Kennedy advances to title game

CEDAR FALLS – Cedar Rapids Kennedy left it all out on the football field.

Sweat, blood and even a little vomit. Everything they gave was enough to make Cougar history.

Third-ranked Kennedy shutdown No. 2 Bettendorf in the second half and scored the final 14 points on an interception return and a gutsy fourth-down pass play for a 31-14 victory in the Class 4A state semifinals Friday night at the UNI-Dome.

The Cougars advance to the championship game for the first time, facing the winner of West Des Moines Dowling and West Des Moines Valley. The realization began to sink in late in the fourth.

'It felt great,” Kennedy running back Tyler Dralle said. 'It's something that I've never felt before and it's great because I know I've been able to play the most football I was able to play my senior year.”

The game was tied at seven to begin the second half and the teams were only separated by two yards of total offense at halftime. Kennedy Coach Brian White challenged his team to win the battle up front at the break.

They responded, forcing Bettendorf to punt after three plays and producing an 86-yard scoring drive on eight rushes. Dralle out-ran defenders to the left pylon for a 13-yard TD, capping a series that was delayed briefly when a Cougar player apparently vomited near midfield.

'In the first half, I don't think we were controlling the line of scrimmage very well,” Dralle said. 'That was our goal coming into the second half. Shaun really opened it up with the outside runs and I did the dirty work inside. Just got us going.”

The Cougars remained true to the style that led them to the UNI-Dome. Dralle rushed for 159 yards with a TD. Beyer had 76 rushing yards, including an 8-yard TD for Kennedy's first score.

Beyer also had 72 receiving yards.

'At this point, it is survive and move on,” White said. 'You just do what you have to do to win a football game. When you've got an asset like Dralle and an asset like Beyer and a QB like (Nick) Duehr that doesn't make very many mistakes at all, we're pretty fortunate. And we have a big O-line.”

After a second straight Bulldogs punt, Kennedy rushed its way inside the Bettendorf 20 when Alex Stone kicked a 37-yard field goal to put the Cougars ahead for good, 17-14, with 2:11 left in the third.

The Kennedy defense was stingy in the second half, allowing just 75 yards of total offense in the final two quarters. The Cougars forced three turnovers against backup quarterback Jacob Wehr, playing in place of Owen Ridenour who suffered a broken collarbone last week.

Linebacker Brandon Neimeier helped Kennedy start tapping a nail in the coffin with an impressive 55-yard interception return for a score, making it 24-14 with 8:30 left. He read pass, saw the quarterback roll out and jumped the receiver's crossing route.

'I caught it and just looked for a spot to run,” Neimeier said. 'I saw there was room to the right and went for it.”

He had plenty of open space when he switched directions. The goal line was a welcome sight.

'I kept thinking ‘Don't get caught. Don't get caught,' ' Neimeier said. 'Once I made it to the end zone it was a relief.”

The defense wasn't done. Dalles Jacobus sacked Wehr, forcing a fumble that Mason Jacobs covered at the Bulldog 28.

Kennedy reached the 10 and faced 4th-and-8 with a 10-point led. A field goal would keep Bettendorf within two scores so White rolled the dice. With Beyer sent to the sideline tending to a bloody elbow, Austin Bailey reeled in a Nick Duehr pass for the final TD.

'It was a no-brainer,” said White, referencing a past game as a Cedar Rapids Washington assistant where his team squandered a 20-point lead in the fourth. 'Wanted to end the game right there.”

Bettendorf's Dax Emerson rushed for 125 yards, including a 3-yard TD in the second and an 18-yard score in the third, cutting Kennedy's lead to 17-14.

Kennedy has one more game and will play in the last football game of the entire prep season. The Cougars have a chance to pen another chapter in their history books.

'It's exciting,” Neimeier said. 'It's something we've never done before. We're just excited to go for it and hopefully we can come out with a (win).”

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