Cedar Falls wins virtual elimination game against Cedar Rapids Kennedy to stay in Class 5A playoff race

CEDAR RAPIDS — For a pair of teams whom the schedule makers did no favors, it was elimination Friday.

Cedar Falls and Cedar Rapids Kennedy reached Week 8 in desperate need of a win. The Tigers move on to the regular season’s final game with Class 5A playoff hopes intact, defeating the Cougars, 28-7, at Kingston Stadium.

“It feels great,” Cedar Falls running back Davarrion Clark said. “We came in 2-4 a few weeks ago and we battled back and gave ourselves an opportunity to go to the playoffs.”

For both teams, it has been one land mine after another. The Cougars (2-6) came into the night with all five of their losses coming to ranked opponents sporting a combined 30-5 record. Cedar Falls (4-4) had little sympathy, dropping four games to ranked opponents who had a combined record of 23-5.

The Cougars’ slim postseason hopes were hanging by a thread. In spite of quarterback Vinny Gianforte’s best efforts, a litany of penalties and an explosive Cedar Falls offense proved too much to overcome.

“We fought,” Gianforte said. “That’s the most important thing. We didn’t give up. That’s all you can ask for as a team.”

The night began well enough for the Cougars. Kennedy drove 87 yards on 12 plays during their opening possession. Gianforte found four different receivers for 61 yards. From the Tigers 4, Gianforte faked a pitch to workhorse Jacob Doyle and handed to wideout Pierce McCrary, who snuck through a hole for a 7-0 lead with 6:10 remaining in the first quarter.

The Tigers struck back with a nine-play, 69-yard drive. Leyton Wolf matched Gianforte’s efficiency, going 4-for-4 with 37 yards. Clark, who came into the night with 1,152 rushing yards and 18 touchdowns, punched it in from 8 yards out to tie the game.

The Cougars picked up a third-and-20 on a screen to Doyle and a third-and-3 on a 21-yard strike to Dawsom Daugherty as they moved to the Tigers 12. The drive stalled out and a 33-yard field goal sailed wide right.

The Tigers seized control on the strength of a 38-yard connection to Will Remert and a 21-yard run from Clark. Clark scored for the second time from 4 yards out.

As the half came to a close, the Tigers had a 57-yard pass to Kai Smith wiped out by an illegal procedure. Doyle’s 50-yard screen reception for a touchdown was taken off the board on a holding flag. The Tigers took a 14-7 lead into the half.

Frustration mounted for Kennedy in the second half. The Cougars failed to establish a ground game while Clark began to break loose. Late in the third quarter, Clark reeled off three straight runs of 12, 11, and 16 yards. Ben Backles scored from 10 yards out to seize a 21-7 lead.

Clark added his third touchdown of the night on a 1-yard plunge early in the fourth.

“We just came out tougher,” Clark said of the second-half surge. “We wanted it more. My (offensive) line, after half we got together and told each other what we’re going to do. We came out here and did it all.”

Gianforte finished a strong night for Kennedy, completing 18 of 22 passes for 227 yards. The Cougars wrap up the season at Davenport North next week.

“Mistakes,” Gianforte said. “We gotta clean up our stuff. We got one more game to end on a good note. That’s the positive thing about this season. We can go out on a high end.”

Cedar Falls 28, Cedar Rapids Kennedy 7

CF CRK

First Downs 17, 10

Rushes-Yards 35-202, 24-31

Comp-Att-Int 10-13-0, 18-22-0

Pass Yards 156, 227

Total Yards 358, 258

Fumbles-Lost 3-1, 1-0

Penalties-Yards 4-30, 9-60

Punts-Avg 1-40.0, 5-37.2

Cedar Falls 7 7 7 7 — 28

Kennedy 7 0 0 0 — 7

CRK – Pierce McCrary 4 run (Andrew Waterhouse kick).

CF – Davarrion Clark 8 run (Cael Harms kick).

CF – Clark 4 run (Harms kick).

CF – Ben Backes 10 run (Harms kick).

CF – Clark 1 run (Harms kick).

Rushing – Cedar Falls: Davarrion Clark 19-127, Will Remmert 2-8, Ben Backles 10-61, Leyton Wolf 1-minus-2, Owen Hatcher 2-9, Kael Moore 1-minus-1. Kennedy: Jacob Doyle 11-21, Brayden Alber 2-1, Pierce McCrary 1-4, Vinny Gianforte 5-minus-5, Damarian Orr 3-9, Keegan Mastin 2-1.

Passing – Cedar Falls: Wolf 10-13-156-0. Kennedy: Gianforte 18-22-227-0

Receiving – Cedar Falls: Carsten Meester 4-43, Backes 2-19, Remmert 3-84, Trey Reuter 1-10. Kennedy: McCrary 2-19, Deacon Kucera 2-33, Dawson Dougherty 5-79, Alber 3-29, Doyle 3-33, Josiah Smith 2-27, Brayden Peck 1-7.