Three fourth-quarter touchdowns give Urbandale victory over the Cedar Rapids Jefferson

CEDAR RAPIDS — It was a one-point contest through three quarters.

Then, Jackson Sturdivant erupted.

The senior running back’s three fourth-quarter touchdown runs of 24, 57 and 32 yards powered Class 5A Urbandale (2-2) to a 37-15 win over Cedar Rapids Jefferson (1-3) at Kingston Stadium on Friday.

Sturdivant had four rushing touchdowns on the night, amassing 246 yards on 16 carries.

Until the final quarter, it was a back-and-forth contest.

Jefferson drove 60 yards to Urbandale’s 1-yard-line on its opening drive, but got stuffed on fourth-and-goal.

On the next play, a swarm of J-Hawk defenders burst through Urbandale’s line to force a safety, giving Jefferson a 2-0 lead at the 5:51-mark of the first quarter.

With 42 seconds left in the second quarter, Landon Rinnan bootlegged left and sprinted home for a 3-yard touchdown. Jayvion Edwards-Ramirez then ran in a 1-yard two-point conversion following a Jefferson offside penalty on the initial point after attempt.

Urbandale led 8-2 at intermission.

The J-Hawks came out of the locker room hot.

Uweza Kalolero capped an eight-play, 69-yard opening second half drive with a 9-yard TD run as Jefferson took a 9-8 lead with 6:48 left in the third quarter.

“I just trust within the offensive line — I trust my receivers,” Kalolero said. “I take my steps, do my re-step … I do my re-step, and once I see it, I hit it. I don’t question it. I trust my teammates, and I trust they have the best intentions for me to score a touchdown.”

Kalolero finished with 181 rushing yards and 75 receiving yards.

“Just keep my feet moving,” Kalolero said. “No matter what I see in front of me, I just run through it, hoping something can happen out of it.”

With 5:37 remaining in the third, Sturdivant sprinted 65 yards to the house for his first score, followed by a Landon Rinnan two-point conversion.

Late in the third, Vernon Benda found Osten Robertson open for a 26-yard TD. A high snap led to a failed point after attempt, and Jefferson trailed 16-15 after three quarters.

“I believe that we were the better team here — I believe that with all my heart,” Kalolero said. “We’ve just got to keep fighting. And we can’t make mistakes.”

Jefferson will host Cedar Rapids Prairie next Friday.

Urbandale 37, Cedar Rapids Jefferson 15

(At Kingston Stadium)

URB - CRJ

First downs 9 – 17

Rushing yards 320 – 190

Passing yards 14– 201

Comp-Att-Int 4-7-0 – 23-34-2

Punts-Avg. 3-39.7 – 0-0

Fumbles-lost 1-1 – 0-0

Penalties-Yards 6-55 – 10-76

Urbandale 0 8 8 21 — 37

CR Jefferson 2 0 13 0— 15

CRJ — Team safety

URB — Landon Rinnan 3 run ( Jayvion Edwards-Ramirez run)

CRJ — Uweza Kalolero 9 run ( Tyler Bartlett kick)

URB — Jackson Sturdivant 65 run (Landon Rinnan run)

CRJ — Osten Robertson 26 pass from Vernon Benda (PAT bad snap)

URB — Jackson Sturdivant 24 run ( Logan Sutter kick)

URB — Jackson Sturdivant 57 run ( Logan Sutter kick)

URB — Jackson Sturdivant 32 run ( Logan Sutter kick)

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING - Urbandale: Landon Rinnan 5-28, Josh Tarpeh 1-(minus 1), Jireh Gaye 4-36, Jackson Sturdivant 16-246, Dominic Cabildo 1-11. Cedar Rapids Jefferson: Uweza Kalolero 25-181, Vernon Benda 3-16, Liam Wiesner 2-14, Osten Robertson 1-2, Team 3-(23).

PASSING - Urbandale: Landon Rinnan 4-7-0-14. Cedar Rapids Jefferson: Vernon Benda 23-34-2-201.

RECEIVING - Urbandale: Jackson Sturdivant 2-4, Dominic Cabildo 2-10. Cedar Rapids Jefferson: LJ Nyenow Jr. 4-34, Jermaine Robinson 2-14, Osten Robertson 4-47, Brayden Gaines 1-23, Lucas Ranard, Samuel Williams 2-13, Uweza Kalolero 6-75.