Cedar Rapids Kennedy uses fast, aggressive defense to wreak havoc in shutout victory over Dubuque Hempstead

CEDAR RAPIDS — Fast and the furious was on display.

No, not a viewing of the overrated movie franchise. We’re talking the aggressive style Cedar Rapids Kennedy’s defense expects to exhibit. Cougars Coach Brian White likes what he has been seeing.

“They are playing faster than lightning right now, which is great,” White said. “They finally figured that out. So, the young kids have finally matured enough to play really fast.”

Class 5A No. 3 Kennedy paired a stifling defense with a potent offense for a 44-0 blowout victory over Dubuque Hempstead in a prep football game Thursday at Kingston Stadium.

The Cougars defense held the Mustangs to 90 total yards of offense in their second shutout this season. Kennedy quarterback Vincenzo Gianforte passed for 249 yards and four touchdowns.

“We have pretty high expectations right now,” White said. “We have things going in the right direction. We’ve got kids believing in what they’re doing.”

Kennedy (5-2) won its fifth straight game. The streak coincided with the defense’s resurgence that began with a shutout at Linn-Mar.

“We got together at practice and said we wanted to get pushed harder,” Kennedy middle linebacker Calvin White said. “We want to fill out our potential and be the kind of defense we can be. I think it has shown on the field.”

The younger White has emerged as a leader for the team. He makes most of the play calls in practice and competition. His knowledge of the game allowed him some freedom to make plays. The all-state defender moved around, holding his spot in the middle, playing weak-side linebacker and rushing off the edge.

Calvin White embraces the leadership role and mentioned it is a team effort.

“I love it,” Calvin White said. “Everybody makes it really easy. We’re a very vocal defense. We base ourselves on that. B.J. Henry helps with being pretty vocal. He’s a captain and vocal out there.

“It’s pretty easy. We’re just playing out there and having fun.”

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Photos: Cedar Rapids Kennedy football hosts Dubuque Hempstead

Interestingly, the defensive front is starting to take shape. Senior defensive lineman Grant Mather returned with the most experience, playing three to four snaps last season. The front line has played a big part in the defense’s progress.

“We have a full new (defensive) line this year,” Mather said. “We’ve really picked up from the first couple weeks. We’re playing really good now.”

Hempstead (4-3, 1-2) struggled to sustain much offense. The Mustangs’ longest drive was just eight plays and reached Kennedy territory just once. The Cougars held Hempsted to six first downs, forcing two turnovers.

“There is a lot more improvement from us,” said Calvin White, who played weak-side linebacker and was used as a rusher. “There are a lot of places I can get better, as well as our defense as a whole. We are going to keep getting better.”

Kennedy’s offense continued its scoring barrage. The Cougars bettered their 43.5 clip in the previous four victories.

Gianforte was a huge part of the outburst, passing for 249 yards and four TDs. He connected with Cyrus Courtney seven times for 80 yards, including a 23-yard TD on fourth-and-13 to open the scoring.

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Gianforte hit Calvin White for an 8-yard TD pass in the first and a 28-yard score on the first drive of the second half for a 23-0 lead. Pierce McCrary followed with a 57-yard TD reception on the Cougars’ next possession.

“We’re spoiled, and to some degree, it’s like who are we going to deal it out to?” Brian White said. “It’s a great problem to have.”

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Trevor Scott and Cole Turner added TD rushes of 5 and 1 yards. Kennedy finished with 462 yards of total offense, including 201 on the ground. Jacob Doyle led the way with 72 rush yards, while Scott had 59.

“I felt like we could do anything we wanted on both offense and defense,” Mather said. “We pretty much controlled the game.”

Kennedy will play Cedar Falls at the UNI-Dome next week. The game could be a preview of what awaits the Cougars in a month. It also is a chance to soothe the sting from a road loss to the Tigers a year ago.

“We have some incentive, especially with these seniors, to go there and play well,” Brian White said. “Plus, they’re a really good football team that is a playoff team. We get to play a playoff game with two weeks left of the season and Davenport North behind it.”

Cedar Rapids Kennedy 44, Dubuque Hempstead 0

AT KINGSTON STADIUM

DH CRK

First Downs 6 17

Rushes-yards 22-32 31-201

Passing yards 58 261

Comp-att-int 9-19-1 18-26-1

Total yards 90 462

Fumbles-lost 2-1 1-0

Punts-avg. 8-32.5 1-46.0

Penalties-yards 5-34 4-35

Dubuque Hempstead 0000 -- 0

C.R. Kennedy 710207 -- 44

CRK – Cyrus Courtney 23 pass from Vincenzo Gianforte (Dylan Augustine kick)

CRK – Calvin White 8 pass from Gianforte (Augustine kick)

CRK – FG Augustine 36

CRK – White 28 pass from Gianforte (kick failed)

CRK – Pierce McCrary 57 pass from Gianforte (Augustine kick)

CRK – Trevor Scott 5 run (Augustine kick)

CRK – Cole Turner 1 run (Andrew Waterhouse kick)

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING – Dubuque Hempstead: Jaden Montgomery 8-43, Justin Potts 2-7, Race Benham 3-1, Quinn Breitbach 4-0, Ben Roraff 2-(-5), Carter Krug 3-(-14). C.R. Kennedy: Jacob Doyle 11-72, Scott 6-59, Turner 8-44, White 1-15, Anthony Franklin 1-8, Team 1-4, Gianforte 3-(-1).

PASSING – Dubuque Hempstead: Krug 6-16-1-34, Roraff 3-3-0-24. C.R. Kennedy: Gianforte 16-23-1-249, Jacob Ervin 2-3-0-12.

RECEIVING – Dubuque Hempstead: Potts 2-21, Tate Woodruff 2-15, Cole Johnson 2-8, Nathan Chappell 1-5, Kayden Hefel 1-5, Devon Cook 1-4. C.R. Kennedy: Courtney 7-80, White 3-41, Ben Sopousek 3-32, Nick Woods 2-24, McCrary 1-57, Grant Mather 1-22, Davarion Harris 1-5.

Comments: kj.pilcher@thegazette.com