A big playoff road test awaits the Mid-Prairie Golden Hawks tonight in State Center when they travel more than 100 miles northwest to meet the West Marshall Trojans for the second round of the class 2A high school football playoffs. The Hawks are 6-3 on the year, they finished 4-1 in class 2A district six, taking second place. Mid-Prairie advanced through the first round 35-28 over Northeast Goose Lake last Friday at Dwight G. Sattler Field in Wellman. The Hawks built an early 21-0 lead and held off the Rebels late, recovering an onside kick in the final 10 seconds. Mid-Prairie forced three Rebel turnovers and Tyler Helmuth and Braden Hartley combined for 225 yards on the ground and three touchdowns on 47 carries. For the season, Mid-Prairie is averaging 40 points on 359 yards per game, 232 per contest on the ground. The Hawk defense is giving up 21 points per outing and has a plus nine turnover margin with 15 total takeaways. Individually, the Golden Hawks are led by Will Cavanagh at 77 of 122 through the air for 994 yards, 13 touchdowns and three interceptions. Cavanagh’s favorite target is Jack Pennington with 29 catches for 305 yards and four scores. Tyler Helmuth has 745 yards and 16 touchdowns on 98 carries. On defense, Justice Jones has 57 tackles.
West Marshall is 8-1 on the year after a first round victory over Centerville Friday 42-0. The Trojans were 5-0 champions of class 2A district seven. They are ranked No. 3 in class 2A in this year’s final poll from the Iowa Associated Press. The Trojans are scoring 38 points per game on 395 yards per outing, 327 of that on the ground. The WM defense has 19 takeaways on the year, with a total turnover margin of +10 and are surrendering just 10 points per contest. The Trojans are led by Peyton Hart under center at 29 of 54 for 566 yards, four touchdowns and three interceptions. His favorite target is Parker Reese with nine catches for 229 yards and a score. On the ground it’s Preston Pope with 176 carries 1,451 yards and 19 touchdowns. Pope is also the tackle leader for the Trojans with 66 and a half. This week, Mid-Prairie head coach Pete Cavanagh talked about the preparation, road trip, and this week’s opponent.
Pete
The Hawks and Trojans have never met prior to tonight. They have one like opponent, each defeating Centerville this year, the Trojans 42-0 last week and the Hawks 42-21 earlier this month. Mid-Prairie is trying to advance to the quarterfinal round of the playoffs for the sixth time in school history and the first time since 2008. You can hear all of the action live tonight between the Golden Hawks and No. 3 Trojans from State Center on AM 1380, FM 102.5 and KCIIradio.com, beginning with the Washington HyVee pregame show at 6:30 and Systems Unlimited kickoff at 7p.m.