Photo Courtesy of Mid-Prairie Football Social Media/Dillon Poole
The Class 2A District 5 lead is on the line tonight in Wellman, when the final two unbeatens in district play collide as the Mid-Prairie Golden Hawks host the Mediapolis Bulldogs.
The Hawks come into the game at 2-3 on the year, 2-0 in district play. A week ago in Bloomfield against Davis County, the Hawks were a 42-7 winner. Hudson Ehrenfelt had another big day with 196 all-purpose yards and two touchdowns. Quarterback Brady Weber was 11 of 15 through the air for 133 yards and a score. He added two rushing touchdowns. Dylan Henry had a 77 yard pick 6, the fourth longest interception for touchdown in school history. Kaden Kos led with six tackles and Landry Gingerich recovered a fumble. The Hawks won the total yards battle 400-127 including 267-95 on the ground. On the year, Mid-Prairie averages 313 yards per game, 161 on the ground. They score 27 per night and give up 26. Individually, Weber is 64 of 105 in the pass game for 747 yards, seven touchdowns and five interceptions. Cobi Hershberger has 24 catches for 287 yards and a score. Ehrenfelt has 980 all-purpose yards and eight total touchdowns. Kos has a team best 40 stops on defense. Mid-Prairie has forced six turnovers this year.
Mediapolis is 3-2 on the year, and a matching 2-0 in District 5. In a 50-18 win over West Burlington a week ago, MEPO controlled action, winning total yards 361-306 including 247 rush yards. Quarterback Drew Miller had 172 all-purpose yards and a pair of scores. Running back Jackson Hutcheson finished with 15 carries 132 yards and four touchdowns. Mason Johnson recovered a fumble and Lance Ludens picked a pass. The Bulldogs average 296 yards per night, 192 on the ground, scoring 24 points per game and giving up 18. Individually, Miller is 32 of 69 through the air for 507 yards, five touchdowns and three interceptions. Aedin Nelson has caught 11 passes for 228 yards and three scores. Hutcheson has 92 carries, 488 yards and seven touchdowns. Defensively, Chett Mohr has 42 tackles, eight for loss. As a team they have three takeaways. This week, Golden Hawk head coach Daren Lambert talked with KCII Sports about the dominant win at Davis County and preparing for Mediapolis. Lambert said, “Our first four games all had slow starts. We want to win that first series on both sides of the ball. That sends a message. We’re starting to get comfortable with the systems. Brand new systems offensively and defensively and we’ve gotten better each week in all three phrases. Each week do something a little bit better than the week before. Timing is important. It’s a lot of new faces as well. Guys are reading and seeing things and they are starting to make sense. That’s repetition. For our guys up front. A lot of them play both sides of the ball. We put a lot of pressure on them. They’re a veteran group. We go if they go. They’ve gotten confidence. Once guys start seeing success, they start believing in themselves. (Mediapolis) is aggressive on defense. They have a lot of athletes. They have only given up around 100 yards rushing and 40 or 50 yards passing. They have very good linebackers, they’ll blitz a lot. On offense, they are going to run it right at us and take some shots downfield. They have one of the best punters and kickers we’ll see. He’s a commitment going to play Division I football. We have to be physical tonight, be tough when we face adversity and go out there and do our job.”
Mid-Prairie is 9-5 all-time against MEPO, with the Bulldogs winning the last battle 39-28 in 2017. The winner of this contest is in sole possession of the lead in District 5. You can hear all of the action live tonight on AM 1380, FM 102.5, the KCII2 app and KCIIradio.com, beginning with the Mid-Prairie Golden Hawk Football pregame show at 7p.m. and kickoff between the Dogs and Hawks at 7:30 from Dwight G. Sattler Field in Wellman.