Cedar Rapids Prairie loses star Levi Usher in costly victory over Clinton

CEDAR RAPIDS - The atmosphere at John Wall Field changed in an instant on the first play of the game.

Prairie opened its game Friday night against Clinton with a 66-yard completion and run from Dalton Rayner to Caleb Fuller. As Fuller closed in on the end zone, he was stripped of the ball by Clinton's Jordin Parker. As the teams scrambled for the loose ball, Prairie's Levi Usher was rolled up on by a teammate.

Usher immediately rolled over in agony, flipping his helmet away and grabbing his right leg. After being tended to by medical personnel for several minutes, he was taken off the field on a stretcher and transported to St. Luke's Hospital.

'Levi is undergoing surgery as we speak,” said Prairie Coach Mark Bliss after the Hawks' 49-22 win over Clinton. 'He suffered a broken leg, but they are optimistic he will be able to come back and play baseball.”

To their credit, the Hawks rebounded from the loss of their star all-around athlete. After giving up an early score, Prairie scored 42 unanswered points and rolled to the victory.

Keegan Simmons had an outstanding night running the ball, going for 172 yards on 18 carries and four touchdowns. Braxton Zimmerman added 102 yards on 10 carries and a touchdown.

Bliss said he was proud of the way his players responded to Usher's loss.

'He's one of the best athletes in the state of Iowa,” Bliss said. 'We're blessed to have him on our sideline. Everybody knows his future is in baseball, but he wanted to play football because of these young men he has played sports with since kindergarten.

'Now that Levi is gone, we'll have to have some kids step up and they did that tonight,” he continued. 'We'll probably have to move some kids around, but that is the way football is. Sometimes an opportunity arises and a player gets a chance to take advantage of it.”

Prairie (3-0) returns home next Friday to host Davenport Central.