No. 8 Bettendorf soaks No. 10 Cedar Rapids Prairie, 35-8

CEDAR RAPIDS — Not much to say, other than this:

Bettendorf was better.

The Class 5A eighth-ranked Bulldogs ran, defended the run and whipped No. 10 Cedar Rapids Prairie, 35-8, at rainy John Wall Field on Friday.

Jackson Laver’s fumble recovery in the end zone gave the Bulldogs (7-1) their first touchdown, and the visitors were off and running.

The Hawks (4-4) are assured a 5A playoff berth if they win at Iowa City West (5-3) next week. If not, it could get very dicey.

They lost quarterback Will Phillips in the second quarter due to injury.

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Photos: Bettendorf at Cedar Rapids Prairie football

It all started well enough for Prairie. A 43-yard punt was downed at the Bettendorf 1-yard line, and two plays later, the Hawks corralled Bulldogs back Jacob Whipple in the end zone for a safety.

Still up 2-0, the Hawks drove into the red zone, but came up empty. A decent Bettendorf drive got them near midfield, and the punt landed at the Prairie 10.

On the first play, the Hawks — who had recovered three of their own fumbles prior — fumbled again and this time it was costly. Laver jumped on it in the end zone, and the Bulldogs had the lead for good.

Bettendorf scored two more second-quarter touchdowns on a pair of runs from Gavin Barta for a 21-2 lead.

Barta’s second score came moments after Phillips was injured in a scrum chasing a fumbled center/QB exchange.

Wyatt Eash replaced Phillips and led the Hawks on a scoring drive just before halftime. He connected with Casey Kelley for 38 yards, then located Apollo Payne for a 33-yard strike with 0:12 left.

That made it 21-8 at intermission, but the Hawks couldn’t carry the momentum into the second half.

Bettendorf scored on its first two drives of the third quarter.

After receiving the second-half kickoff, Wrigley Matthys got loose for a 70-yard scoring run. Then it was Barta for the third time, a 7-yarder that made it 35-8 and effectively locked the outcome.

The tale was told on the ground.

Bettendorf ran for 298 yards on 43 carries. Matthys netted 138 yards on just five carries, and Barta added 97 yards on 18 attempts.

Prairie, on the other hand, rushed for minus-2 yards.

Casey Kelley entered the game as the fourth-leading rusher in Class 5A with 909 yards, but managed just 33 on 22 carries Friday.

Eash and Phillips combined to pass for 226 yards. Payne caught four passes — all in the first half — for 132 yards.

Bettendorf hosts Iowa City High next week.

Bettendorf 35, Cedar Rapids Prairie 8

At John Wall Field

TEAM STATISTICS

First downs: BETT 12, CRP 11

Rushes-yards: BETT 43-298, CRP 34-(minus 2)

Passing yards: BETT 25, CRP 226

Passing: BETT 2-7-0, CRP 10-19-1

Total yards: BETT 325, CRP 224

Fumbles-lost: BETT 0-0, CRP 5-2

Punts-average: BETT 5-27.0, CRP 5-38.4

Penalties-yards: BETT 8-77, CRP 2-10

SCORING SUMMARY

Bettendorf 0 21 14 0 -- 35

C.R. Prairie 2 6 0 0 -- 8

CRP -- Safety, Jacob Whipple tackled in end zone

BETT -- Jackson Laver fumble recovery in end zone (Caden Buhr kick)

BETT -- Gavin Barta 5 run (Buhr kick)

BETT -- Barta 8 run (Buhr kick)

CRP -- Apollo Payne 33 pass from Wyatt Eash (run failed)

BETT -- Wrigley Matthys 70 run (Buhr kick)

BETT -- Barta 7 run (Buhr kick)

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

Rushing

Bettendorf — Wrigley Matthys 5-138, Gavin Barta 18-97, Charlie Zimmerman 9-37, Will Taylor 5-15, Jacob Whipple 5-12, Team 1-(minus 1). Prairie — Casey Kelley 22-33, Denzil Green 2-(minus 4), Will Phillips 2-(minus 8), Wyatt Eash 6-(minus 21), Team 2-(minus 2).

Passing

Bettendorf — Zimmerman 2-7-0-25. Prairie — Eash 6-10-1-116, Phillips 4-9-0-110.

Receiving

Bettendorf — Jake Schulz 1-20, Tommy Bloome 1-5. Prairie — Green 5-55, Apollo Payne 4-132, Kelly 1-38.

Comments: jeff.linder@thegazette.com