henry), Collin (MIller), Cain (Brown), Cobi (Hershberger) and Lukin (Rediger) did a nice job. There were no big plays over the top tonight. After the game tonight, its awesome, those guys, they’ve earned it. It feels great for our seniors. The guys have been fighting all year. It was a fun night to put it all together at a crucial time. We love our guys, our team, and they love each other. It’s another week we get to put the pads on, be together and have some fun.”
Unofficially, Mid-Prairie outgained the Rebels 297 to 194 in total yards, including 233 to 112 rushing. The Golden Hawks had 65 snaps to 41 for the Rebels and a 12 minute time of possession advantage. Hartley finished with 39 carries for 157 yards and the Hawks lone touchdown. Collin Miller had 127 all-purpose yards, 80 rushing. Dylan Henry caught two passes for 22 yards. Hartley and Cobi Hershberger had six tackles each. The Golden Hawk defense held Rebel star quarterback Gavin Kramer to 77 yards rushing and 76 yards passing on the night, well below his 300 yard per game average. The state’s third leading passer had just 10 yards through the air in the first half. Mid-Prairie is now 6-3 and into the round of 16 in the 2A playoffs. The location and opponent for round two will be announced by the Iowa High School Athletic Association later Saturday.