Round two of the Class 2A football playoffs has arrived and the Mid-Prairie Golden Hawks hit the road to take on 10th ranked Prairie City Monroe. The Hawks stand at 5-4 on the year after blasting Northeast Goose Lake in their playoff opener in Wellman a week ago, 49-18, knocking them out of the playoffs for the third straight season. Mid-Prairie never trailed and enacted the running clock after break. Mid-Prairie put up 406 yards on the Rebels, led by Brady Weber’s 11 of 16 day throwing for 162 yards and five touchdowns. He added another score on the ground to tie the single game school touchdown record for the second straight week. Cobi Hershberger, Dylan Henry, Hudson Ehrenfelt and Kaden Kos all caught touchdowns. Ehrenfelt added a ground score and 179 all-purpose yards. Payton Fox recorded a pick for the MP defense and Kos had eight tackles. For the year, Mid-Prairie scores 30 points per game and gives up 24, posting 346 yards of total offense, 175 on the ground. Weber is 109 of 177 for 1,462 yards, 20 touchdowns and five interceptions this year. Ehrenfelt has 1,813 all-purpose yards and 16 total touchdowns. Hershberger is the Hawk’s leading receiver with 27 grabs for 316 yards and three touchdowns. Defensively, the Golden Hawks have 10 takeaways and are led by Kos with 105 tackles. Mid-Prairie ranks in the top 10 of 2A in 20 different team and individual stat categories.

Prairie City Monroe enters the contest with a 7-2 mark after a 42-0 win over I-35 last week. They put up 411 total yards against the Roadrunners led by quarterback Gavin VanGorp at six of eight through the air for 191 yards and five touchdowns, four of them and 182 yards to receiver Griffin Olson. Running back Adrien Robbins had 155 and a score on 10 carries. The Mustangs were unbeaten champions of Class 2A District 6 and are ranked No. 10 in Class 2A in the final poll of the year from the Iowa Associated Press. The Mustangs average 38 points per game and give up 16. The ‘Stang offense averages 430 yards per night, 302 on the ground. Leaders include VanGorp 65 of 108 through the air for 1,160 yards, 16 touchdowns and three interceptions. His top target Olson has 25 catches 532 yards and 11 touchdowns. On the ground Robbins has 221 touches for 1,865 yards, and 22 scores. The PCM defense has 15 takeaways with Finn Wilson’s 72 tackles the top total. The Mustangs rank in the top 10 of 2A in 21 different team and individual stat categories. This week, Mid-Prairie head coach Daren Lambert recapped the win over the Rebels in round one, talked about his team getting back to work this week, and the challenges PCM presents. Lambert said, “Brady (Weber) had six touchdowns, five of them coming through the air (against Northeast). It felt like we could take some shots, but also maintain that run game. I was pleased, especially with our offensive line. Defensive line did a tremendous job of getting pressure last week. Linebackers finished the job on some of those scrambles (from Kramer). Our defensive backs kept great coverage. Really great job by those guys. Monday through Thursday, you’ve got to win those days. We done that the last three weeks and we expect that to show Friday. (PCM) has a dynamic running back. He likes to bounce to the outside and he’s shifty. He’s up there in the state in all-purpose yards. They’ve got a good quarterback and receiver combo. Physically up front, they’re big. You don’t get into the final 16 of the playoffs without facing some adversity within the game. It’s those teams that respond that are successful. A lot of hard work has been put in to earn this moment. Embrace the moment, have fun with it. We’re excited for the opportunity.”

The Hawks are 2-5 all-time against the Mustangs, the last a 2015 playoff matchup in Monroe that went the Hawk’s way 28-10. The winner advances to take on the winner of No. 2 Van Meter and Union La Porte City in next week’s 2A quarterfinals. You can hear all of the action between the Hawks and the Mustangs live tonight from Monroe on AM 1380, FM 102.5, the KCII2 App and KCIIradio.com, beginning with the Mid-Prairie Golden Hawk football pregame show at 6:30 and kickoff at 7p.m. from PCM Mustang Stadium.