Cedar Rapids Jefferson drops Muscatine in high school football season opener

CEDAR RAPIDS – The passing game provided Cedar Rapids Jefferson’s first-half lead.

Adjustments allowed the J-Hawks to soar and pull away.

Jefferson quarterback Vernon Benda passed for three touchdowns, including two to L.J. Nyenow, and rushed for one in a 33-14 victory over Muscatine in a Class 5A high school football season opener Friday night at Kingston Stadium.

“Vern stepped up and made some good plays,” Jefferson Coach Ed Miles said. “We wanted to try and get L.J. involved really quickly and early. I thought we did that. We tried to build on the run but you saw that wasn’t working in the first half. Came out and stuck with passing.

“Once they started doubling L.J., it started to open up other options for the guys. I thought our offense handled that very well.”

Benda and Nyenow found the end zone on the J-Hawks’ first possession. The pass combo connected on three straight completions of 41, 9 and 1 yards. Benda hit Nyenow on a quick slant for a 6-0 lead with 6:37 to go in the first quarter.

“We just really wanted to come out and give our all,” Nyenow said. “Just finish every play and keep up our energy.”

Benda completed his first four attempts and went 8-of-10 in the first half. He finished 14-of-18 for 197 yards, hitting five receivers.

“It helps a lot to have players with high talent,” said Benda, who praised the offensive line’s protection. “You can trust them to make a play. Get them the ball in space and hope they can make a play. That’s what they did.”

Nyenow experienced a breakout season a year ago and has developed into an NCAA Division I prospect. The 6-foot-2, 190-pounder was a top target, hauling in a team-high eight catches for 133 yards. He caused Muscatine defenders fits, yielding six double-digit gains. He added an 11-yard TD in the fourth that made it 33-7 with less than seven minutes remaining.

He’s reaping the rewards of his extra work.

“I was doing stuff that other people wouldn’t,” Nyenow said. “Like waking up early and getting extra routes in at the field. Staying after practice to get more catches and working on my routes at home.”

Jefferson (1-0) trailed 7-6 after a Gaige Curtis 8-yard TD run with 3:45 to go before halftime. The J-Hawks answered immediately, driving 56 yards on six plays. Benda hit Nyenow for a 27-yard gain and Dayten Guy, setting up fourth-and-4 from the Muskie 10.

Jermaine Robinson made a diving grab in the middle of the end zone for a 13-7 lead with 1:01 left before the break.

“It is funny because that is what Jermaine does,” Miles said. “He makes the difficult catches.

“Vern saw the mismatch on the backside and was able to throw it in a pretty good spot. Jermaine made the play. I think that started to give us that momentum.”

Jefferson came out stronger in the second half and those adjustments allowed the J-Hawks to pull away.

The defense forced a turnover on downs after the Muskies faced second-and-goal from the 6. Jefferson responded with an 89-yard, eight-play drive that ended with a Benda 1-yard QB sneak for a score and 19-7 lead with 1:30 left in the third.

The passing game finally loosened up Muscatine’s rush defense. Jefferson’s all-Metro running back Ishara Kalolero demonstrated his big-play ability, busting loose for a 71-yard TD on the first play of the J-Hawks’ next series. Kalolero bolted up the middle, split two defenders and shed one more tackler for the long scoring run, making it 26-7 in the fourth. He finished with 98 yards on 12 carries.

“Ish is so explosive,” Benda said. “He can do it at any time, especially if the line gives him a little blocking. He can break tackles and make plays.”

Muscatine added some yardage and a Curtis 1-yard TD run late. Chadrac Elese had 121 rushing yards for the Muskies (0-1).

Both teams had some errors, combining for 20 penalties. The J-Hawks did have two defensive players who were ejected for personal fouls on the same play, which drew the ire of Miles.

“It’s not what we preach,” Miles said. “It’s not what we coach. I don’t coach dirty stuff. I coach hard-nosed football. I’m not happy about that at all. I shouldn’t be feeling this way after a win, right?”

Jefferson has started 1-0 with a win over Muscatine for the second straight season. The J-Hawks play at Marshalltown next week.

“We’re building up a week at a time,” Miles said. “We got a win on this one. We’ll hit the drawing boards and get ready for Marshalltown next week.”

Cedar Rapids Jefferson 33, Muscatine 14

AT KINGSTON STADIUM

MUS CRJ

First Downs 14 11

Rushes-yards 43-196 20-109

Passing yards 58 197

Comp-att-int 3-9-58 14-18-197

Total yards 254 306

Fumbles-lost 2-2 1-0

Punts-avg. 3-33.7 3-21.3

Penalties-yards 11-63 9-58

Muscatine 0 7 0 7 -- 14

C.R. Jefferson 6 7 6 14 -- 33

CRJ– L.J. Nyenow Jr. 1 pass from Vernon Benda (kick failed)

MUS – Gaige Curtis 8 run (Eric Romo kick)

CRJ – Jermaine Robinson 10 pass from Benda (Lilli Ulrich kick)

CRJ – Benda 1 run (pass fail)

CRJ – Ishara Kalolero 71 run (Ulrich kick)

CRJ – Nyenow 11 pass from Benda (Ulrich kick)

MUS – Curtis 1 run (Romo kick)

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING – Muscatine: Seth Reiland 15-141, Gaven Wade 11-30, Jake Meier 6-27, Neco Aceo 1-2, Curtis 7-(-1), Team 3-(-3). C.R. Jefferson: Kalolero 12-98, Benda 2-6, Uweza Kalolero 4-2, Robinson 1-2, Anthony Snodey 1-1.

PASSING – Muscatine: Curtis 3-9-0-58. C.R. Jefferson: Benda 14-18-0-197.

RECEIVING – Muscatine: James Roberts 2-43, Alec Recker 1-15. C.R. Jefferson: Nyenow 8-133, Lucas Ranard 2-40, Dayten Guy 2-15, Robinson 1-10, I. Kalolero 1-(-1).

Comments: kj.pilcher@thegazette.com