Photo Courtesy of Mid-Prairie CSD Social Media
The Mid-Prairie Golden Hawk football team hits the road tonight for a key district clash against the Mediapolis Bulldogs. The Golden Hawks are 2-3 on the season, 2-0 in district play after a dominant 48-3 win at home last week over Davis County. Mid-Prairie won the total yards battle 483-274. Hudson Ehrenfelt ran wild on the Mustangs, tying a school record with six touchdowns, all on the ground, on 24 carries with 314 yards. Brady Weber was 10 of 15 through the air for 161 yards and a score. Cobi Hershberger finished the night with four grabs for 64 yards and a touchdown. The Golden Hawk defense was, led by Kaden Kos with 11 total stops. Hershberger added a fumble recovery. On the season, Mid-Prairie averages 27 points per game and gives up 18, with 300 yards of offense, 192 through the air. Individually, Weber is 66 of 105 through the air for 963 yards and six touchdowns with no interceptions. Blake Swart and Tatem Telfer have each caught 11 passes for a total of 267 yards, Ace Peck and Hershberger each have a receiving touchdown. Ehrenfelt has 796 all-purpose yards and 14 total touchdowns, a state-leading 12 scores rushing. Kaden Kos leads the defense with a state best 55 tackles to go with 13 stops for loss, two sacks and a pick. Ehrenfelt and Hershberger both have takeaways. Mid-Prairie is ranked in the top 10 of 2A in 14 individual and team categories.
Mediapolis is also 2-3 this year, 1-1 in district after dropping their Homecoming game 21-19 last week to West Burlington Notre Dame. They were outgained 325-308 in total and outrushed by 76. The Bulldogs lost the turnover battle 2-0 and gave up 10 tackles for loss. Noah Schmidgall was the top performer with 31 carries, 206 yards and all three touchdowns. Reese Campbell was eight of 15 throwing for 95 yards and two picks. Gannon Gunn caught five balls for 73 yards. Peyton Johnson led the defense with eight tackles. This season, MEPO scores 24 points per night and gives up 20, gaining 317 yards per game, 195 on the ground. Individually, Schmidgall leads 2A with 934 all-purpose yards, 812 on the ground with 11 touchdowns. Campbell is 38 of 69 passing for 597 yards, three touchdowns and seven interceptions. Gunn has nine catches for 120 yards. Johnson leads the defense with 34 tackles. Seven different players have a takeaway. The Bulldogs rank in the top 10 of 2A in 11 different team and individual categories. This week, Golden Hawk head coach Daren Lambert talked with KCII Sports about his keys to beating the Bulldogs.
Lambert said, “Last year this was a game we had to win to be district champions and we failed to do that. That sits in the back of your mind and we talked this week about what the difference from last year to this year has to be. It has to be attention to detail. (A year ago) we let a few small things get away from us and it exploded into big things. They have a running back and they like to get the ball in his hands. He’s got speed. They’ve got big guys up front. They are going to come at you from different angles. Defensively, you have to be prepared for that. When we’re on offense, we’re going to see a defense similar to West Burlington. They are going to bring guys from different areas, and they fly around. We have to be prepared to adjust, play to play.”
The Golden Hawks are 9-5 all-time against MEPO, but the Bulldogs have won the last two, including a 38-7 victory in Wellman a year ago that gave them the district championship. You can hear all of the action live tonight on AM 1380, FM 102.5, the KCII2 App and KCIIradio.com, beginning with the Golden Hawk Football Pregame Show at 7p.m. and Yotty’s Incorporated kickoff between the Golden Hawks and Bulldogs at 7:30p.m. live from Archer Field in Mediapolis.