Cedar Rapids Jefferson starts 4-0 for second straight year with 24-8 win over Des Moines East

CEDAR RAPIDS — Exact same position as last season. What happens this time around?

Cedar Rapids Jefferson’s football team did the expected and took care of Des Moines East, 24-8, in a Thursday night homecoming game at Kingston Stadium.

That made the J-Hawks 4-0 for a second year in a row. A convincing 4-0, as Jefferson has beaten its four opponents by an average margin of around 26 points per game.

But while East, Des Moines North, Marshalltown and Muscatine were the first four foes, the next five (or at least four of the next five) are significantly better. It starts with cross-town rival Cedar Rapids Washington next week.

Iowa City West, Iowa City Liberty, Cedar Rapids Prairie and Davenport Central are the other upcoming opponents. Jefferson lost to all five of those schools last season to finish a very disappointing 4-5 after that very uplifting 4-0 start.

“Last year, I’m not going to lie, going 4-0 was very unexpected,” said Jefferson senior running back Ishara Kalolero, who rushed 21 times for 172 yards and a touchdown here. “I knew the team was good, but I didn’t think we were going to go 4-0. But this year, we knew we had a team that can do a lot better (than that) ... We’ve just got to keep working those last five, so we can make it to the playoffs.”

“It feels different to me,” said outstanding two-way senior tackle Nelson Evans IV. “I think we’re feeling more up, we’re ready for it. But we’ve just got to keep working on the small things, the little things. Keep our mental mistakes to a minimum, execute every play with full effort.”

Those mental mistakes were plentiful in this game. Jefferson scored a pair of first-quarter touchdowns: a 4-yard run by quarterback Vernon Benda and a 31-yard pass play from Benda to L.J. Nyenow Jr., in which he went up and over three East defensive backs in the end zone for the catch.

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Photos: Des Moines East at Cedar Rapids Jefferson high school football

But an errant pitch on a run play allowed East (2-2) to recover a J-Hawks fumble deep in Scarlet territory. Kalolero came back to score on a 25-yard touchdown early in the second, but that would be the final TD of the night for Jefferson.

Yes, the J-Hawks moved the ball, but penalties short-circuited drives and actually negated three touchdowns. Jefferson was called for eight penalties for 90 yards, including some of the unsportsmanlike conduct variety.

Then there was a botched catch of a punt snap and a separate blocked punt.

“Just undisciplined,” said Jefferson Coach Ed Miles. “A lot of emotions high and guys not willing to keep their emotions in check. And a lot of mental mistakes. I mean, we had three touchdowns called back by penalty.

“We just have to be better if we want to contend. Now we’re getting to the meat of our season, and if we want to contend, I’ll go back to the way things were last year. We’ve got to really find a way to come together as a team and start playing for one another instead of as individuals.”

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Bertin Gisubizo kicked a 31-yard field goal in the third quarter for Jeff’s only second-half points. Qwaden Clearwater’s 9-yard touchdown run and a two-point conversion pass from Devin Holman to Damarius Parker early in the fourth ended the scoring.

Jefferson outgained East by a 341-119 margin.

“For us as coaches and for me as head coach, it’s going to start with our preparation (this week),” Miles said. “We try to get care of our guys as the season gets grindy, to keep them healthy and stuff like that. But we just really need to focus in on what we need to do.

“It really starts with confidence. If we don’t have any confidence playing the area teams, it’s going to be (tough).”

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Cedar Rapids Jefferson 24, Des Moines East 8

(At Kingston Stadium)

Des Moines East 0 0 0 8-8

Cedar Rapids Jefferson 14 7 3 0-24

Team Statistics

First Downs - Des Moines East 8, Cedar Rapids Jefferson 21. Rushes-Yards - Des Moines East 23-10, Cedar Rapids Jefferson 37-194. Passing - Des Moines East 12-22-1-109, Cedar Rapids Jefferson 15-26-1-147. Total Yards - Des Moines East 119, Cedar Rapids Jefferson 341. Punts-Average - Des Moines East 4-12.0, Cedar Rapids Jefferson 1-0.0. Fumbles-Lost - Des Moines East 0-0, Cedar Rapids Jefferson 1-1. Penalties-Yards - Des Moines East 8-62, Cedar Rapids Jefferson 8-90.

Individual Statistics

Des Moines East - Rushing: Qwaden Clearwater 11-24, Braiden Johnson 2-11, Javarius Hughes 3-0, Team 1-(minus) 2, Devin Holman 6-(minus) 23. Passing: Devin Holman 12-22-1-109. Receiving: Braiden Johnson 5-37, Damarius Parker 2-26, A’monte Johnson 3-23, Qwaden Clearwater 2-23.

Cedar Rapids Jefferson - Rushing: Ishara Kalolero 21-172, Uweza Kalolero 6-27, Vernon Benda 6-13, L.J. Nyenow Jr. 1-6, Jermaine Robinson 1-3, Bertin Gisubizo 1-(minus) 10, Team 2-(minus) 17. Passing: Vernon Benda 15-25-0-147. Receiving: L.J. Nyenow Jr. 7-81, Jermaine Robinson 5-41, Dayten Guy 2-13, Lucas Ranard 1-12.

Comments: (319)-398-8258, jeff.johnson@thegazette.com