Hawks bounce back, whip Wahlert

 CEDAR RAPIDS -- They had dropped three straight games. Two, they could have won."Definitely some learning moments," said running back Mitch Christensen.This time, it was Cedar Rapids Prairie that provided the lesson.The Hawks ruled from the very first snap and manhandled Dubuque Wahlert, 27-0, in an MVC Valley Division football game Friday night at John Wall Field.Christensen rushed for a career-high 229 yards and three touchdowns as Prairie improved to 2-3 overall, 1-1 in the division."I'm really proud of these guys," said Prairie Coach Mike Morrissey. "They worked really hard all week, and we had good effort tonight."The Hawks were coming off back-to-back-to-back defeats against Cedar Rapids Kennedy, No. 1 Cedar Rapids Xavier and No. 3 Iowa City West. The Kennedy and West games, they led late."Coach just kept telling us to keep our heads up. We came out tonight fired up, ready to win," said linebacker Jo Jo Simpson.It was Simpson that fired the first salvo of the night, sacking Wahlert quarterback Daniel Broderick on the game's first play from scrimmage."It was a big momentum play for us," Simpson said. "I pushed the tackle to the ground, and the quarterback came right to me."Prairie ruled both sides of the ball, outgaining the Golden Eagles (2-3, 0-2) by a yardage margin of 388-166.Christensen highlighted a 309-yard rushing night by the hosts.The first quarter was methodical near-perfection for the Hawks.They got a stop. They got a score. They got another stop. They got another score.Simpson's sack -- a 14-yarder -- wrecked Wahlert's first possession, leading to a three-and-out.After a punt gave the Hawks the ball at their 46-yard line, they drove 54 yards in 10 plays, none longer than 13 yards. Christensen barrelled in from the 1 to put the Hawks in front.Wahlert got a first down on the next drive before it stalled at the Eagles' 41. After another punt, Prairie was on the move again.This time, it was a 60-yard, eight-play scoring march, again culminated by a Christensen 1-yard score.Kentrel Smith scored on a 10-yard pass from Trey Beckman late in the third quarter, then Christensen capped the scoring with a 6-yard TD with 7:33 left.Riley Hasken ran for 91 yards for Wahlert.Prairie is at Cedar Falls next week; Wahlert is at Linn-Mar.

CR Prairie 27, Dbq. Wahlert 0

AT JOHN WALL FIELD

TEAM STATISTICS

Dbq. Wahlert

CR Prairie

First downs

10

21

Rushes-yards

34 - 91

49 - 309

Passing yards

75

79

Comp-Att-Int

7 - 19 - 0

7 - 12 - 1

Total yards

166

388

Fumbles-lost

1 - 0

1 - 1

Punts-average

7 - 36.0

2 - 31.5

Penalties-yards

3 - 20

1 - 15

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

Rushing:  Dbq. Wahlert – Riley Hasken 16-91 , Colin Smith 9-15  CR Prairie – Mitch Christensen 29-229 , Keagan Pinter 9-61 , Trey Beckman 9-24

Passing:  Dbq. Wahlert – Daniel Broderick 7-19-0-75  CR Prairie – Beckman 7-12-1-79

Receiving:  Dbq. Wahlert – Nathan Kroeger 4-51 , Hasken 2-13 , Smith 1-11  CR Prairie – Dylan Kuchemann 2-41 , Connor Grade 2-12 , Kentrel Smith 1-10 , Jo Jo Simpson 1-9 , Pinter 1-7

SCORE BY QUARTERS

Dbq. Wahlert

–

CR Prairie

14

7

6

–

27

SCORING SUMMARY

CRP - Mitch Christensen 1 run (Sam Drysdale kick)

CRP - Christensen 1 run (Drysdale kick)

CRP - Kentrel Smith 10 pass from Trey Beckman (Drysdale kick)

CRP - Christensen 6 run (kick failed)