Prairie’s ‘storybook’ continues in first-round win over Waterloo West

CEDAR RAPIDS — Mark Bliss shook his head and smiled.

'This is like a storybook, man,' he said.

There are still blank pages. The ending has not yet been written.

Sixth-ranked Cedar Rapids Prairie scored 44 consecutive second-half points and blasted No. 8 Waterloo West, 66-35, in a Class 4A first-round playoff football game Friday night at John Wall Field.

Joseph Meyer overcame what could have been a critical early fumble and ran for 210 yards and five touchdowns as Prairie (9-1) won its ninth straight game and advanced to next week's quarterfinal.

There, the Hawks will face Iowa City West (8-2), a 24-17 upset winner over No. 5 Bettendorf. Prairie defeated the Trojans, 39-20, in the regular season.

Suddenly, a trip to the UNI-Dome, something that seemed a pipe dream just a couple months ago, appears very, very attainable.

'It's unbelievable,' Meyer said. 'I can't put it into words.'

West retired at 8-2. The Wahawks rallied from an early 14-0 deficit to take a 21-14 lead late in the first half, but the Hawks caught lightning in a bottle just before intermission, when quarterback Dalton Rayner connected with Levi Usher for a 66-yard bomb and a touchdown. Meyer's two-point conversion gave the Hawks a 22-21 edge at intermission.

'That gave momentum back to our sideline,' Bliss said. 'We made about four adjustments offensively and two defensively at halftime ... and the scoreboard speaks for itself.'

West reclaimed the lead briefly, 28-22, after Harrison Eighmy's 46-yard run to open the second half. But the rest of the game belonged to Meyer and the Hawks.

On fourth-and-1 from the West 45, Meyer took a handoff, appeared to be stopped, then got loose and outran the defense for a touchdown.

He was just getting warmed up. He added touchdown runs of 3, 6 and 19 yards as Prairie turned it into a blowout.

That more than atoned for a second-quarter fumble deep in Wahawk territory when Prairie appeared poised to go up 21-0.

'I've been having that problem lately,' he said. 'It was a mistake, and I'm glad I was able to make up for it later.'

Bliss said, 'That just tells you how resilient he is. His heart is as big as anyone I've ever coached.'

Zachary Ganske, Meyer's running mate in the Prairie backfield, was injured in the first half and did not return. Braxton Zimmerman filled in and added 86 yards.

West quarterback Devon Moore completed 18 of 39 passes for 319 yards, three touchdowns and an interception. He will play at Iowa State.

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