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Caden Striegel steps up as Cedar Rapids Prairie takes down Pleasant Valley
A big football win for short-handed Hawks
Cedar Rapids Prairie coach Mark Bliss was happy with his team’s performance Friday night. (The Gazette)
CEDAR RAPIDS — Prairie senior Caden Striegel had himself a night to remember.
Striegel had the game-sealing interception with 38 seconds left in the fourth quarter as the Hawks defeated Pleasant Valley, 27-21, on Friday at John Wall Field.
It was a tough start for Prairie before the game even kicked off. The Hawks had their starting senior quarterback, Dionte Fliss out, along with a few other starters, because of their conduct detrimental to the team and breaking team rules, Coach Mark Bliss confirmed.
Although they were without some of their starters, senior backup quarterback Brandon Vlcko had a good performance, completing 4 of 8 passes for 42 yards and was a good game and clock manager.
The best performance of the night, though, was the combination of Thunder and Lightning. Junior running back Makelle Taylor had three touchdowns and 118 total rushing yards. His three touchdowns all came in the second quarter.
Taylor had problems with cramps in the second half and had to be taken out occasionally for rest.
On the other hand, another junior running back, Trey Peterson, helped the cause with 87 rushing yards and a 5-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter.
The Hawks defense also stepped up with the performance of Striegel.
“The defense bent at times but did not break,” Bliss said.
Striegel was all over the field for Prairie. He forced three turnovers with two fumble recoveries and the game-sealing 51-yard interception run in the fourth quarter.
“It felt great to have the game-sealing interception tonight, but I could not have done it without my teammates,” he said. “They have certainly rallied around me all summer in practices. We did this as a team, it was not just me.”
Bliss was proud of his players and the backups who stepped up.
“We have had a lot happen in the last 24 hours with the code of conduct issues with our own players,” Bliss said. “Some of the players did not know they were starting until today. They embraced their roles and did a phenomenal job of competing and working hard.”
